Who are we and what is our parish for?

We are a group of local people who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he died to save us from our sins and rose again that we might have eternal life in his Catholic Church. We gather regularly, and especially on a Sunday, to worship God in the Holy Mass. We provide all sorts of opportunities for people to learn more about the Christian faith. We have a varied social programme so that we can grow as a community through shared participation in enjoyable events. We work with our two parish primary schools, St John’s and St Winefride’s, and the Catholic High School in Bradford, St Bede’s and St Joseph’s, to provide our young people with a good grounding in the faith. The parish is part of the local Church of the Diocese of Leeds.

We are not only open to everybody; we actively encourage people to participate in our parish life. Our Church is a living sign of Jesus in the midst of society. As he welcomed everybody, so we in our parish seek to do the same in his name. As he sought above all to serve his brothers and sisters, so we look for ways to put our faith into action by helping others. We simultaneously respect each person’s faith situation and we openly invite each person to become a Catholic so that they may experience in its fullness that joy which God wishes we all should possess.

Parish Pastoral Council

The Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) is a formally constituted group which has the Parish Priest as it's President and a Chair and Vice Chair representing the parish. The PPC also includes a representative from twelve Parish groups. Members give of their time to help in fostering pastoral action in the parish and their deliberations and decision making constitutes an exercise in co-responsibility for the life of the parish. The PPC agreed the following Mission Statement:

In obedience to Jesus' Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), and in response to our Bishop's call for parishes to become more missional, we will engage in three missions in particular: to the family of the parish; to young people; and to those outside the Church.

Shared Leadership Team

The Shared Leadership Team, which comprises lay and clergy members, drives forward the parish’s mission through monthly conversations about how we can form parishioners as disciples and reach out to those who do not participate in the life of our parish. We commend our ideas to the Parish Pastoral Council which is charged with the responsibility of making our Parish Mission Statement a reality. 

What area does our parish cover?

The parish is a large one and encompasses the following areas in Bradford: Wibsey, Odsal Top, Buttershaw, Slackside, Woodside, Wyke, Low Moor, Moor Top, Oakenshaw, Shelf, Clayton Heights, Horton Bank Top, Horton Bank Bottom.

What is the history of our parish?

St Winefride’s was established as a chapel-of-ease from St Joseph’s Church on Manchester Road, Bradford in 1933 and became a separate parish in 1947. A new church was opened in 1953 – this is now St Winefride’s Hall – and the present church was consecrated in 1983. St Winefride’s merged with the neighbouring parish of Holy Innocents, Wyke in 1997. St John the Evangelist’s was established as a new parish in Buttershaw 1954 – formerly this area was part of St Winefride’s Parish. The church was opened in 1956. The Parishes of St Winefride’s and St John’s were merged in 2009 to become the Parish of Mary, Mother of God.