The Present Chapel

In March 1962 Canon Joseph Maxwell cut the first sod on the site of the present chapel at the foot of Hayocks Road. After this short ceremony, as all present saw the bulldozer immediately getting to work, it was felt that parish history was being made.

A more impressive ceremony, however took place on 19th September of the same year, when His Lordship Bishop McGee laid the foundation stone of the new church, witnessed by a notable gathering of clergy and parishioners. On that occasion His Lordship expressed his satisfaction at the progress already made (the roof being already on) and congratulated the architect, Mr. Houston, Jr on the fine modern design of the building, and its conformity with the latest liturgical trend in church building, which tends to group the faithful more intimately closer to the High Altar.

Other striking features of the new building are the huge laminated wood trusses that support the roof and also the beautiful coloured glass windows made in France by M. Gabriel Lore, artist of Chartres. These consist of four biblical scenes, two on either side of the church, and the window at the gable end depicting  St. John, our patron saint. The first of the four scenes (near to the pulpit) depicts "The Creation" in which the artist shows us the Hand of The Creator pointing down with outstretched forefinger and we see the newly created waters and the stars of the universe. The second scene, on the same side, shows us "The Fall of Man" Here the artist merely conveys the story by showing us the serpent entwined round the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and holding the forbidden fruit in its mouth. The third scene, next to the Lady Altar, depicts "The Redemption." Here we are shown the form of a cross, its outline stained with the Blood of The Divine Victim and on the cross, in place of the traditional figure, we see a sheaf of wheat and on either side, the wine-giving grapes. In other words, The Divine Victim of Cavalry is one and the same as the Victim in the Holy Mass - now hidden under the appearances of bread and wine- as given to the Church at the Last Supper to be the food of our souls in Holy Communion, by His command: "Do this in commemoration of me." The fourth scene, on the right of the altar, depicts "The Resurrection." It shows us Our Redeemer, in the dim light of the first Easter morn, emerging from the tomb, while on the left of the scene we see the Adoring Angel of the Resurrection.

The window at the gable end of the church depicts "St. John, the Evangelist, Patron Saint of our church. it shows him recoiling, as it were, from the chalice set before him and recalls for us the words of Our Lord to St. John and his brother St. James, when both asked for a special place in Heaven. "Can ye drink of the Chalice that I will drink?"

Finally, below St. John's window we have the  Baptistry window which depicts first, "The Dove, or The Holy Ghost," who comes to us in Baptism, then we see the Baptismal Candle which represents the Baptismal vows and beside that there is an anchor, one of the ancient emblems of the early Church, which expresses the virtue of Hope. The  font  itself is a work of art. Fashioned entirely in brass, it depicts the font as a half trunk of a tree, beneath which shelters a fawn - a reference to the psalm used at the blessing of a Baptismal font: "As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so does my soul pant after Thee." These same words are written in Latin around the lip of the font: "Sicut cervus ad fontes aquarum." The font is so situated that the congregation can assist  equally well at the Easter Vigil blessing of the font, or at any particular Baptism.

Taken from the souvenir brochure for the Solemn Opening of The New Church by Bishop McGee, Thursday 4th July 1963.

Footnote:  The Baptismal font was moved to the front of the chapel in front of the window depicting The Resurrection in the 1980s.