The priest and the changing church
LAST week on our Letters pages we featured a nostalgic postcard which had been unearthed by reader and regular correspondent Michael Doyle of Walsall.
It showed the Walsall’s old General Hospital and the Mount Church – and by complete coincidence, Walsall reader Mark Dabbs has also come across a picture connected to that very same church. Mark writes:
“Whilst sorting through my cards I found this picture (see below) and was intrigued about the person on it, Father James Edward Mccarten.
“He was based at Mary’s the Mount which was erected in 1826 at a cost of £7,500, which was raised mostly by the exertions of Father Martyn who is buried in the church in front of the altar.
“The style of the building is in the Ionic fashion and the architect behind the project was named Ireland.
“The church is one of a certain number styled ‘Missionary Rectories’ where the priest is not liable to removal. Father Mccarten succeeded Father Lovi in 1878.
Art
“The church has fine examples of art and inside it is worth noting the fourteen ‘Stations of the Cross’ – each are a fine study of grouping, form and colour and originate from the studio of Raffl and Co. from Paris.
“Such is the story behind this postcard of a fine man from Walsall. Readers who can would find it a delight to visit the church and spend a quiet few minutes contemplating the building and its history.”
Simpler
Mr Doyle, whose photograph of the Mount was featured last week, also adds a little more to the story:
“The Mount Sanctuary has changed somewhat with the advent of Vatican II in 1963, which ‘simplified the interiors of churches’.
“The marvellous marble High Altar was removed and the two side altars were placed at the rear of the church. The pictures of the four evangelists are still in the same position; these came from the private collection of the Earl of Shrewsbury.
“The decor of the back wall behind the Sanctuary was remained intact. Perhaps some readers will remember what the church was like in the 1950s?” ■ Do you have memories of the Mount? Email us on gjones@blackcountry bugle.co.uk, give us a call on 01384 889000, write to us, or pay us a visit at Black Country Bugle, Dudley Archive Centre, Tipton Road, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 4SQ.