Southampton City Centre Catholic Parish

Bishop’s Proposal for Catholic Southampton

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We are writing to you today to take the next step in discerning the proposed implementation of our Diocesan Pastoral Plan, You Will Be My Witnesses, in Southampton area. 

The Plan proposes new structures to help bring about a renewed focus on mission. This is centred on three priorities:

• To be a Christ-centred Church (putting Christ at the centre of our hearts and our lives).

• To be missionary communities (going out on Christ’s service and mission).

• To be prudent stewards of Christ’s Church (making wise choices to leave a sustainable legacy).

The Proposal for the Future of Catholic Southampton

To achieve this vision, Bishop Phillip suggests that we consider a merger of the 10 existing Southampton Parishes in our Pastoral Area into a single new Parish of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Southampton. These comprise the churches of: (Christ the King and St Colman, Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Brigid, Holy Family, St Boniface, St Joseph and St Edmund, St Patrick, Annunciation, St Vincent De Paul, Immaculate Conception, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus) The existing churches would retain their current names, and our Bishop would appoint one Parish Priest as the leader of the team of priests and deacons within the area.

Coming together into a single, larger Parish could allow us to focus more on active mission and outreach, benefiting from the combined talents and resources of our church communities.

1. Prudent Stewardship

A combined budget and pooling of talents, enables us to:

• Reduce unnecessary administrative overlap. For example, we remove the need for 10 separate sets of bookkeeping, and basic admin costs. This would release significant funds for charitable work, ministry programmes and direct mission.

• Develop major capital works and building maintenance that individual parishes might not be able to afford.

2. Developing Our People in a Christ-Centred Church

One parish would allow us to optimise our greatest resource, our people, by pooling experiences and expertise for the benefit of all.  For example,

• Our clergy could be enabled to focus on their own gifts/interests, for example they may focus especially on youth ministry, on hospital chaplaincy, the housebound, adult formation, and mission to seafarers.

• Our laity could share their talents across the Southampton area according to need and expertise, as part of a cohesive plan, for example city wide sacramental preparations, and charitable projects.

• The increased financial stability could allow consideration of wider paid employment roles for the benefit of the parish.

3.  Our Mission to Wider Southampton

Forming a single parish would empower a unified Catholic voice in Southampton, strengthening our presence in advocacy, inter-faith dialogue, and coordinated charitable outreach across the city. United under the patronage of Our Lady Star of the Sea, our diverse communities would be drawn together in shared identity and purpose, reflecting our mission in this vibrant port city. This renewed unity would enable us to deepen our commitment to serving the poor and the marginalised, while nurturing and growing our faith communities in hope and solidarity.

How You Can Help

We invite everyone to play an active part in developing this renewed and shared vision for the Catholic Church in Southampton. Hence this consultation of our parishioners.

By inviting you to complete this consultation survey we are giving everyone an opportunity to express their views. This is not a vote. The responses will be carefully considered.

1.      Please Read the Diocesan Plan: We recommend everyone reads this Plan, which can be accessed on the diocesan website: www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk/about/ten-year-plan/

2.      Please Share Your Views: Please complete the Questionnaire by clicking or scanning the QR code below by 23rd of February 2026. Canon Michael requests that the form be submitted electronically rather than in paper format, as it allows for easier compilation of the results. However, you can also download the paper copy below. Copies are available at the entrance of both Churches.

3.      Please Keep the Process in Prayer: The consultation phase will take place over the coming months. We ask Our Lady Star of the Sea to pray for us as we navigate our way forward.

MESSAGE FROM BISHOP PHILIP

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Our diocesan mission plan You Will be My Witnesses is based on three principles:

(1) spiritual renewal, (2) outreach and (3) prudent stewardship. To enable it, I have

asked all the parishes of the Diocese to work much more closely together, uniting

their efforts to proclaim the Gospel and to bring people closer to Jesus Christ

through His Church. This is already bearing fruit in Southampton and attendance

at Mass across the city is growing. The proposal has now been made that for the

good of souls, the continuing provision of the sacraments and a more effective

administration of the Church’s goods, the parishes of the Southampton Pastoral

Area should be amalgamated into a single ‘community of communities.’ This has

already happened, or is underway, in a number of other Pastoral Areas of the

Diocese. As now, each parish would continue to have its own resident priest, but

one priest would be appointed as the parish priest of the whole.

The proposal to work as one parish across Southampton is rooted in a desire to

strengthen the Church’s mission in the city.

• A unified parish would give the Catholic Church a clearer focus and a shared

vision, enabling us to act together rather than as a collection of individual

communities.

• Working as one parish would bring practical, financial and administrative

benefits, allowing resources, expertise and clergy time to be used more

effectively.

• Operating at scale would make it possible to deliver city-wide programmes,

events and ministries that individual parishes would struggle to sustain on

their own, while also providing greater support to smaller worshipping

communities so that they can survive and grow.

• A single parish structure would give the Catholic Church a stronger and

more coherent voice in the public life of Southampton, particularly with

Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth Incorporated Charity 1199568

civic leaders. It would enable a more consistent and visible Christian

response to poverty and social need, working alongside the other churches

and faith communities.

• Importantly, a unified parish would support a joined-up approach to

families, children and young people, drawing together parishes, Catholic

schools and the university chaplaincies.

• It would also place the Church in a better position to recognise, support

and celebrate the rich ethnic and cultural diversity of the Catholic

community across the city.

There are ten parishes in the Southampton Pastoral Area: Bitterne, Millbrook,

Shirley, City Centre, Woolston, Lordswood, Portswood, Netley, Totton and Hedge

End. In accordance with Canon 50 of the Code of Canon Law, I have written to

the priests of these parishes to ask their opinion. A consultation, in the context

of the Catholic Church, is a structured way for the Bishop to listen to those who

may be affected, before any decision is made. It enables people to express their

views, both positive and negative, about how the proposals may affect the

spiritual and pastoral life of the parish. Consultation is not a vote or a referendum.

It is a chance for people to share thoughtful, informed views so that the Bishop

can weigh up all the factors that need to be considered.

I have asked the priests to consult widely in their parishes, asking their Parish

Councils, Finance Committees, and others for their thoughts.

Parishes are not independent congregations. They belong to the Diocese and are

under the care and jurisdiction of the Bishop. It is the Bishop alone who can

establish, alter or suppress a parish (Canon 515 §2). The proposal made to me to

amalgamate the parishes of the Southampton Pastoral Area is thus at this point

only a proposal. Any decision I eventually make will take into account not only

this consultation but, further on, the advice given by the Council of Priests.

If you who are reading this have a solid reason to put forward about this proposal,

please make it known in writing directly to your parish clergy who will collate

all the views as part of this process. (Please do not write directly to the Bishop).

The period of consultation will end on Monday 23rd February 2026.

Meanwhile, I assure you of my prayers for you, thanking you greatly for your love

for Christ and His Church.

In Corde Iesu,

+Philip

Bishop of Portsmouth

17th December 2025