Humble Beginnings
Matthew 17:4
Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will make three tents here—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
The parish of St Luke the Evangelist has a rare distinction within the Archdiocese of Liverpool; our beginnings were in a marquee!
Fr Hugh Fitzpatrick, who was the parish priest of Our Lady Immaculate & St Joseph, in Prescot, founded the parish when he bought a plot of land where the church now stands. On Sunday 17 October 1937, Fr Hugh and members of his congregation processed down from Our Lady Immaculate & St Joseph to the present site, placed a cross upon the marquee, and the mission continued under canvas.
The marquee church was blown down in a gale after only four weeks, so Fr Fitzpatrick purchased a wooden hut from an agricultural show in Wavertree, with money donated by a lady from St Bartholomew’s. The hut was delivered on a Tuesday and a group of parishioners had it erected in time for Mass the following weekend.
For almost three years the hut served over 600 parishioners as a church and social centre. After the opening of the new church the hut gained a fresh lease of life as a mixed Junior and Infant School.
The task of building a permanent church for the parish was taken up by Fr Timothy Donoghue. This church was completed at the outbreak of war, but further building operations had to be suspended.
The foundation stone for the present church was laid by Dr R Downey, Archbishop of Liverpool, on 16 September 1939 and was opened on Sunday 9 June 1940 by Canon Myler of St Helens. The architect was a Mr Joseph Williams and the building work was undertaken by F. & J. Noonan, Builders and Contractors, from Newton-le-Willows. The church was consecrated on the Feast of St Luke 18 October 2005 by Bishop.
St Luke’s School and Whiston Hospital
As mentioned above, the school started out in the hut which had served as the church until a more permanent building was built. When Fr William Gaughan arrived at St Luke’s in the summer of 1945, he started to plan the building of the Junior school, next door to the church. In order to raise funds, he ran weekly cinema screenings and dances.
This photograph dates back to 1949, when St Luke’s primary school had not yet been built. However, the vacant site is clearly visible. St Luke’s church is in the top right hand corner, with Shaw Lane as a main thoroughfare leading down to the present site of Whiston Hospital, which was a workhouse until the 1 February 1956 when it became Whiston Hospital.
Fr David Deegan was appointed parish priest in January 1958 and one of his first jobs was to set up visits to Whiston Hospital. Together with two fellow priests, they took it in turn to carry out hospital duties. This duty meant that a priest was on permanent call 24 hours a day over two weeks.
Today, the Links between St Luke’s church and St Luke’s school are still very strong, with the children participating in parish masses on a regular basis, with preparation for the Holy Sacraments in Years 3 and 4. There are currently 208 pupils on roll.
They are equally strong with the hospital, where Fr Michael Thompson is the lead Catholic chaplain and where he says mass at 11am on a Sunday.
Parish Priests
| Priest | Years Served |
| Fr Hugh Fitzpatrick | 1937 – 1938 |
| Fr Timothy O’Donaghue | 1938 – 1945 |
| Fr William Gaughan | 1945 – 1952 |
| Fr Harold Ainsworth | 1952 – 1957 |
| Fr David Deegan | 1957 – 1966 |
| Fr Edmond Whitaker | 1966 – 1969 |
| Fr John Patrick Taafe | 1969 – 1978 |
| Mgr James Rigby | 1978 – 1979 |
| Fr Bernard Higham | 1979 – 1991 |
| Fr Gerard Snape | 1991 |
| Fr Anthony Reynolds | 1991 – 1997 |
| Fr John Heneghan | 1997 – 2002 |
| Fr Malcolm Prince | 2002 – 2011 |
| Fr Peter Fox | 2011 – 2021 |
| Fr Michael Thompson | 2021 – Present |
Curates
| Curate | Years Served |
| Fr Gerard Reynolds | 1938 – 1941 |
| Fr Patrick Heffernan | 1938 – 1939 |
| Fr William O’Connell | 1938 – 1939 |
| Fr Thomas Kennedy | 1941 – 1943 |
| Fr Joseph A Flanagan | 1942 – 1943 |
| Fr John P O’Hara | 1944 – 1945 |
| Fr Joseph Dunne | 1944 – 1948 |
| Fr John Hutton | 1945 – 1957 |
| Fr Ambrose Hickey | 1947 – 1950 |
| Fr Patrick Kavanagh | 1947 – 1952 |
| Fr Jeremiah Bourke | 1950 – 1962 |
| Fr Thomas J Kennedy | 1952 – 1958 |
| Fr Bernard Wyche | 1959 – 1969 |
| Fr James Anderson | 1959 – 1960 |
| Fr Robert Billington | 1960 – 1969 |
| Fr Dermot Casey | 1963 – 1967 |
| Fr John Butchard | 1967 – 1970 |
| Fr Stephen Wilson | 1969 – 1976 |
| Fr Christopher O’Donovan | 1969 – 1970 |
| Fr Anthony Joyce | 1970 – 1978 |
| Fr Brian Crane | 1970 – 1972 |
| Fr Arthur Fitzgerald | 1975 – 1982 |
| Fr Nicholas Wilde | 1981 – 1988 |
| Fr Anthony Reynolds | 1981 – 1984 |
| Fr Michael Phillips S.M.A | 1983 |
| Fr Peter Stanley | 1983 – 1989 |
| Fr Michael McCormick | 1988 – 1991 |
| Fr Aidan Kelly | 1991 – 1993 |
| Fr Francis Ferns | 1991 – 1997 |
| Fr Dunstan Harrington | 1992 – 1997 |
| Fr Simon Cadwallader | 1997 – 2002 |
| Fr Casimir Strenkowski | 1998 – 1999 |
| Fr Colin Fealey | 2002 – 2009 |
| Fr Sean P Riley | 2008 – 2009 |