ROMSEY’S Catholics are hoping their prayers for a new place of worship are answered soon after a project to extend St Joseph’s Church in the town was axed.

Rising costs have led to Portsmouth Diocesan Trustees pulling the plug on expanding the church which was closed several years ago because the building at the old La Sagesse Convent site at Abbey Water owned by the Daughters of Wisdom was declared unsafe.

Church officials are now desperately trying to find an alternative site to build a brand new place of worship for the growing congregation which currently uses the Oratory opposite the Abbey United Reformed Church.

Acknowledging that the news will come as a “heavy blow” to many in Romsey, the Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Rev Philip Egan, said the proposed extension at St Joseph’s was likely to cost more than £4million.

“The trustees believe that this cost is simply too high,” said Bishop Philip. He added: “Over the last 12 years we have built six churches across the diocese and this would have been, by some way, the most expensive, not only in total but relative to the facilities being gained and the accommodation provided.”

Bishop Philip says he and the trustees have a responsibility as a registered charity and under Canon Law, to spend funds “diligently” and against such a test this cannot be justified on the plans to expand St Joseph’s.

Explaining why it has taken so long to make the decision not to go ahead with the build-on, Bishop Philip said it was “impossible to obtain an accurate estimate of the cost of the proposals” until detailed designs were completed along with and agreements with the Daughters of Wisdom.

Borough planners approved the scheme – which included knocking down the western boundary wall of St Joseph’s Church and building further out – on land owned by the Daughters of Wisdom in 2013.

Had the scheme proceeded new toilets and a meeting/seminar room would be have been created and other sections of the church reconfigured. The bed from the Miracle Room at the adjoining Abbey House would also have been housed at the church.

The bed was the site of a miraculous cure in April, 1927. Sister Gerard of Calvary was on her deathbed, suffering from bacterial consumption of both lungs, when she saw a vision of the Blessed St Louis-Marie de Montfort and made a sudden recovery.

Sister Jean Quinn, provisional leader of the Daughters of Wisdom, said the organisation was “sad” to learn from Bishop Philip that the proposed extension would not be going ahead.

“The Daughters of Wisdom share the disappointment of the people of the parish that their desire to have updated the Church where they worshipped together for years hasproved to be too costly for the Diocese of Portsmouth to update this Church to serve the needs of the modern Catholic and other faith communities in Romsey,” said Sister Quinn, pointing out that Daughters of Wisdom had welcomed to people of the parish to St Joseph’s for many years.


Sister Quinn said: “Five years ago the Sisters offered as a gift to the Parish, their Church and the land on which it could be extended, and accepted the impact this would have on their own property, and invested considerable resources in the planning and design stage for the new Church.  Regrettably, it has been decided to try to identify an alternative site where a new Church and associated facilities can be accommodated.  The Daughters of Wisdom will now consider their own plans on how best to use St Joseph’s Church and wish the Diocese well in their search for an alternative site.”


Officials at the Portsmouth Diocese are now searching for an alternative site for a new church.


Bishop Philip said: “In making their decision the trustees were absolutely determined that this should not be the end of the proposal for a new church to properly accommodate the Catholic community in Romsey and to provide facilities to be the service of the New Evangelisation in the town. It is important that any such church should be a place of the utmost dignity for the worship of God, large enough to accommodate the existing community and to allow for growth. Any new church site would need room for a house for the priest.”