St Joseph’s Church in Tangier Road, Baffins, celebrated its reopening on Saturday (January 11) with a procession from the church to Baffins Pond at 11am returning to the church for Benediction and then Mass.
The church has been closed since December 20 2022 when part of the plaster fell from its ceiling above the choir loft. The repair work was completed before the festive period which allowed the church to host Christmas and Boxing Day services. This was then followed by the reopening celebration.
The church was built at the same time as Copnor Bridge and in 1908 the first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day, with the first full congregation on August 28 1914.
The church and Presbytery site was originally part of Baffins Farm with 2 and 4 Tangier Road purchased in 1914 to make way for what is now the church hall. It is now part of the Parish of Corpus Christi with St Joseph’s and shares a Priest between both churches., with there being 16 Priests at St Joseph’s and many assistant Priests over the years.
In 2020, a community of Friars moved into the Presbytery as there is no longer a resident Priest at St Joseph’s. Previous “tenants” have been the Sisters of the Divine Mercy and the Diocesan Archives.
1. The re-opening of St. Joseph's Church
The procession from the church to Baffins Pond | Sam Stephenson

2. The re-opening of St Joseph's Church
A procession from the church to Baffins Pond | Sam Stephenson

3. The re-opening of St Joseph's Church
A procession from the church to Baffins Pond | Sam Stephenson

4. The re-opening of St Joseph's Church
A procession from the church to Baffins Pond | Sam Stephenson