Two Jersey Catholic churches to close as parish faces rising costs and falling income

Two of Jersey’s seven Catholic churches are set to close this summer as the island’s parish looks to reduce spending on repairs, maintenance and running costs.

St Mary and St Peter Church in St Helier and St Patrick’s Church in St Clement will hold their final Sunday Mass services on 12 July before closing.

The decision was approved by the Bishop of Portsmouth following a consultation with parishioners in November 2025.

The Diocese of Portsmouth said the closures were driven by financial pressures, with a significant proportion of the parish budget being spent on maintaining and operating church buildings.

In 2024-25, 17% of the parish budget went towards building maintenance and a further 11% covered running costs. At the same time, income fell by almost 6%, while donations collected through weekly offertory giving dropped by 37% over the past five years.

A diocesan spokesperson said all seven Catholic churches in Jersey remained “cherished” parts of island life and that closing any church was a difficult decision.

“The potential closure of a church is not taken lightly and should be approached with prayer, discernment and respect for the impact it may have on those with whom we form our one island Catholic parish,” the spokesperson said.

The diocese said closing the two churches would allow resources to be focused on the remaining five churches and help support the future work of the parish.

It said savings would come from reducing the costs of keeping the buildings open, as well as from any future income generated through the sale of the properties.

The diocese also highlighted that the island’s Catholic communities had become more connected since three separate parishes merged in 2009, with more people attending shared services and major celebrations such as Christmas and Easter.

Impact on services

St Mary and St Peter Church is located less than a mile from St Thomas’ Church in St Helier, which is the island’s largest Catholic church and where around three quarters of regular Mass attendees worship.

Following the closures, the Polish Sunday morning Mass currently held at St Mary and St Peter will move to Our Lady’s Church in St Martin.

A Sunday evening English-language Mass will also end, after parish leaders decided the remaining schedule of six Sunday English Masses across Jersey was sufficient.

The decision was agreed by the parish clergy, pastoral council and finance committee, who said the changes would help ensure resources were used effectively across the island’s Catholic community.