A YEAR of centenary cerebrations for the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Haslemere ended with a mass-ive party.

The special mass was led by the Rt. Rev Richard Moth, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton. He was joined on the altar by past incumbents including Fathers Tony Lovegrove, Chris Beynon, Chris Bergin and Irek Stadler, as well the current priests Fathers Jonathan How and Rajesh Minz. Also in attendance was mayor Jerome Davidson and his wife. 

Evelyn Dudley Coats was remembered for being instrumental in the church’s creation, after buying the land and paying for the structure to be built in 1923. After the mass the congregation headed into the church hall for a party. 

There was a surprise unveiling of a wall hanging by members of Haslemere’s Quilting group. Quilter Aileen Assender wanted the group to make something special for the centenary.