About Us
There are four catholic parishes in Jarrow. St Bede's, which is the mother
church of the parishes, consecrated in 1861 and which nowadays serves the town
centre and its northern environs as far as Hebburn. St. Matthew's, founded in
1935, which serves the south of the town. St. Mary's, opened in 1952, which
serves the eastern flank of the town where it borders on Tyne Dock and South
Shields. St. Joseph's, which began in 1962, which serves the west of the town.
In an initiative begun in the autumn of 2002, the parishes formally clustered
together, so that by working closely, the priests and parish sister support
each other in a coordinated ministry serving the whole town, while the
parishioners of the four churches, each still proudly individual parishes,
strengthen their common bonds as a family of parishes. We work together in
such a way, with common policies and approaches and dove-tailed Mass times,
that as the availability of priests declines, the parishes are still able to
thrive.