Fr. Emmanuel Ahua C.S.Sp. 

Parish Priest

Rev Tony Flavin

Deacon

I was born in Battersea in 1958. The second youngest of 12, I attended Battersea Park parish (sometimes Stockwell) and went to St Mary’s primary school. In 1970 I went to Bishop Thomas Grant school leaving in 1975 with one much prized O’level. I started work in New Covent Garden Flower Market soon after and was there for 35 years. In 1982 I married Wendy, moving first to Streatham and then in 1986 to Thornton Heath. Wendy and I have two daughters who both attended St James The Great and St Philomena’s. Wendy works as a Nursery Nurse at St Chad’s school in South Norwood. Having started my studies in 2000, I was ordained to the diaconate in June 2003.

In November 2010 I started working in school chaplaincy at St Joseph’s College and The John Fisher school where my time was divided equally between the two, in October 2016 I moved to St Mary’s Catholic High School in our neighbouring parish of West Croydon

Rev Errol Quagraine

Deacon

I am the first boy in a large family of 10 (5 girls and 5 boys). I am married to Angela with three children. On leaving Pope John Secondary Seminary School (Ghana), I went on to study Social Policy and Criminology. I also studied Catering at South East London College (now Lewisham College) and a chef by profession.

After discernment in the parish, I was admitted on the Permanent Diaconate Formation Programme (a four year process), and ordained by Bishop Paul Hendricks on 19th June 2010 and now actively involved the Parish’s ministry

Sr Jennie Eldridge

Parish Sister

I was born and brought up in Portsmouth on the south coast of England. My father was English. He died three years ago. My mother a Scots American from Chicago is still alive and living in Bexhill-on-Sea and I go down to visit her each week. I left home at 18 to go to Coloma College of Education. I taught for three years and then left teaching to work for a travel company. I entered the Daughters of Mary and Joseph in 1975. Since making my first profession I have worked in Addiscombe parish, St. Thomas More’s Middlesborough and 14 years in Our Lady and St.Philip Neri, and the Church of the Resurrection parishes in Sydenham (which included being on the chaplaincy team at St. Christopher’s Hospice).

In 1994-1995 I lived in Dublin and participated in a “Leadership and Formation.” course. I returned to England and was parish sister for 9 years in St. John the Evangelist Cathedral in Portsmouth. I had a brief spell helping to run “Emmaus Retreat Centre” at West Wickham and then became parish sister in St. Gertrudes, South Croydon from there I was moved to St. Andrew’s Thornton Heath on 1st January 2009