Fr. Anthony Bob Keila Saffa, C.S.Sp.

Parish Priest

I am Fr. Anthony Bob Keila Saffa, C.S.Sp. Born in the Small Village of Bumpe in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone on the 12th February, 1974; second child and first son of ten children.

My Journey to the Priesthood and Religious life started in 1995 with the Diocese by going to the pre-Major seminary which is diocesan. After eight (8) years in the Diocesan seminary (St. Paul’s Major Seminary, Sierra Leone) where I did my Philosophy and Theology, I left them in 2003 and joined the Holy Ghost Congregation and made my first religious profession in 2005.

After my first religious profession in Ghana, I then came to Spiritan International school of Theology, Attakwu, Enugu-Nigeria for my Second Theology.

After my deaconate ordination in 2009 in Ghana, on the 10th July, 2010, I was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in Kenema Eastern Province of Sierra Leone. After my Priestly ordination, I have worked in different capacities in Sierra Leone, Nigeria and now in the United Kingdom respectively.

Now I am the Currently the Parish Priest of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church Thornton Heath

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