Sacred Heart Exeter
Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, a replica of a Byzantine icon of the Cretan school that has been in Rome since the 15th century. Pope Pius IX promulgated this title of the Blessed Virgin Mary (“Nostra Mater de Perpetuo Succursu”) in 5th of May 1866. The original can be found in the Church of Saint Alphonsus of Liguori in Rome.
The confessionals are where the Sacrament of Reconciliation takes place. The middle door section is for the priest to sit in, with separate compartments for penitents on each side. Small hatches on either side of the priest’s compartment allow him to hear confessions from alternate sides in quick succession.
The old baptistery, containing an undated font enclosed by wrought iron gates and rails with the words JANUA COELI (The Gates of Heaven). They were a present by Algernon Bowring in memory of his father Edgar (translator, author, civil servant and MP for Exeter, youngest son of the Governor of Hong Kong).
War memorial tablet, commemorating those who died in the First World War. It reads: “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam” (For the Greater Glory of God) “This tables is erected to the memory of all those of this parish who died for their country in the war 1914-1918 and for the repose of whose souls a Mass is offered in this church on or about the 11th day of November of every year in perpetuity. Requiescant in Pace” (Rest in Peace).
Holy water stoop. The faithful bless themselves with this water on entering and leaving the church, but they can also take some from the holy water tank besides the baptistery to carry the blessing to their homes. It is also used in rituals and sacramentals to invoke God’s grace and protection. Holy water serves as a tangible reminder of faith, renewal, and the presence of God in daily life and worship.
The pulpit was the focal point for preaching throughout the greater part of the last century, although it has fallen into disuse for this purpose since the liturgical reforms that followed the Second Vatican Council. The reforms have sought to emphasise the essential unity within the Mass of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, by having the proclamation of the Word and preaching both take place from the ambo, in the sanctuary, beside the altar.
The front altar rails have enamel painted depictions of Christ’s suffering and death, with an inscription describing the holy Eucharist.
The golden lettering on the altar rails reads “My Flesh Is Meat Indeed” in the left, and “My Blood Is Drink Indeed” at the right, referencing the True Body and Blood of Christ that is the center of the Mass and of the life of every Catholic.
The Paschal Candle is a significant symbol in the Catholic Church, representing the light of Christ rising in glory, dispelling the darkness of sin and death. It is prominently featured during the Easter Vigil, the most important liturgy of the Church year, which takes place on Holy Saturday night.
At the beginning of the vigil, the new Paschal Candle is blessed and lit from a sacred fire, symbolizing Christ as the Light of the World. The priest inscribes the candle with a cross, the current year, and the Greek letters Alpha and Omega, signifying that Christ is the beginning and the end of all things. Five grains of incense are inserted into the candle in the form of a cross, representing the wounds of Christ.
The candle is then carried into a dark church, and its flame is gradually shared among the congregation, each of whom has their own small candle, spreading Christ’s light to the faithful. The Exsultet, or Easter Proclamation, is chanted, proclaiming the triumph of light over darkness.
The Paschal Candle remains lit at all Masses throughout the Easter season and is also used at baptisms and funerals, symbolizing new life in Christ and the hope of resurrection for the faithful.
Stone statue of St Patrick, patron Saint of Ireland.
Saint Patrick, born in Roman Britain around 385AD, is the patron saint of Ireland. At the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and enslaved, working as a shepherd for six years. During this time, he developed a deep Christian faith. Following a vision, he escaped and returned home, but soon felt called to return to Ireland as a missionary.
After becoming a bishop, Patrick arrived back in Ireland around 432. He travelled widely, converting the Irish people to Christianity, establishing churches, and ordaining priests. He is said to have used the image of the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity, a symbol associated with him to this day.
Though many legends surround him—like his driving of the snakes out of Ireland—his true legacy lies in spreading Christianity and shaping Irish religious identity. Patrick died around 461, and his feast day, March 17, is celebrated worldwide in his honour.
Small statue to St Thomas More. “Thomas More (1478 – 1535) was a distinguished lawyer, prolific writer, intimate of king and courtiers, who rose to be Chancelor of England. He succeeded Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in that post in 1529 when Wolsey failed to obtain the Pope’s agreement to Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon. More published works against the heretical writings of Tyndale and the declarations of Martin Luther. He supported and advised Henry VIII, whom Pope Leo X had named as Defender of the Faith in 1521”
He was sentenced to death along with John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, for his refusal to recognise the king as head of the Church of England. They were beheaded by the King’s command on Tower Hill in 1535. They both were proclaimed saints by the Pope in 1935, after many petition from English Catholics, including parishioners of our church.
Statue of Christ the King. Brought in 1932 by Fr T. Barney from Clery’s showrooms at a Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. Initially it was placed in front of the pillar opposite the pulpit. It was carried through Exeter streets during parish processions. Christ the King typically depicts Jesus wearing a crown and royal robes, often holding a globe or sceptre. It symbolizes His sovereignty over the world, divine authority, and kingship, reminding believers of Christ’s reign over all creation and His role as the ultimate ruler and judge.
Fr Thomas Barney arrived in Exeter from Newton Abbot in 1918. He introduced several innovations into the services at Sacred Heart Church, especially the street processions. He was largely responsible for initiating the construction of the new church of St Thomas of Canterbury. He remained at Sacred Heart Church for 28 years and was buried in 1947 in the churchyard of St Thomas Catholic Church on Dunsford Hill (by a special dispensation).
Our organ was built by the local John Hele & Co, whose manager (Mr Thompson), a parishioner, designed the organ case. The mechanism is unusual, with a rare form of tilting tablets for the stops, and with outside motors and half inch gas tubing in place of smaller wind trunks (giving a sound based upon the opening and closing of leather bellows). It has harsh reeds similar to French organs of the XVII and XVIII century. The half inch gas piping was no longer available when repairs were carried out in 1985, but it was replaced with hose-piping of a similar diameter, made of metal-reinforced plastic, that will never wear out.
The organ was blessed by Bishop Vaughan on the Feast of the Sacred Heart in 1893, and used for the first time at a Pontifical High Mass that day. Back then the loft of the organ was completely enclosed in a wooden fronting, which was removed in the 70s, leaving the loft in its current form. By 1984 the organ was in need of extensive restoration. After the repairs of the organ-builders George Osmond and Co, from Taunton, the organ was blessed again by Rev Fr Keith Collins at sung Mass on Sunday 4th of August 1985.
The small transomed window in the stairway up to the organ loft was recovered from the rubble of the former Bear Inn, dating from 1495.
The tablet in the porch commemorates the first visit of a Papal Legate to Devon. It reads: “H. E. Francis, Cardinal Bourne, Archbishop of Westminster, was solemnly welcomed in this Church as the first Papal Legate to visit Devon on his way to preside over the consecration of St. Mary’s Abbey, Buckfast 25th August, 1932.”