‘We will take this fight to the Vatican’ vow as closure of Burton Latimer, Rothwell and Desborough churches announced
Members of Catholic churches in Burton Latimer, Rothwell and Desborough have been told their places of worship will be closed, but they have vowed to save them.
Three of the four Kettering area churches – St Bernadette’s in Rothwell, Holy Trinity in Desborough and St Nicholas Owen in Burton Latimer, will cease holding masses with only St Edward’s Church in Kettering set to survive.
As well as worshippers asking Kettering MP Rosie Wrighting to help their cause, they have promised to take their fight to Rome if necessary.
Peter Anderson, who attends both St Edward’s in Kettering and St Bernadette’s in Rothwell on alternate Sundays, said: “Our highly-respected priest is run ragged covering the parish and it can only get worse when we lose his assistant.
“We are working all-out to persuade the Home Office to allow more overseas priests to come to our diocese to share the load and we are grateful for Rosie Wrighting’s help.
“At present, we are allowed a paltry five visas for foreign priests to work across the entire diocese of Northants, Bucks, Beds and Slough. We have only 53 priests serving 69 parishes and it’s a huge dilemma deciding who gets extra help.
“In challenging these closures we are seeking clarity, not confrontation. But make no mistake. We will take this fight to the Vatican if we have to and have a range of options to challenge these closures which will become clear in due course.”
The closure plans were revealed at Sunday masses on March 1, following consultation with the 1,000 regular worshippers at the four churches – the announcement came from Rt Revd David Oakley, Bishop of Northampton.
A committee of parishioners will determine the fate of the closed churches, which could include selling them off.
Parishioners’ concerns include the loss of beloved places of worship which have served their families for years, overcrowding at the remaining St Edward’s Church, which is already regularly packed, and a drip feed of the faithful to Catholic churches in Market Harborough.
The closures are being blamed on the acute national shortage of priests to take church services.
Kettering parish priest Canon Gregory Marchwinski and one overseas priest, whose visa expires in the summer, must also cover for the two Catholic primary schools in Kettering and minister to the sick and dying at Kettering General Hospital and in respite care.
James Squire of Rothwell said: “The issue is not simply about buildings, but about belonging, spiritual continuity and pastoral care within our own communities. These churches are not just anonymous properties. They are places where our children were baptised, where our parents were married, where we find prayer, friendship and support.
“We are not trying to fight anyone. We are standing up to what matters to us – community, faith and the ability to practise that faith where we live.”
Catholic worshippers across North Northants come under the St Luke’s Pastoral Area and includes churches in Corby, Desborough, Oundle, Rothwell, Kettering, Thrapston, Raunds, Wellingborough and Rushden.
Across the area, mass attendances have dropped from 4,499 in 1993, down to 3,193 in 2025. In the same period, the number of priests has gone from 13, to eight.
The streamlining process began last March when the Bishop of Northampton invited the parish to ‘reflect on its future’ and how they saw the church and its mission over the next decade. ‘Listening groups’ then gave feedback to their congregations.
A spokesman for the Diocese of Northampton said: “The strong recommendation to emerge from the process is that the parish becomes one community, one body, one church at St Edward’s.
“This will integrate the communities with a strong parish identity, enabling a focus on families and faith formation, and provide a sustainable workload for one priest into the future. These recommendations have been shared with Bishop David for his approval.
“A transition team will be coming together for the next few months to assist this process, particularly focussing on Mass times, addressing possible over-crowding, and helping the outlying communities to feel at home at St Edward’s.
“We will be looking at ways to use the buildings in other ways - i.e. mission-led community centres in those parishes.”
For more information go to https://northamptondiocese.org/pd-northnorthants/