SAINT ANSELM’S CHURCH, Southall is a wonderfully vibrant, warm and welcoming community, bursting and teeming with life in the highest ethnic minority area in the country (census 2001). In 2001, a contract between the Archdiocese of Westminster and the British Jesuit Province placed the parish under the care of the Society of Jesus ( Facebook Jesuits in Britain; Twitter @JesuitsBritain; Thinking Faith - The Online Journal of the British Jesuits).
If multi-cultural churches may be said to be a “taste of heaven” on earth St Anselm’s is a very good living example. The parish mirrors the ethnic diversity of the wider population: 89% belong to groups other than white British; 76% belong to Asian ethnic groups with 55% being Indian. To see a short video clip, please click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gcu5IX2zB0 (St Anselm July 2013).
At the heart of our ministry is a constant challenge to bring people together from many different strands and backgrounds, and encourage a spirit of openness and welcome. At the same time there is a very good partnership between the parish and St. Anselm’s Primary School which enables the children to thrive in a close-knit caring community. The parish priest is a frequent visitor to the school, leading assemblies and celebrating the feasts and seasons of the Church’s year.