Our family of parishes are part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, comprising of Northumberland, Tyne & Wear and County Durham covering the vast area from Berwick and Lindisfarne to the north down to Darlington and Middlesborough in the south. Although the modern Diocese was revived in 1850, there is a rich Catholic tradition in the North East of England dating back to the Middle Ages when the Patron of one of our churches is credited with restoring Christianity to Northumberland.
In more recent times all three of our parishes were established in the thriving town of Wallsend to meet the needs of a growing population, in 1865 the land was purchased in Willington Quay for what became the first parish of St Aidan followed by St Columba’s in Wallsend in 1875. While in 1958, St Bernadette’s Church was opened to serve the expanding High Farm area in the north of Wallsend. Since then they have continued to be active and vibrant parishes which are today still welcoming the local Catholic community and are committed to serving our mission by bringing others to the love of God through our actions and words.
Please follow the links below to find out more about our story and where we come from.