St Jude's Roman Catholic Church

St Jude’s is a Roman Catholic church in Wigan’s Worsley Mesnes district. Built in 1965, it stands at the corner of St Paul’s Avenue and Poolstock Lane on land once occupied by council housing. The building is listed Grade II and designed in the Brutalist style, using reinforced concrete and brick. Its fan-shaped plan resembles an isosceles triangle with rounded corners. A circular baptistry marks the entrance porch, topped by four concrete fins that carry a cross. The church belongs to the Archdiocese of Liverpool’s Wigan pastoral area. The church owes its existence to Father Richard Tobin, who opened a wooden chapel on the site in 1959. In 1962 he proposed a permanent church dedicated to St Jude, and Archbishop George Andrew Beck approved the idea. Architects L A G Prichard & Sons designed the structure, but mining subsidence forced reinforced foundations and pushed costs over £100,000. Archbishop Beck laid the foundation stone in December 1964, and the church opened in July 1965. The interior features a large crucifixion mosaic by Hans Unger and Stations of the Cross mosaics by John Madden and Sons. Inside, the nave walls display dalle de verre stained glass by Robin Riley, made in France and fitted by J O’Neill and Sons. The abstract patterns swirl in blue, red, yellow and green. The church absorbed St Joseph’s parish in 1995 and later united with St Aidan’s in 2017. Two Sunday masses continue, one at St Aidan’s at 9 am and another at St Jude’s at 10.30 am. Nearby are St Jude’s Catholic Primary School and Wigan St Judes Rugby League club, while the parish priests have included Fr Tobin, Fr Cronin, Fr Delaney, Canon McNally and Fr Causey.