Foundation From 1867, the Catholic community in Lowestoft was served by a
Jesuit mission from
St Mary's Church, Great Yarmouth. The small Catholic population worshipped in rooms hired in three different buildings in Lowestoft until a permanent chapel was established in a net loft in 1881, when the diocesan parish was founded under the leadership of Apostolic Missionary, Fr. Geoffrey Brennan. However, the chapel became too small to accommodate the increasing
congregation, and under a new priest Fr. Alexander Scott, fundraising was started in order that a larger location could be bought.
Construction Construction of the church began in August 1900 when the foundation stone was laid. The architects were from the local area: George Baines and F. W. Richards. They designed the church in the
Arts and Crafts style. George Baines was born in 1852 and started work in Great Yarmouth. Although most of the churches he designed were for the
Baptists, he also designed churches for other denominations. F. W. Richards had his practice on Stanley Street, Lowestoft, and also designed the Primitive Methodist Chapel in
Oulton Broad, Suffolk. On 5 June 1902, the church was opened and it hosted its first
Mass. ==Parish==