The present parish priest of the Church of Our Lady (2008) is Father Roger Kirinich. Father Kirinich, whose surname is Croatian,* arrived in the area in November 2004 from an inter-denominational parish in Hemel Hempstead. He has kindly written this message for the 'Sands End Revisited' website.

"Here at Our Lady's in Stephendale Road 300 parishoners come together for Mass every Sunday. This makes our beautiful church and hall a focal point of community life in Sands End. It warms the heart to see people from every part of the World, rich and poor, young and old, all mixing together, enjoying each other's company and building the sort of community that the World desperately needs. Here the mixing of cultures really does work and it gives great hope for the future." 

" I hope your readers have a chance to come and see the improvements that have been made to our church. The front exterior has been cleaned and we have added lighting, a stone bench, hand-painted noticeboard and smart flower tubs. Everyone says it has enhanced the area.

The front of the hall was removed and replaced with a design that matches the church windows, and the whole hall renovated upstairs and downstairs. The toilets are now so posh that people don't want to come out of them! We are proud of what we have done to make Our lady's so attractive and prayerful."

*Father Kirinich's grandparents emigrated from Zagreb to Chicago USA in the early part of the 20th Century. His father was born an American citizen , came to the UK as a G.I. during the War and met and married an English woman.

Left to Right: Celebrating first Holy Communion. Filipino parishoners during Christmas in 2007. Below are pages from the Church of Our Lady Welcome Booklet.