Crucifixes

St. Gregory’s has three crucifixes within the body of the church, and each one has an interesting history. The main crucifix over the altar is particularly fine and came from Italy, and it bears the distinctive blue loincloth. The corpus was acquired with the help of Sir Giles Isham of Lamport Hall, a friend of Father Phillips, and was mounted on a modern wooden cross. Later, Father Phillips added a nimbus, which sits above the head of Christ. On the south wall, above the Twelfth Station of the Cross, is a crucifix that once hung in the beautiful chapel of Notre Dame Convent and School, which stood until 1979 in Abington Street. Rescued from the Chapel it was refurbished by the late Tony Haynes, organist and choirmaster, and presented to the church by Nora Boullemier on behalf of the Notre Dame Association. A third crucifix hangs on the wall over the choir loft and came from the old Catholic church in Duston. This was carved by the late Tim Perkins and presented originally to St. Mary’s Middle School. On the closure of the school it came to St. Gregory’s. The silver processional crucifix was presented by Father John Harris. There is also an interesting crucifix “behind the scenes”. St. Gregory’s, from its earliest days, has served the Catholics at St. Andrew’s Hospital and has in its care a crucifix for use there which was given by the Honourable Violet Gibson. The late Violet was for many years a patient at St. Andrew’s and in her younger days won national fame when she shot Mussolini.