Parish Priests

The table below lists all the Parish Priests alongside the year in which they arrived in Crayford.  The exception is Fr. Cronin who was promoted from Assistant Priest to Parish Priest in 1977 when Fr. Hill became too frail.  Where more than one priest is shown arriving in the same year, the ones in itallics were temporary appointments to cover the parish after an unexpected departure.

1840 Fr. Augustus Applegarth
1854 Fr. Daniel Donovan
1858 Fr. Joseph Alberry
1878 Fr. Joseph Boase
1885 Fr. Joseph Moore
1888 Fr. William Hogan
1912 Fr. Edmund Carroll
1926 Fr. Peter Hughes
1927 Fr. Augustus Ferderer
Fr. James Malone
1936 Fr. Peter King
1943 Fr. Brendan Byrne
1955 Fr. Vivian St. Clare Hill
1977 Fr. Jeremiah Cronin
1980 Mgr. James McGettrick
1988 Fr. James Hurley
1989 Fr. George Webster
Fr. Gregory Kubowitz
Fr. Christopher Pritchard
1997 Fr. Peter Madden
2004 Fr. John Ryan MBE
2013 Fr. Brendan Carmody SJ
2015 Fr. Ignatius Edet
2018 Fr. David Gummett

Assistant Priests

Between 1933 and 1977 St Mary’s benefited from one or more Assistant Priests. Their names are listed in this table.

1933-35 Fr. John Brady
1935-38 Fr. Martin Keane
1936-40 Fr. James Duffy
1936-38 Fr. Augustus Schultz
1938-48 Fr. Laurence O’Grady
1940-51 Fr. Patrick Cox
1941-42 Fr. Arthur Iggleton
1948-53 Fr. Jeremiah Hyde
1951-55 Fr. Michael Murphy
1953-54 Fr. John Morris
1954-61 Fr. Ambrose McLaughlin
1961-64 Fr. David Scott
1964-77 Fr. Jeremiah Cronin

Since 1977, holidays and other absences have often been covered by the Franciscan Brothers from Our Lady of the Angels in Erith.  Fr. Cronin sometimes invited his brother, James, for odd days.  Fr. Pritchard and Fr. Madden both benefited from the services of Fr. Tony Lawson until he died in early 2003.  For his summer holidays in 2003 and 2004, Fr. Madden hired Fr. Stanley Lubungo.

Fr Ryan has invited a number of priests to assist him since 2004. Most notably is Fr Philip Tandoh from Ghana who stayed for a while in 2005 and returned in 2010. His initial year was extended for a further 12 months and he became an increasingly active participant in the parish as Fr Ryan’s health suffered a number of setbacks.

In September 2012 the parish once more turned to the Friary at Erith for assistance. Br Michael Pooley began what turned into a year as acting parish priest before Fr Brendan Carmody took over in October 2013.