St Mary, Woodbridge Road

St Mary's was founded by a French priest, Abbé Louis Pierre Simon, when he escaped from the threat of the French Revolution and settled in Ipswich to teach. He was offered lodgings by a Catholic woman, Miss Margaret Wood, who later became his friend. Due to the prevalence of the revolution, Catholics found it hard to profess their faith in public at the time. Père Simon was able to gather the local Catholics into one community through his faithful pastoral work. When the French wars were over, Père Simon decided to devote his life to working for the community in Ipswich. He bought a house in Albion Hill (now known as Woodbridge Road), which is presently used as a convent for nuns. Despite…