Church of the Catholic Parish of Jersey

Catholic Community of Jersey

Sacred Heart Church

The Sacred Heart Church was designed by Julien Barbier of Paris, the foundation stone having been laid by Bishop Cotter in 1936.

Although building work began in 1937, the outbreak of war meant that completion was delayed, and it was not until 8 June, 1947, that it was finally opened and blessed by Bishop John Henry King.

Its one very distinguishing external feature is its granite anchor. When you leave the church, cross the road and look up at the front of the building, and half way between the main door and the belfry you will see integrated into the stonework a ship's anchor, which is set into the masonry in granite of a slightly different hue. This feature did not appear on the architect’s plans or drawings.

The anchor was put there by Joe Le Guyadier, a Brittany born French Catholic, who, in his early twenties, came to Jersey where he married and raised a family. When work on the building of the Sacred Heart Church began prior to the beginning of the Second World War, Joe Le Guyadier was employed as one of the stonemasons on the project.

The Victory

While working on the church, perched on scaffolding on 18 December 1939, Joe heard the news of a major British Naval victory off Montevideo in South America in which the German Navy had been forced to scuttle Hitler's pocket battleship Graf Spee, and he decided to do something to celebrate the victory. It was with this in mind that he incorporated the anchor into the stonework on the front of the church, but kept it a secret, which was revealed  only after his death in 1956, when his family decided to tell this amazing story.

You may also be interested to know that some years after he carved the anchor, Joe Le Guyadier masoned into the flagstones of the Royal Square in St Helier, the famous Churchillian 'V-sign 1945' while working under the noses of the occupying forces. Of course, if he had been discovered, it would have meant severe punishment for him. Look for this example of his craftsmanship when next you pass through the square.

The upper floor of the Sacred Heart Presbytery next to the church provides a presbytery home for the priest responsible for the west of Jersey pastoral and administrative district, and the ground floor contains a meeting room and the church office.

Mass Times

Find Us

Sacred Heart Church can be found at La Neuve Route, St Brelade, Jersey, JE3 8BS. Tel: (01534) 863149

Office Manager: Mrs Deanna Greene

Email: west@catholicchurch.org.je

Map: Click here to see us on the map.