Mosaic of St Stephen

The Mosaic of St Stephen which overlooks the Sanctuary of Westminster Cathedral in London was the idea of Cathedral server Stephen Hickman. In 2002 he was aware of the upcoming centenary of the Guild in 2005 and thought this would be a good way to celebrate and a lasting legacy to the Guild.

After initial informal discussions with Mgr. Mark Langham (Cathedral Administrator) and Anthony Ogunseitan (Cathedral server and Central Council member), in March 2002 he was invited to approach the Central Council with the idea to fill one of the spare wall panels in the cathedral by the Creedence Table where the servers sit, with a mosaic of St Stephen.

At the same time, the Cathedral’s Art and Architecture Committee were considering a mosaic of St Laurence to be erected in the panel on the opposite side of the Sanctuary. Both Laurance and Stephen are Deacons and so were a good match, it was agreed to move forward with the project.

At that time, the cost for the mosaic was estimated to be around £15,000 and it was hoped that the cost could be met through fundraising from parishes all around the country. This was overseen by Nicholas Tilbury (Central Council member) through a “Build a Brick” type campaign. The Cathedral Art and Architecture Committee looked after the design and fabrication of the mosaic but kept the Central Council informed of its progress.

The design of the St Stephen and St Laurence mosaics, together with those of ​​St John Vianney (Curé d'Ars), Saint Theresa and many others in the cathedral are by artist Christopher Hobbs and were fabricated and installed by Tessa Hunkin.

Soon after completion both the mosaics was blessed by Vincent Cardinal Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and Superior General of the Guild on Friday 15th November 2013. Photos from the installation and blessing can be found on our Flickr site.

The final cost was around £9,000 which was lower than originally estimated and through Nick’s efforts many parishes and individuals had contributed. A total of £18,000 was fundraised and the excess funds were donated to the Philippines Disaster Relief fund in response to Typhoon Haiyan.

You can purchase your own copy of the Mosaic for your sacristy in our online Store.

Original call for help

In Westminster Cathedral, London there is a mosaic frame 72cm x 62cm on the left hand side as you look at the sanctuary. This frame has been reserved for a mosaic of St. Stephen, Deacon and Protomartyr. However, the Guild needs your donations to pay for the artwork and instalment to forever pay tribute to the altar servers of Great Britain, and to inspire even more people to follow St. Stephen’s example and serve God at the altar. In total we need £30,000.

We should like to ask each affiliated parish, and anyone who can, to contribute to the costs. The individual’s, and the parish’s name will appear in the list of benefactors below.

Also, if you would like to fundraise for us you can get a donations card from Nicholas Tilbury.

Contributors

The following individuals and parishes contributed to the cost of the Mosaic raising a total of £18,279.61, to whom the Guild is eternally grateful.

Parish Diocese
Westminster CathedralWestminster
Our Lady of Fatima, White CityWestminster
Our Lady, WellingboroughNorthampton
Our Lady, Help of Christians, LutonNorthampton
St. Joseph, LeytonBrentwood
Our Lady Immaculate & St. Andrew, HitchenWestminster
St. Vincent de Paul, BecontreeBrentwood
Our Lady of Lourdes, New SouthgateWestminster
St. Thomas of Canterbury, Harrow on the HillWestminster
Our Lady of the Portal & St. Piran, TruroPlymouth
St. Peter & St. Thomas More, Crownhill & SouthwayPlymouth
Our Lady of Fatima, Upper Parkstone (Poole)Plymouth
St. Lawrence, Dingwall (Ross-Shire)Aberdeen
St. Mary, MoorfieldsWestminster
St. Columba, CheshamNorthampton
Our Lady & St. Michael, LongridgeLancaster
St. Ninian, InvernessAberdeen
St. Mary, BeautyAberdeen
St. Anselm, Tooting BecSouthwark
St. Brigid, WarringtonLiverpool
St. Stephen, WarringtonLiverpool
St. Paul the Apostle, TintagelPlymouth
Mother of Good Counsel, Clare PrioryEast Anglia
St. Jude, ClaptonWestminster
St. Philip the Apostle, FinchleyWestminster
St. Ignatius, Stamford HillWestminster
St. Peter in Chains, Stroud GreenWestminster
St. Cuthbert, New SeahamHexham & Newcastle
Our Lady & St. Catherine of Siena, BowWestminster
Cathedral of Our Lady & St. ThomasNorthampton
Holy Apostles, PimlicoWestminster
Holy Family, Welwyn Garden CityWestminster

  • Bishop Patrick Lynch

  • Canon Daniel Cronin

  • Canon Tom Egan

  • Canon Patrick Brown

  • Father Anthony Hastie

  • Father Keith Stoakes

  • Father John Hever

  • Father Slavomir Witton

  • Lord Petre

  • Mr & Mrs Baines

  • Mr & Mrs Banks

  • Mr Roger Burton

  • Charles Camenzulli

  • Campion School

  • Teddy Cassar

  • Mr Francis Clarke

  • Sophie Constable & Family

  • James Albert Crowe KHS

  • Mr T.A & Mrs P.M Fraser

  • Mr Timothy Gelaz

  • Mr & Mrs Giles

  • Hachem Family

  • Mrs I. Hanratty

  • Mr & Mrs Hitchen

  • Mr & Mrs W.P. Innes

  • Mr Peter Iveson

  • Mr & Mrs Kerrigan

  • Danny Mcelligott

  • John O’Brien (RIP)

  • Mr & Mrs Pye

  • Mr & Mrs N F E Tilbury

  • Mrs Jan Wilson

  • Mr & Mrs Wright

  • Mr & Mrs J. Wilkinson

  • The Guild of St. Stephen - Australia

  • The Guild of St. Stephen - Nottingham