Project Description

St John the Evangelist Church, Bath
Neiljforsyth, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Who We Are

We are a Catholic Community in the heart of the City of Bath that seeks to welcome everyone across our threshold.

Visit St. John’s to encounter something of the beauty of God, to hear his Word proclaimed, his life celebrated
so as to be sent out to be heralds of the Good News of the Gospel in the lives we lead.





Fr Christopher Whitehead VF – Parish Priest | [email protected]

Fr Christopher Whitehead was born in Gloucester and was ordained in 1994. He was appointed to St John by Bishop Declan Lang and took up his appointment in September 2019. He was appointed a member of the Cathedral Chapter in February 2020.

He is Diocesan Director of the formation program of the permanent Diaconate and uses St Johns as a base for the formation of our students. Fr Christopher has also been asked by the Bishop to have a pastoral care for the students of our Universities. He is the Dean of the Bath Deanery.



Mrs Janet Flynn – Parish Administrator | [email protected] | 01225 464471

Janet Flynn has been with St Johns since 2018 and supports Fr Christopher and the community administratively. She may well be the first voice at the end of the phone and can help direct your enquiry.





Our Retired Clergy

The Diocese has transformed the former school building attached to St John’s into apartments for our retired priests. They are an important part of both our parishes outreach and a wonderful gift to our community.

Fr Michael English
Fr Michael English
Fr Michael English was ordained in 1958 and has spent 64 years as a priest of the diocese of Clifton. He has spent time in Bristol, in Gloucester, and in Bath and retired to the flats at St John’s from his appointment as Parish Priest of St Alphege’s in Oldfield Park.
Fr Joseph Breden
Fr Joseph Breden
Father Joe Breden was ordained in 1963 and has spent most of his priestly life working amongst communities in Brazil. He retired to the flats at St John’s after returning to the diocese and an appointment in a parish in Bristol.
Fr Tibor Szende
Fr Tibor Szende
Father Tibor Szende was ordained in 2001 and had come to the diocese of Clifton from the community of Quarr Abbey on the Isle of Wight. Fr Tibor had ministered to communities in Somerset and Bristol.
Fr Ian McCarthy
Fr Ian McCarthy
Fr Ian McCarthy was ordained in 1996 after having spent many years ministering in the Church of England. He spent a little time in Bath after ordination but has spent most of his time in the diocese in the Cotswolds, in Stow-on-the-Wold.