The Blessing of Calvary

As you may know we have had part of our graveyard that we call Calvary renovated. It was blessed on Saturday 6th September 2025. But do you know much of the history that surrounds it?

How it all began...

The man who paid for the bells at the Abbey, Francis Genders, is buried at the foot of the Calvary with his wife.

He was converted by Fr. Ignatius Spencer, who was a relative of Princess Diane. Francis had gone to New Zealand for some years and made his fortune out there.When he returned to Erdington he wanted to donate generously to the Abbey, so he paid for the bells which were hung in 1878, one of the last ceremonies attended by our founder, Fr. Daniel Haigh. It was unusual to have a peal of bells in a Catholic church as it was still not allowed by law at that date, so it is not clear how the Benedictine monks who were running the parish then, got away with it!

Francis Genders' gift shows a theme of the remarkable generosity that the Abbey church has inspired in people through the years; Fr. Haigh who built the church out of his own money, Francis Genders who paid for the bells and now the amazing donation of whoever it was, did the work on the Calvary at a nominal cost.