THE MISSION OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS

The Mission of the Society of Jesus

The Jesuit mission to the Catholic recusants in North Lincolnshire probably began around 1620, in a house to the north of Lincoln. In the year 1625 there were six Jesuit fathers in residence. From that year until 1869 a community of Jesuits, consisting of as many as ten members, was available to minister to Catholic recusants in North Lincolnshire. Many of these Jesuit priests, like Fr Richard Thimbleby, originated in Lincolnshire and had joined the Jesuits on the continent.

 

They then returned to minister to the faithful in their homeland, in North Lincolnshire. Another small residence of chaplaincy was established at West Rasen and Kingerby Hall near Market Rasen around the year 1600. A Jesuit presence was maintained in this area until the 19th century, the year 1859, when a parish which had been formed after the hierarchy was established in 1850, was handed to the diocese of Nottingham. It is obvious that the Jesuits played a vital role in keeping the Catholic faith alive in North Lincolnshire. 

The names of all the Jesuit priests who served the North Lincolnshire mission for 200 years are recorded in the Jesuit archives. However, secular priests (priests not belonging to a religious order) became prominent during the latter part of the 18th century. Some of these, like the Jesuits, were originally from Lincolnshire.