The Parish has been part of the fabric of society on the west side of Leicester since 1938. The first Priests who came here were from the Dutch Province of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers, a congregation which did not , at that time, have a foundation in England.
Fr Gaudet and Fr Kaus were the first two Priests and they set up their headquarters at 25 Rosamund Avenue. The temporary church - the wooden hut - on the island on Gooding avenue - opened in Easter 1938, while Eymard House, the first Priory, was completed in August 1939 and members of the religious community began arriving.
On 3rd September England declared war on Germany. Life became very difficult, but Parish life did not stop. In 1944 the population of the parish was temporarily swollen by the arrival from Italy of the American 82nd Airborne Division which took over Braunstone Park for its camp, to prepare for the invasion of Normandy in June that year. The Americans had their own Mass in the wooden church, said by their own chaplin.
Fr Hout, who led the American Province of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers, first came to Leicester in 1951 and the parish transferred from the Dutch Province to the American Province in September of that year. Over the years many Priests and Brothers passed through the portals of Eymard House and most of the members of the Blessed Sacrament Congregation came to Leicester as Novices or for some part of their training. Many will remember Brother Simplicius who was a gardener by training and won international renown and many awards for his Dahlias.
Many people still remember the old church - the wooden hut that stood where our parish hall stands now. Len Lapworth was married in the old church - and also the present one. The first marriage recorded in the new church is that of Eileen Woodward.
It was in 1957 that we saw the opening of the new church which was built to replace the wooden hut, thus making 2007 the Golden Jubilee of the new Church Building.
In 1990 the Blessed Sacrament Fathers took the decision to leave Leicester. It was a time of bereavement and a time of apprehension. The Priory was sold and a new presbytery built in the grounds. In September of that year Father John Joe Maloney became our Parish Priest.
We owe much thanks, to all the people who have gone before us for their hard work in establishing the parish and of course we must not forget the people who continue the work today.