Dom Christopher Jenkins 1932-2003.

FORMER HEADMASTER OF BELMONT ABBEY AND PARISH PRIEST OF SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER, HEREFORD.

 

DOM CHRISTOPHER JENKINS

 David Arthur Owen Jenkins was born on 29th February 1932. He was educated at Taunton's School, Southampton, (1942-49) and Peterhouse, Cambridge (1949-52). He became a Catholic at Cambridge where he was received into the Chucrh by Monsignor Gilbey. He did National Service (1952 -54) and was then a seminarian for the Diocese of Portsmouth at St Edmund's, Ware, (1955-58). He taught in Southampton (1958-60) and came to Belmont as English Master at Belmont in September 1960. Here he felt the call to the Monastic Life and was clothed as a Novice on 28th September 1963 and professed on 29th September 1964 by Abbot Maurice Martin. He took the religious name of Christopher. He made his Solemn Profession on 29th September 1967 with Abbot Robert Richardson, was ordained Deacon on 13th October and Priest on 14th October 1967 by Bishop Langton Fox of Menevia.

He was Housemaster of Kemble from September 1967 to April 1981 and from September 1990 to June 1994. He was Deputy Headmaster to Dom Mark (now Bishop) Jabalé from September 1969 to April 1981 and later Headmaster from August 1988 to June 1994. He was a Community Councillor from 1971 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984 and Abbot's Councillor from 1986 to 1994.

He was Assistant Chaplain at Cambridge from April 1981 to June 1982 and Chaplain from June 1982 to August 1988. He was Parish Priest of St Francis Xavier, Hereford, from September 1994 to November 1997 and of Swynnerton, Staffordshire, from November 1997 to November 2002. He was Chaplain at Keele University from September 1997 to July 2002.

He was taken ill at Dolgellau, where he was to be Parish Priest, at the beginning of December 2002 and hospitalised at Wrexham Maelor Hospital and the Royal Infirmary, Liverpool. He spent Christmas and the New Year at Belmont and then went to St Joseph's, Malpas, for convalescence. Unexpectedly he suffered a severe intracerebral haemorrhage early on the morning of 27th January 2003 and was taken unconscious to the Gwent Royal Infirmary, Newport, where he died, having been anointed, about midday.

His body was received at Belmont Abbey at 5.30pm on Sunday, 2nd February, and his Requiem Mass and Burial took place at Belmont on Monday, 3rd February, at 11.30am

 Homily by Abbot Paul Stoneham 03/02/03

 

Belmont Vocations, the facts, A prophetic article penned by Fr Christopher Jenkins in 1966

Link to an article written for the last issue ever of the Belmont Magazine 1994 by Fr. Christopher Jenkins, Headmaster.

Link to "Remembering Fr Christopher"  pages.

The School Closure 1994