Leadership and co-responsibility

Co-responsibility requires a change in mentality, particularly with regard to the role of the laity in the Church, who should be considered not as ‘collaborators’ with the clergy, but as persons truly ‘co-responsible’ for the being and activity of the Church  - Pope Benedict XVI
​Many people are involved in pastoral and other leadership at Holy Innocents’, as we seek to live out the concept of co-responsibility – that the responsibility for the life and mission of the parish lies not just with the parish priest and the other clergy, but with every baptised member of the parish.

So the Finance Committee take responsibility for our parish finances. Most of our groups and activities have people who serve as leaders or coordinators. Each of our Parish Evangelisation Cells has a leader and a co-leader. And so on.
​​What is ‘co-responsibility’?
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​The idea that every baptised Catholic shares responsibility for the life and mission of the Catholic Church. So it's not just the parish priest who is responsible for the parish and what it does – every baptised member of the parish has gifts and talents and is called to exercise them and to share that responsibility.
Some of the people involved in visible leadership roles in the parish include:

Clergy Team


Father Victor Vella - Parish Priest
Father Victor has been Parish Priest at Holy Innocents since 2008, having previously been Parish Priest at Northfleet for ten years. Born on the island of Gozo (Malta) in 1961 he has been based in the UK since his ordination in 1986, serving in several Parishes in the Diocese of Westminster and Southwark.
Father Victor has a Masters in Philosophy and Political Science and a post graduate certificate in comparative politics in the Middle East. He is a keen student of Biblical Hebrew with an extensive knowledge of Jewish history and religion that is often expressed in his preaching.

​Father Victor takes the Church‘s mission of evangelisation very much to heart and has pioneered the introduction of the Parish Evangelisation Cell System (PECS). He oversees PECS in England and is a member of the PECS International Commission for Formation.

Contact     Father Victor
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More about Father Victor 
Deacon Barry Chalkley
Barry has been a Permanent Deacon at Holy Innocents since his ordination in 2004. Born in West London and brought up in the Church of England he became a Catholic in 1982, five years after his marriage to Liz. They have three adult children, two sons and one daughter. 
He recently retired from full time employment, having been Finance Director of a housing association for the last eighteen years. Deacon Barry has the responsibility withing the clergy team for Marriage preparation, Baptism, First Holy Communion and liaison with Holy Innocents' School. Since his retirement Barry is now active in the parish during the day and is generally at our church on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. ​

​Deacon Barry is also Assistant Director of Formation for the Permanent Diaconate in the South East London area.

​Contact     Deacon Barry
Deacon Wayne du Preez
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Wayne was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate in July 2014 but had been active in the parish in youth work and outreach prior to this. He was born and grew up in South Africa, moving to the UK in 2000 and has been in the parish since 2005. 

Originally baptised into the Presbyterian Church, he converted to Catholicism while at university. He has been married to Linda since 1994 and they have three teenage children (two sons and a daughter). ​
Deacon Wayne is taking an active role in youth ministry within the parish and deanery and also has responsibility within the clergy team for the Confirmation programme.

​Contact    Deacon Wayne du Preez
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Father Michael Etuka was ordained on 16 July 2022.  He is to be allocated to St Mary's at West Croydon from 1 September 2022




Coordinator for Prayer and Formation

​Anne Scripture
​Anne has been a member of Holy Innocents' parish for over twenty years, with a particular involvement in music ministry (including as coordinator of the Music Group).

In her role as parish Coordinator for Prayer and Formation, she encourages, facilitates and arranges many prayer and formation events and activities for the parish. She also serves as the coordinator of the Parish Evangelisation Cell System (PECS).

Sisters of Mercy

We are fortunate to have a small community of the Sisters of Mercy based in the Parish and very active in its life.

Sister Esther Boles

​Sister Joan Mulvihill
Sister Esther is the mainspring of the social life of the parish, coordinating many social and fundraising events as well as being a support to the extraordinary ministers and working in our parish school.



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Sister Joan leads our team of sacristans and (among various other things) works tirelessly to ensure that the church is tidy and well-prepared.
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​Parish Secretary

​Sharon Delaney
Sharon runs the Parish Office, normally working Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10.30 am to 3.30 pm. She is the administration manager and has charge of the parish diary. Sharon is the first point of contact for parish enquiries.

She is helped in the Parish Office by parishioners Janet Welch and Claire Westley. 

Parish Co-Responsibility Group (PCRG)
Every baptised member of Holy Innocents' is co-responsible for the life and mission of the parish. To exemplify this, the PCRG was established in 2013 with eight lay parishioners and Father Victor. Its remit includes acting as a leadership group for the parish, and developing and taking forward a pastoral plan aimed at implementing the Parish Vision.

PCRG members share responsibility for keeping in contact with the groups and activities involved in different aspects of our parish life. Current contacts are:  The PCRG team is currently in abeyance. 

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