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‍The churches and religious houses of our diocese are home to many beautiful works of art. Last week, we took the opportunity to reflect on the artworks in two of our churches: St Richard's Church in Chichester and St George's Church in West Blatchington.

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ITV News visited St Richard's Church in Chichester in Holy Week to find out more about the glass described as "a modern masterpiece". On 13 November 2007 the church was awarded a Grade II listing by English Heritage - a move advised by the Catholic Church's Historic Churches Committee.

The principal reason for the listing was St Richard's extensive and extremely striking collection of Loire glass panels, commissioned from Gabriel Loire by Fr Langton Fox, the parish priest in 1962.

Click here to watch ITV's report, presented by Andy Dickinson and featuring Canon Tom Treherne, Parish Office Manager Amy Owen, and parishioner and Historic Churches Committee member Anne Bone.

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‍St Richard’s is in the Parish of Our Lady and the Saints of Sussex and you can also visit the parish website to find out more about the Loire glass windows in Chichester, Selsey and the Witterings, and the Stations of the Cross painted by David O’Connell.

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St George's Church in West Blatchington is also home to a large number of richly diverse and beautiful artworks commissioned over 25 years by former parish priest Fr David Weston (1936-2018).

The many paintings by John Armstrong, and carvings by Balavendra Elias, tell the story of Jesus' life, "reflecting the teaching and theology of the Church in a way that can be understood by even the youngest members of the parish", exploring events from the Old Testament, Jesus' birth, childhood and Galilean ministry, the Passion and the Resurrection, and with contributions from a range of other artists including Romola Jane and the monks of Buckfast Abbey. 

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You can find out more about St George's – which is part of Southwick and West Blatchington Parish – on their website. To purchase a copy of the church's 2013 art exhibition catalogue, click here and contact Helen.