This is the name often given to 19th Century French Saint Thérèse de Lisieux, after whom Abergele’s beautiful Catholic church is named.
Built in Clwyd Avenue and opened in 1934, the architect was an Italian called Signor Dr. Giuseppe Rinvolucri. He also designed churches in places such as Ludlow and Amlwch and, according to my father, he lived for quite a while in a house just above Glan Conwy.
“The plan is of a Greek cross, with a dome and round apses.” – http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/922843
You can read a 1932 news story about the then new church in this web archive of The Tablet: “an impressive setting for the opening ceremonies on Thursday of last week. The procession from the temporary church to the new building was witnessed by a large crowd, and fully five hundred persons formed the congregation.”
This beautiful Church is one of Abergele’s gems.
I have just visited Ludlow and another of his churches at Princes Risborough in Bedfordshire. they all have the architects stamp on them. with him being an Italian dose any one know was he interned during the war and if so were was he sent!
Hello Les
Having lived close to the church in Clwyd Avenue, I am quite interested in Dr Rinvolucri. According to internet information, he was born in Italy in 1894 and settled in the UK after being a POW during WW1. Checking birth, marriage and deaths shows that he married in Cardiff in The June qtr1939 and died in the Aled registration district in the March qtr 1963. He seems to have settled in Glan Conwy, I do not think that he was interned but there was a snippet about him having to surrender his radio for a period at the start of WW2 as he would have been regarded as a potential security risk.
Cheers
Albert Roberts
I am Giuseppe Rinvolucri’s first son.
Giuseppe fought from 1915 to 1918 against the Austrians
in the Italian Alps and then on the Piave River. He was not taken prisoner.
He married an English woman from the Sopwith family
in the Black Country. She died of TB and on the rebound he
decided to become an RC priest. Studied theology in Rome
for two years and renounced his thoughts of the priesthood.
He built himself a house in Glan Conwy and in l940, after
Mussolini’s declaration of war, he was locked up in the Isle of Man wirh a load of Italian chefs and German and Austrian Jewish intellectuals.
Italy changed sides in summer 1943 and Giuseppe was then released.
I had been born on June 9th 1940 (he had married Mina
in 1939) and I became conscious of having a real life Dad
when I was 3 years old!