There is no Catholic Church in Wardley and people who were of the Roman Catholic faith, for many years, would travel to practise their faith and have an education in a Church school. In 1840 a census was taken in Felling and found that four hundred Catholics were living in the area. It was decided to build a Church at Felling Shore and on Jan 25^th 1842 the old St.Patricks Church was opened.
The first resident priest in 1845 was the Rev. A. McDermott. He was succeeded by the Rev. John Kelly who served his whole 35 year priesthood in Felling. To provide an education for the children, Fr. Kelly secured a field in High Street and built Felling St. Johns School which was opened on January 17^th 1864. He then planned the construction of a new Church on a higher level of the field and the first sod was turned April 18^th 1872. After many months of hurculean labour by local people, a disasterous fire in 1877 caused the building work to be abandoned. Fr. Kelly retired in 1881 and Father Thomas Carroll was appointed to serve the parish. He passed away at the young age of 47 years on Jan 1^st 1892 and was succeeded by the Rev John Murphy. To provide larger and better accomodation for school pupils, he secured a site and building in Brewery Lane that was formerly known as Lee’s School and had a seating capacity for over 600. It was opened in 1893. He also resumed the building of the new Church using the old foundations and, on St. Patricks Day 1895, the Church of St. Patrick was opened by Bishop Wilkinson.
In 1905, Fr. Murphy was transferred to Wigton and was replaced by the Rev. Father Edward Costello who was born at Shildon. A school was needed to serve the growing communities of Bill Quay, Pelaw and Wardley and St. Alban’s R.C. School was completed and opened in1929.
In 1935, a new parish was established when Pelaw was separated from Felling and the Chapel of the convent of Marie Repartrice at Jesmond was dismantled and rebuilt at Queen Victoria Street, next to the Grand Cinema on Queen Victoria Street. Father Joseph McCleary was appointed St.Albans first parish priest. Fr.Costello’s concern to increase the Catholic education provision in Felling lead to a new Senior School in 1936 at Willow Grove. St.Johns was reconstructed as a Junior and Infant School. In the 56^th year of his priesthood, 41 years at St.Patricks, Fr.Costello died in 1946. Father Bernard Strong moved to Felling to become parish priest and had the support of three curates Fathers Gerard White, Edward Hodgson and William McKenna.
During the 1950’s a number of large housing developments took place in the district. As the Leam Lane Estate was developed new churches were planned for the community. In the interim, RC masses were said at Fr. John Daly’s house in Grassbanks and every Sunday at the Black Bull public house at Wardley before St. Augustine’s was built in 1962. He was also responsible for the building of St. Augustine’s Junior and Mixed Infant school in 1961
Father Strong retired in 1985 and succeeded by Father Ben Carey who remained until 1992 when in December that year St.Patricks was fortunate to welcome two priests, Father Ian Patterson, parish priest and Father John White (retired).