Holy Innocents'
Roman Catholic Church, Orpington

Father Michael Phelan was born in Pembroke in 1913 and came with his parents to Brockley, South East London, as a child where he attended the local Catholic school. He went to the Junior Seminary at Mark Cross at the age of 14 and on to Wonersh in 1932, being ordained in 1938.

He served as curate at Morden for a short time until appointed assistant to Fr Healy at the Rescue Society. (Fr Healy later became Bishop of Gibraltar and they retained a lifelong friendship.)

Fr Phelan then lived at Blackheath, acting as Warden in a hostel for boys, and cycled daily to work in the Finance Office at St George's Cathedral. It was at this time, during the war, that a number of the boys became ill with mumps. Because of staff difficulties Fr Phelan barrier-nursed the boys himself and unfortunately very soon became a victim himself. The infection damaged his eardrums. He had a great love of music so deafness was particularly sad as only a very limited range of notes were audible to him and even these were distorted. He carried this cross without complaint and with exemplary patience.

After the end of the war Fr Phelan was moved to Worthing where he served as curate until 1955, when he was appointed Priest in Charge at Holy Innocents'. He was faced with building problems immediately on arrival. The end wall of the study in the Presbytery was simply a canvas drape - the builders were having trouble with the extension, which had been started by his predecessor, Fr Slocombe.

This was the start of many years of dealing with architects and builders.

With Mr Bingham Towner as architect, he built a new Presbytery at the far side of the car park behind the Church which, when the land at Orpington was later sold by the Diocese, was purchased by the Sisters of Mercy and is now St Anne's Convent.

Fr Phelan purchased land at Locksbottom and planned and built the beautiful Church of St Michael and All Angels - also with Mr Towner as Architect. Some years later, under the auspices of the Diocesan Authorities, he worked (and anguished) over the plans and building of the current Holy Innocents' Church. Not long after its completion his heart condition seriously deteriorated causing his eventual retirement as Parish Priest.

There can be no better way to sum up the life of Fr Phelan than to quote words spoken by Fr Eric Mead at his Requiem Mass ……

"Fr Michael was a man of prayer and integrity: he was an honourable man but a man who did not look for honours, and yet honours themselves would have been enhanced by him. But honours never came his way."