Meet The Team
Who are the people who make it happen? Read about them here. Meet team members past and present.
Fr Dominic Howarth, Director
Meet Fr Dominic
Fr Dominic was ordained Priest in St Joseph the Worker, Hutton in 2002; St Joseph's was where he had been to primary school, made First Holy Communion, and Confirmation. He is nearly an "Essex Man" - he was born in West London (which explains why he supports QPR) and moved to Essex when he was 16 months old, first to Southend and then to Hutton.
Fr Dominic managed to talk his way into Oxford, where he got a degree in Politics and Philosophy, and then went travelling to Kenya, India, Nepal, Hong Kong, Australia and America. He is still wanted for driving offences in at least two of those countries, but otherwise the trip was excellent. Then he worked for Unilever for a while, and during this time discovered Walsingham House. After a time as a weekend volunteer Dominic came to work full time at the House, from 1994-1996, which included the move from Chingford to Canvey. In 1996 Dominic applied to train for Priesthood, and studied in Rome, where he specialized in Moral Theology. He also acted in a number of plays and pantomimes, made up the numbers in the football team, and worked with some ex-pat young people living in Rome, raising money for a project in Kenya.
After ordination Dominic served as Assistant Priest at Our Lady and St George, Walthamstow, which he described as, "a fantastic experience in a lively parish". During that time he also ministered to three schools and a hospital. In Summer 2003 Dominic was appointed as Youth Chaplain, and after a year of doing this and the parish work, the Bishop had had so many complaints about reckless driving on the M11 that he appointed Fr Dominic full time as Youth Chaplain, resident at Walsingham House. Dominic has also been involved for many years with the St John Bosco children's camp, where he is now joint chaplain, and he travels to Lourdes each Easter with HCPT, The Pilgrimage Trust. For relaxation, Dominic enjoys the theatre, cinema, reading and swimming (he was once a lifeguard!).
Dominic's favourite quote:
Be who you are. Be it well. And all for the glory of God
St Francis de Sales