Paul Hendricks 1967 to 1974
St Mary’s old boy Paul Hendricks meeting Pope Francis in Rome
Paul Hendricks arrived at St Mary’s in 1967, from St Anne’s Primary School in Orpington.
It was quickly clear that Paul was a pupil of great promise although the fact he shared the fourth-year prize for History in 1971 with David Daly – another exceptional student – gave no clue as to where his true strength lay.
Ten O-Levels and the fifth form prize for Physics, under the guidance of the brilliant Fr Tony Skillen, showed that.
Paul got better and better and, in the summer of 1974, he won the upper sixth form prizes for Maths, Physics and Chemistry. He then went on to win the Craven Trophy for Outstanding Achievement at A-Level with a supreme set of results which included A Distinction on the Physics Special Paper, As for Maths and Chemistry and a B in Further Maths.
This was sufficient for Paul to win a scholarship to Corpus Christi, Oxford, to read Physics.
After graduating in 1977, Paul worked for two years at the GEC Hirst Research Centre in Wembley, before being accepted for seminary studies by Southwark Archdiocese and went on to study at the English College in Rome between 1979-85.
After his ordination in 1984, Paul’s first clerical appointment was as assistant priest at St Boniface, Tooting (1985-89) before ten years teaching Philosophy at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh.
From 1999 to 2006, Paul was Parish Priest of Our Lady of Sorrows, Peckham before becoming Auxiliary Bishop, looking after the south-west London area of the Southwark Archdiocese.
Paul, fourth from left, at a civic reception
Paul was followed to St Mary’s by his younger brother, John, who joined the school in 1974, the year Paul went to Oxford.
Paul told me: “My experience at St Mary’s was very positive and I have very happy memories of the school. When John and I get together, we often talk about our memories of St Mary’s. Looking back, I’m struck by what a hard time we sometimes gave the teachers. I’m glad I only had to teach in the seminary!
“On a personal note, my main non-work interests are cats, walking and novels. I live in Sutton, with my black cat Marmite. My favourite walk is one that some of us did when we were students in Rome and includes the 13 little hill towns in the area SE of Rome, known as the Castelli Romani.
“The best known of these would be Frascati (because of the wine) and Castelgandolfo (the Pope’s traditional summer residence). The tradition is to drink a small glass of local wine in each town and to complete the 35 mile walk in a day. I can still do it in a day – if I get up very early – but I limit myself to a couple of glasses of wine, overall.
“I very much enjoyed my studies in Rome. We were very privileged to have such a range of internationally-known lecturers, though learning Italian was a bit of an effort at first! I really came to love the Italians, too — and I’m always pleased when my work as a bishop brings me back to Rome, every couple of years.”
Paul conducting a service in Wallington, an area of Southwark Archdiocese he covers
“As for novels, my interests range from Jane Austen and Dickens to Tolkien and Harry Potter. As for films, I can never decide whether my favourite is Little Dorrit or Lord of the Rings (they’re so different, one can hardly judge).
“When I became a bishop, they asked me what area I’d like to specialise in, on a national level (apart from my responsibilities in Southwark). I said, something ecumenical, if possible – and so now I work a lot with Churches Together, nationally as well as locally.”