For the first several decades of the church’s existence, the parish relied entirely on ordained clergy who were sent from elsewhere (such as Ireland or other parts of England) to serve the mining community. The Sisters of St Alban’s Convent on Wadworth Street provided the primary local religious authority during this time, living on-site for decades to fulfill a massive spiritual and educational role, including teaching at the parish school.

This shifted as local men began to answer the call, transitioning the parish from relying on imported clergy to producing homegrown vocations in the following chronological order:

1953: Father Michael Hurley MHM

Father Michael Hurley dedicated his life to international ministry as part of the Mill Hill Missionaries.

• Early Life: Born into a deeply faithful local family in the Conisbrough and Denaby area, he and his brothers attended Denaby St Alban’s School (the “Old School”). His brother, Bill Hurley, remained a well-known parishioner in the Diocese of Hallam for decades.
• Ordination: He joined the St Joseph’s Missionary Society (Mill Hill Missionaries) and was ordained as a missionary priest in 1953.
• Global Ministry: His primary placement was in Borneo (Southeast Asia), building remote Christian communities. In the mid-1950s, he went on an extensive preaching tour across the United States (including New York, Florida, and Minnesota) to raise funds. He spent a significant portion of his later missionary years in Africa. He was known for carrying his personal Bible to every single global placement.

Mid-20th Century: Father Patrick MacDonagh

Father Patrick MacDonagh was a pioneering missionary from Denaby Main whose work across Africa and the Far East was defined by rugged, hands-on ministry. Coming from a foundational local mining family, his ordination and subsequent “First Mass” at St Alban’s were treated like a village-wide holiday.

• “Bush Missions”: Sent to remote, rural regions, he physically helped build mud-brick chapels, clearing land and constructing infrastructure from scratch.
• Massive Territories: He was responsible for vast geographical areas, traveling for days on foot, by bicycle, or by motorbike to reach isolated villages to administer sacraments.
• Schools and Clinics: He established primary schools for basic literacy and ran local mission dispensaries to treat tropical illnesses like malaria.
• Deep Integration: He lived in near-total isolation from the Western world, learning local tribal dialects fluently to embed himself completely within the indigenous communities he served.

1969: Father Patrick Littlewood

Father Patrick Littlewood grew up at 19 Fullerton Avenue in Conisbrough, attended St Alban’s Catholic School until 1954, and trained specifically to become a missionary priest.

• The Milestone: Upon completing his studies at St Peter’s College (Freshfield), St Joseph’s College (Durham), and in Holland, he was ordained on October 19, 1969. He became the historic first candidate ever to be ordained inside St Alban’s Church up to that point.
• The Mission: Local archives note that the school children and parish staff hosted a massive concert at the St Alban’s Club to raise money to buy him equipment and help send him to his mission placement in Kenya, where he went to work among the Kisii and Luo tribes.

1995: Father Darren Reid

Father Darren Reid is one of the most prominent homegrown vocations to come out of Denaby Main, achieving major leadership roles across the wider Catholic Church.

• Training & Ordination: He grew up in the local area before moving to Spain in 1988 to train at the historic Royal English College in Valladolid. He was ordained as a priest in the summer of 1995 at St Marie’s Cathedral in Sheffield.
• Distinguished Career: He served multiple parishes across Chesterfield, Sheffield, and Doncaster. He became the Diocesan Vocations Director for six years, worked as a pastoral tutor at Ushaw College in Durham, and returned to Spain from 2011 to 2016 to serve as the Vice-Rector and Human Development Director of the English College in Valladolid.
• Current Ministry: He is currently the parish priest for St Peter-in-Chains Church in Doncaster city centre, where he continues to minister alongside supervising neighbouring communities.