Holy Name of Jesus Church, Homestead, Bamboo
Built by Fr. Raymond r. Sullivan, SJ, between 1941 and 1943, the original Church stood on land the Jesuits bought from Chippennam Park, and was then an outreach missionof St. Ignatius Church in Brown's Town. The original parishioners were families resettled from Brown's Town, Alva, Murray Mount, Grant's Mountain, and Summertan.
When later the Holy Name community became strong and big enough to be independent of the St. Ignatius community, it became in turn responsible for missions in Concord (Sacred Heart), and Monigue (St. Anthony's). The need for a bigger church was also felt. And so the serving pastor at the time, Fr. Robert J. Carr, S.J., built the present church building between the laying of its foundation in 1984 and its inauguration on January 1, 1987.
Priests who served as pastors in the Church and Community of the Holy Name of Jesus, Homestead, Bamboo, include:
Fr. Raymond R. Sullivan, SJ
Fr. Harry W. Ball, SJ
Fr. B.J. Shea, SJ
Fr. John J.G. Alexander, SJ
Fr. John J. Williams, SJ
Fr. Francis Osborne, SJ
Fr. Raymond R. Sullivan, SJ
Fr. Joseph P. Carew, SJ
Fr. John Hichey, SJ
Fr. Robert J. Carr, SJ
Fr. Paul O'Malley, HC
Fr. Howard Campbell (diocesan)
Fr. Silas Onuoha (diocesan missionary)
Fr. Chrispin Q.B. Oneko (diocesan missionary)
The current pastor, Rev. Father Chrispin Q.B. Oneko, was born in Western Kenya in East Africa on April 9, 1962, and was ordained priest in the Archdiocese of Mombasa in the Coastal Kenya on August 25, 1990.
The pastor is assisted by two ordained permanent deacons:
Deacon Wilmoth Ritchie (Holy Name of Jesus Church, Homestead, Bamboo)
Deacon Guy Ritchie (Holy Spirit Church, Claremont)
The Holy Name of Jesus Church congregation in Homestead, Bamboo, now consists of 250 Catholics. Currently it caters for only one mission station, Holy Spirit church in Claremont with a congregation of about 25 Catholics.
