South Yorkshire Times December 1st 1945
New Denaby R.C. Priest
Army Chaplain succeeds Father Stack
After nearly 2 years as parish priest of St. Albans Roman Catholic Church, Denaby Main, and of the Church of the English Martyrs, Mexborough, the Rev. James Reginald Stark, left yesterday (Thursday), to take up duties as priest at St Mary’s, Halifax. He is succeeded by the Rev, Francis Joseph Sole, who has been a chaplain with the army throughout the war.
Father Stack came to Denaby from the church of Christ the King, Bramley, Leeds, where he was priest for seven years. Previously he was assistant priest in another Leeds parish and an assistant priest at Wakefield for three years. In 1922 he left his native Ireland, where he attended the National University, to enter the seminary at Leeds. At Denaby, father Stack’s main preoccupation has been the task of preparing the church for its Solemn consecration in 1948, which happens to be the year of its 50th anniversary. He has maintained the interest in youth work that he showed in Leeds, where for a few years he was president of the Catholic youth committee, with membership of the Conisbrough Youth Council and, until the committee ceased to function, the Conisbrough education committee.
Father, Sole is an Oxfordshire man. Trained at Ushaw College, Durham, he was assistant priest at St Joseph’s, Castleford, for 18 months following his ordination in 1929, and then for eight and a half years assistant priest at St Patrick’s, Bradford. There he was president of the Catholic Young Men Society. In 1939 he went as administrator to the church at Shipley and on the outbreak of war went into the forces as Champlain in Royal Artillery. He went abroad with his regiment in 1942 – to Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Transjordan, returning in May this year. He was released two weeks ago, arrived in Denaby this week and takes up his duties on Sunday.