[4] The first Catholic place of worship in Boscombe was created in 1887 when the Religious of the Cross moved into the area to make a foundation there.

They purchased four and a half acres of land on which John Vertue, the first Bishop of Portsmouth, erected a small public chapel, an iron building bought from Lord Petre.

This iron chapel was formally opened on New Year's Day 1888 and was served from Bournemouth by the Jesuit priest there, Father Charles de Lapasture SJ.

The Baroness resolved to build a church that would meet the needs of both parishioners and the nearby Sisters, and to this end bought a property known as 'Holyrood' and two acres of land stretching from Christchurch Road to the Convent garden.

Baroness Pauline von Hügel decided to give the church to the Society of Jesus so that Father de Lapasture SJ became the first parish priest.

The church was built to have a height of fifty metres along the nave and could accommodate a congregation of 400 people.