Music has a central place in the life of St Philip Neri and Our Lady Immaculate. We are committed to music that is shaped by the liturgical season and the texts of the Sunday Mass, enabling the Word to be proclaimed and the faithful to be drawn more deeply into the celebration of the liturgy.

Care is given to the choice of Mass settings and Psalm settings, so that the music reflects both the character of the liturgical period and the words being sung, allowing music to reflect the season and intentions of the Mass.

Congregational Participation 

The congregation is invited and encouraged to sing, with hymns and settings chosen to be both accessible and firmly rooted in the liturgy. We recognise that listening is also a profound form of participation, and for some is their primary way of praying and encountering God within the liturgy. Both are honoured as authentic expressions of prayer.

Church Musicians

We value the gift of music offered by the choir and parish musicians, whose role is to serve the liturgy and support the prayer of the parish. Following the disruption of the Covid period, the choir has been re‑established and continues to develop, contributing to the musical life of the parish with commitment, generosity, and care.

Music Director 

Mary Gernon is Music Director at St Philip Neri and Our Lady Immaculate, Uckfield. She studied music, at the University of Manchester, and RNCM (Joint Honours) and completed her undergraduate dissertation on the sixteenth‑century Scottish composer Canon Robert Carver. Mary worked for ten years as an orchestral oboist, with professional orchestras in the UK and Europe such as the Halle, BBC Ulster and Swedish Radio Orchestra.

She has been immersed in church music from an early age, coming from a family with deep roots in the Catholic Church. Her grandfather was organist at St Mary and Michael's Church, Garstang, her mother, Shelagh Noden, served as Director of Music at Aberdeen Cathedral, and her father, David, sang bass in the choir.

As Music Director, Mary works closely with Fr Gus, and in partnership with the wider parish community, with the aim that the music of the parish is offered in the spirit of St Philip Neri who taught us to offer our service to God with humility, simplicity, and joy.

Our Parish Priest

Fr Gus first felt called to priestly ministry while preparing for his First Holy Communion as a child. Born to Italian parents, he grew up in Argentina, completing a degree in English Language before beginning a career as a teacher. He then moved to Europe and worked in Human Resources and project management before eventually settling in England. It was during this time that he revisited his calling to the priesthood and began the process of discernment and formation.

Speaking shortly before his Ordination Mass, Fr Gus quoted Cardinal Hume saying: "‘Priesthood is a lifetime of entering into the Holy of Holies, to worship God, to give him praise, to offer prayer for and on behalf of the whole Church. It is a lifetime spent washing the feet of others...’ This is what I have been called to do as a priest and this is what I'm looking forward to doing with God's grace.”