Centenary
St Monica Trust marks 100 years with centenary celebrations
The St Monica Home of Rest, as the Trust was known then, first opened its doors to residents on 25 June 1925. The Home was the fulfilment of Henry Herbert and Dame Mary Monica Wills’ wish to establish a charity to provide accommodation and financial support for missionaries returning to England after a lifetime’s service overseas. Since then, the St Monica Trust has continually evolved, creating and promoting communities where older people flourish.
As it marks a century of care, St Monica Trust celebrated its 100th anniversary with two landmark events — a Centenary Service of Thanksgiving at Bristol Cathedral (18 June 2025) and Centenary Garden Parties at all five of its retirement villages (19 June 2025). Read on for highlights of these memorable events.
Centenary Service of Thanksgiving
On 18 June 2025, residents, colleagues and friends of St Monica Trust gathered at the beautiful Bristol Cathedral for a very special Service of Thanksgiving to mark our centenary. It was an opportunity to come together to reflect on and celebrate the Trust’s past and anticipate it’s exciting future as we look forward to the next 100 years.
Gallery
Centenary Garden Parties
On 19 June 2025, simultaneous garden parties for residents were held in each retirement village to celebrate the centenary. Screens were provided at each site to link all the locations together and in this way all five sites were able to enjoy the speeches given by Tim Ross, President of the St Monica Trust and Peaches Golding OBE, Lord Lieutenant of Bristol. A time capsule was also buried at each site and a short film about this formed part of the 30 minute live stream.
The garden parties reflected perfectly the values of the Trust and that of our Founders and were a fitting way, along with the cathedral service, to mark our centenary.