<sod>In establishing his mission, De Lisle recruited a charismatic priest, [[Aloysius Gentili]], from Rome, who arrived at Gracedieu in June 1840 and by May of the following year, De Lisle claimed that some five hundred and twenty persons had become converted to the catholic faith as a result of Gentilli's outreach.<ref name="Robinson"/> The catholic community in Whitwick is said to have further grown substantially during the later part of the nineteenth century, due to an influx of Irish immigrants who came to work as navvies on the construction of the [[Charnwood Forest Railway]].{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}<eod>
<sod>In establishing his mission, De Lisle recruited a charismatic priest, [[Aloysius Gentili]], from Rome, who arrived at Gracedieu in June 1840 and by May of the following year, De Lisle claimed that some five hundred and twenty persons had become converted to the catholic faith as a result of Gentilli's outreach.<ref name="Robinson"/><eod>