Pictured on the right is Fr. John Ryan MBE, our current Parish Priest who was appointed in August 2004. The table below lists all the Parish Priests alongside the year in which they arrived in Crayford. The exception is Fr. Cronin who was promoted from Assistant Priest to Parish Priest in 1977 when Fr. Hill became too frail. Where more than one priest is shown arriving in the same year, the ones in itallics were temporary appointments to cover the parish after an unexpected departure.
| 1840 | Fr. Augustus Applegarth |
| 1854 | Fr. Daniel Donovan |
| 1858 | Fr. Joseph Alberry |
| 1878 | Fr. Joseph Boase |
| 1885 | Fr. Joseph Moore |
| 1888 | Fr. William Hogan |
| 1912 | Fr. Edmund Carroll |
| 1926 | Fr. Peter Hughes |
| 1927 | Fr. Augustus Ferderer |
| Fr. James Malone | |
| 1936 | Fr. Peter King |
| 1943 | Fr. Brendan Byrne |
| 1955 | Fr. Vivian St. Clare Hill |
| 1977 | Fr. Jeremiah Cronin |
| 1980 | Mgr. James McGettrick |
| 1988 | Fr. James Hurley |
| 1989 | Fr. George Webster |
| Fr. Gregory Kubowitz | |
| Fr. Christopher Pritchard | |
| 1997 | Fr. Peter Madden |
| 2004 | Fr. John Ryan MBE |
Assistant Priests
Between 1933 and 1977 St Mary's benefited from one or more Assistant Priests. Their names are listed in this table.
| 1933-35 | Fr. John Brady |
| 1935-38 | Fr. Martin Keane |
| 1936-40 | Fr. James Duffy |
| 1936-38 | Fr. Augustus Schultz |
| 1938-48 | Fr. Laurence O'Grady |
| 1940-51 | Fr. Patrick Cox |
| 1941-42 | Fr. Arthur Iggleton |
| 1948-53 | Fr. Jeremiah Hyde |
| 1951-55 | Fr. Michael Murphy |
| 1953-54 | Fr. John Morris |
| 1954-61 | Fr. Ambrose McLaughlin |
| 1961-64 | Fr. David Scott |
| 1964-77 | Fr. Jeremiah Cronin |
Since 1977, holidays and other absences have often been covered by the
Franciscan Brothers from Our Lady of the Angels in Erith. Fr. Cronin
sometimes invited his brother, James, for odd days. Fr. Pritchard
and Fr. Madden both benefited from the services of Fr.
Tony Lawson until he died in early 2003. For his summer holidays
in 2003 and 2004, Fr. Madden hired Fr. Stanley
Lubungo.