Bristol: parish prays for Nurse Jacinta

Prayers were said at St Vincent and St Teresa’s Catholic Church, in Southmead, Bristol yesterday, for Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse from King Edward VII Hospital in London, who reportedly took her own life on Friday after passing on a hoax call from an Australian radio station, purporting to be the Queen asking to speak with the Duchess of Cambridge.

Jacintha, 46, leaves her husband Benedict and two teenaged children.

Jacinta trained at the Father Muller’s School of Nursing in Mangalore, south west India, where she was a model student. After qualifying, she worked in India and Kuwait, winning a nursing award, before the family moved to Britain nine years ago. Jacintha had worked at the King Edward VII hospital for four years and has been described by colleagues as a very capable, kind, caring and dedicated nurse.

The family were regular church goers. Parish Priest Father Thomas Finnegan, said: “We are all deeply saddened at the loss of a loving and caring wife and mother and a very good professional. This is a terribly sad time for her family and they have our support and our prayers.”