Jesuit poet Patrick Purnell has died
Fr Patrick Purnell SJ, whose poetry has been enjoyed by many in print and on the radio, has died at the age of 91. Over his 73 years as a Jesuit, he also made significant contributions to Religious Education in England, Scotland and Wales.
Augustine Patrick Purnell was born in 1923 in Cardiff, and joined the Society of Jesus in 1941 at the age of 17. After studies at Heythrop College, Oxfordshire, he was ordained in 1955 and then spent some years teaching Latin and Maths at St
Ignatius College, Stamford Hill.
In the mid-1960s, Patrick moved into full-time catechetics, first in the Motherwell diocese and then as the National Advisor for Religious Education for the bishops of England and Wales. In this capacity, he was responsible for several adult education
handbooks, including Our Faith Story: Its Telling And Its Sharing, Which Way Do I Choose? (Scripture for Living) and To be People of Hope.