Obituaries and tributes of people who are Catholic or who have a strong connection with the Catholic Church.
Dr Edward P Echlin, eco-theologian and organic gardener, died just before Christmas at the age of 89 years. We in the UK churches have lost a great advocate of "ecological conversion". The natural world has lost a dedicated friend.
I have known Edward and his wife Barbara since Christian Ecology Link (or CEL, now Green Christian) was founded in the early 1980s.
He spoke at conferenc...
The founder of HCPT, Brother Michael Strode died today, Friday 27th December at the age of 96.
Doctor Michael Strode, or Brother Michael as he was called after he became a Cistercian monk in later life, was born in Woking, Surrey, on 5th June 1923. He trained to be a doctor at St Thomas's Medical School, London, qualifying in 1946. In September 1945 he was received into to Catholic Churc...
Fr Giancarlo Politi, a Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) missionary died last night. He worked for a long time in Hong Kong and China, building strong and stable links with Chinese bishops and Catholic communities. He was also formerly editor of 'Mondo e Missione' - the monthly magazine of PIME, and of AsiaNews.
Fr Politi was 77; he had been a PIME priest for 53 years. Two ...
The funeral took place on Wednesday 27 November in Dalgan Park, Navan, Co Meath of Irish missionary, Fr Michael Sinnott, who was kidnapped in 2009 by Islamic militants in the Philippines and held for 32 days before he was released unharmed.
He died in Our Lady's Hospital, Navan on 23 November, the feast of St Columban, patron of the Missionary Society of St Columban.
Fr Sinnott was ...
Emeritus Bishop Brian Noble of Shrewsbury has been laid to rest in a Wirral churchyard after a vigil Mass and Requiem Mass. In keeping with his wishes, the 10th Bishop of Shrewsbury, the vigil Mass was celebrated in Shrewsbury Cathedral and his funeral at the Church of St Michael and All Angels in Woodchurch, the Wirral.
Preaching at the vigil Mass in the company of Archbishop Bernard Lon...
One of Father Wilfrid McGreal's favourite quotes was from Elias Lynch O.Carm: "Carmelites are kind, they preach the love of God. There is no harshness about them; they understand the grace of God in everything." This could well sum up the life and apostolate of Wilfrid McGreal who died on 23 September. Although Elias Lynch had a reputation as a formidable fundraiser, he impressed the young man...
The Right Reverend Richard Moth, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton gave the following homily at the Requiem Mass for Archbishop Michael Bowen in St George's Cathedral, Southwark on 4 November 2019.
My dear brothers and sisters,
We gather today to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for a much-loved family member, for a dear friend and Bishop who has given to each one of us, ...
Colm Murphy, one of the founding fathers of SIGNIS, a movement for Catholic professionals in the communications media, died at St Columban's in Ireland on 20 October. SIGNIS was created in November 2001 from the merger of Unda (International Catholic Association for Radio and Television) and OCIC (International Catholic Organisation for Cinema and Audiovisuals). Colm was General Secretary of Un...
The global ecumenical family is mourning the death of Elias Crisóstomo Abramides, on 21 October 2019. He was a pioneer and a vital stalwart in the faith community's ongoing struggle to stop climate change. Elias was a founding member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Working Group on Climate Change which emerged from WCC participation in the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro that gave r...
The Rt Rev Brian Noble, 10th Bishop of Shrewsbury, has died peacefully at the age of 83 years. The Emeritus Bishop was formerly a priest of the Diocese of Lancaster. He was ordained for the Diocese of Shrewsbury in 1995 and he retired in 2010, but continued to be active, giving talks and retreats and assisting in the parishes.
Bishop Noble died on the afternoon of Monday October 21 at Arr...
It is with sadness that the Archdiocese of Southwark announces the death of Archbishop Michael Bowen today, who passed in the early hours of Thursday 17th October 2019.
Archbishop Emeritus Michael Bowen faced the challenge of implementing the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. He introduced new structures in the Archdiocese of Southwark and brought about renewal in many areas of Chur...
ICN is sad to report the death of Carmelite Father Wilfrid McGreal.
Fr Wilfred died on Monday, 23 September.
Mass for Fr Wilfrid will be celebrated at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Faversham on Friday, 4 October at 7pm. Requiem Mass and Burial will take place at The Friars, Aylesford ME20 7BX on Saturday, 5 October at 11.30am.
May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
Today we gather to celebrate the funeral rites for Bishop Seamus Hegarty, who died on Friday last. But while his body had kept going until a few days ago, much of who he was had ebbed away over the last eight years since he was forced to retire as Bishop of Derry because of ill health. Dementia in its various forms is a cruel affliction. Much of the person has died long before the heart ceases ...
Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who died earlier this month at the age of 96, was noted for his visits to trouble spots in missions to bring an end to conflicts, regardless of the danger. He also quietly visited the peaceful UK in 1996 to share his expertise on global debt reduction.
He came to Swanwick in Derbyshire for the annual conference of the National Liaison Committee of Diocesan Justi...
