Obituaries & Tributes

I mourn my dear friend and former colleague, the anti-racism and peace activist Maz (Masarrat) Saleem, who passed away on 19th July 2026 after a long illness. She was born on 4th May 1974. Hatred struck when her 82-year-old father, Mohammed Saleem, was murdered by a neo-Nazi in 2013 in Birmingham, while walking home from evening prayers. His attacker subsequently bombed three mosques in the West M... Read More

The Polish Catholic Mission said in a statement today: "We received with deep sorrow the news that on August 17, 2026, at the age of 50 and after 25 years of priesthood, Fr Dariusz Mazur, parish priest of the Parish of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Zawad, passed away. Fr Dariusz served the Polish community in Great Britain for many years, working for many years in the Polish Catholic Mission... Read More

The sudden death of Fr Joseph Kendall on 8th August 2026, at the age of just 45 years, was a great shock to many in the Archdiocese of Liverpool and beyond. Though he had been feeling unwell in the preceding days, no one had cause to think that death was imminent. In Norwich, at the end of June, he had delivered a report on the past academic year at the English College in Valladolid, on behalf of... Read More

The United Reformed Church has issued the following statement today: The United Reformed Church is deeply saddened by the death of Professor Jason Arday, who was found unresponsive at an address in London on Friday (14 August). Professor Arday, 41, became the University of Cambridge's youngest Black professor in 2023 before resigning from his position as Professor of Sociology of Education last we... Read More

A private Requiem Mass was held at Buckfast Abbey, yesterday, Wednesday 12 August, for Ann Widdecombe. Around 100 family members, friends and colleagues, including former Tory ministers and broadcasters gathered to pay their last respects. Miss Widdecombe was a regular member of the congregation there. The homily was given by the Abbot of Buckfast, David Charlesworth OSB. He said: "In the midst ... Read More

The Benedictine community at Buckfast have announced that arrangements are being made with Ann Widdecombe's family to hold her funeral at Buckfast Abbey. In a statement Fr Abbot and the Monastic Community of Buckfast said: "We are working closely with the family regarding funeral arrangements and will provide further information in due course, when appropriate. We respectfully ask that the family'... Read More

The Requiem Mass for Benet Walter Bano "Ben" - took place at St Thomas of Canterbury's Catholic Church in Deal, Kent on Monday 20 July 2026 - attended by family, friends, local councillors and MPs. The celebrant was Fr Brian Coyle. A reception was held in Deal Town Hall after the funeral. Ben's daughter Sophie Skardon gave the following Eulogy. Dad was born on the 3rd February 1950 to Emmerich and... Read More

Edward Stourton, the prominent Catholic broadcaster, journalist and author, died on 18 July at the age of 68. He had been suffering from prostate cancer. His career included a decade on BBC Radio 4's Today programme and the station's weekly religion and ethics programme Sunday. He was a founding member of Channel 4 News and wrote several books. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, retired Archbishop of Westm... Read More

Ben Bano - 3 February 1950 -16 June 2026 Tributes have been pouring in to Ben Bano, a former mayor and long-serving town councillor in Deal, Kent and a member of Seeking Sanctuary, supporting migrants and asylum seekers. Ben Bano died on June 16 with his family by his side. Mr Bano was widowed with three children. His daughter, Sophie Skardon, said: "Our father was a very kind and generous man wit... Read More

Tributes have been pouring in to former Conservative minister the Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe , whose death was announced this morning. She was 78. Ann Widdecombe served as MP for Maidstone in Kent for 23 years. She was Home Office and Employment minister in Sir John Major's government between 1994 to 1997. In 1993 she converted from the Church of England to Catholicism, partly over the issue of women p... Read More

Holy Trinity Church, Dockhead, just downstream from Tower Bridge, was filled to the rafters twice this week for the funeral of Canon Alan McLean, who served the parish and the surrounding community for more than thirty years - firstly for a parish Mass on Thursday evening and then for the more formal Requiem Mass, led by Archbishop John Wilson, on Friday morning. Alan, born just a few miles away i... Read More

The Requiem Mass for Danuta Reutt, 3 January 1937 - 6 June 2026 will take place at the London Oratory on Thursday, 2 July 2026 at 11am. For almost half a century, Danuta Reutt Karol devoted herself to preserving and promoting Polish song within the Polish émigré and British communities. With a repertoire of more than 500 songs across many genres, she was especially passionate about patriotic mu... Read More

Fr Laurence Freeman from World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM) writes: There is rejoicing in heaven and sadness on earth. Sr Ruth (born October 8, 1941) died on 14 June in Trinidad where she was born, entered the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny and devoted her life for love of Christ and for those she served through Servol which she co-founded with her soul-friend Fr Gerry Pantin. Her sk... Read More

Jesuits in Britain report: It is with sadness that we report Fr Paul Hackett SJ died in the early hours of Tuesday 26th May. He was 96 years old and in the 80th year of religious life. May he rest in peace. Paul was born in Boscombe on 20th February 1930 to his father, Arthur, and mother, Anne Mary, and was baptised at Corpus Christi, Boscombe. After school in Southbourne, Paul entered the Soci... Read More