Obituaries & Tributes

John Barrie KCSG FCA (1931-1923) - an appreciation John was a member of our Society for 40 years. The tidiness of this number would have appealed to John's orderly mind. John wrote a brilliant History of the Society which was published in 2019 and he introduced countless new members over the decades. His contribution was appreciated by successive Archbishops of Westminster. Anyone who had the plea... Read More

Bishop Donal McKeown gave the following tribute at the funeral Mass for Bishop Anthony J Farquhar. In October of 1958, the long reign of Pope Pius XII came to an end - and it was a surprise to many that the conclave elected the 76-year-old Pope John XXIII. It was this cheerful pontiff who unexpectedly called the Second Vatican Council. That huge gathering of bishops and others was concluded in ... Read More

The world has lost a tireless campaigner for justice and peace with the passing of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, age 96. A woman of profound Christian faith, she never lost sight of the moral calling to give a voice to the world's voiceless and persecuted. Like President Kennedy, who's assassination we mark on its 60th anniversary this week, she advocated for those with mental illness decades... Read More

Many tributes have been arriving to Bishop Tony Farquhar, who died on Friday evening. He was aged 83. Bishop Farquhar served as auxiliary bishop of Ireland's second-largest diocese for 32 years, before stepping down in 2015. Bishop Tony Farquhar was originally born in the Belfast Parish of Holy Rosary in September 1940. Following primary studies, he entered St Malachy's College, Antrim Road, Belfa... Read More

We've received a number of reports that an elderly Christian woman was shot dead yesterday by the Israeli army outside the Holy Family Church in Gaza. Elham Farah, 84, had been sheltering inside the church for some time. On Sunday night she stepped outside the building to see if her house was still standing. She was shot in the leg and fell to the ground. People in the church were unable to rescu... Read More

Indi Gregory has died during the night after having her life-support removed, her father, Dean, has said. The eight-month-old baby, who was denied an offer of specialist treatment in Italy by the NHS and UK Courts, was transferred from the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham to a hospice on Saturday with a security escort and police presence. In a statement released by Indi's father, Dean Gregor... Read More

The National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN) is so sorry to have to share the very sad news that Geoff Thompson, our administrator, died this morning, the feast day of All Saints, after a short illness. A person of great faith, Geoff is now at peace. We pray for Geoff's family, his many friends and all his justice and peace colleagues. We will be publishing a full obituary and tributes with deta... Read More

Clare Dixon, co-chair of the Archbishop Romero Trust, former Head of Region - Latin America at CAFOD, writes: Fr Michael Campbell-Johnson, known to many as simply 'C-J', died on the evening of Thursday 12th October at the Jesuit retirement home in Boscombe, Bournemouth, at the age of 92. Born in London into a comfortable upper-class family, as a young boy his earliest ambition was to be a priest... Read More

26th October 2023 saw the funeral at Aylesford, Kent, of former Prior, Fr Francis Kemsley, O Carm, who had died on 8th October. Every seat in the Relic Chapel was taken, including a number of chairs imported for the day, with more people taking refuge for seats in St Joseph's Chapel to follow a relay. The principal celebrant was Fr Brendan Grady O Carm, the Provincial Superior, one of some dozens ... Read More

St Teresa of the Child Jesus in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire is a spacious church, but even so it was packed for the funeral of Fr Dominic McKenna on Thursday 26th October. The adjacent hall was pressed into service for overflow mourners who followed the service on CCTV. Others stood outside the church to pay their respects to this popular priest of Westminster Diocese. Cardinal Vincent Nichols pres... Read More

A memorial service was held in Westminster Cathedral on Thursday, 19th October, led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, for Baroness Sue Masham who died earlier this year. It was attended by members of her family, colleagues from the House to Lords, friends and members of the many organisations of which she was a president, vice-president or patron - almost 100 organisations altogether. The eulogy was gi... Read More

Westminster Diocese issued the following statement today: "With sadness we announce the news of the death on Monday 2nd October of Fr Dominic Anthony McKenna, Parish Priest of the parishes of St Teresa of the Child Jesus, Borehamwood and Ss John Fisher and Thomas More, Borehamwood North. Fr Dominic died peacefully in the Royal Free Hospital where he had been for the past few weeks. He was born in ... Read More

Fr Philip Endean SJ, died at the Vanves Jesuit Community healthcare facility in Paris, around 9pm last night, Monday 18th September. He was 68 years old, in the 47th year of religious life. Philip was born in Grove Park, London, on 26th December 1954. After primary school he was educated at St John's, Beaumont, and later at Stonyhurst. Between 1974 and 1977 he studied for a BA in English at Merto... Read More

Mgr Tadeusz Kukła, much-loved former university chaplain and Rector of the Polish Catholic Mission in England and Wales, died in Tarnow, southeast Poland on Friday, 8 September 2023, the Feast of the Birthday of Our Lady. He was 83 years old. Born on 22 February 1940, in Łukowa, the son of Franciszek and Maria née Barwacz, Tadeusz Kukla studied at the school and seminary in Tarnow. He was ordai... Read More