Father Pat served the parish of Our Lady of
Lourdes, Kingswood as Parish Priest from 2002 to 2010. During the eight years
Father Pat spent as our Parish Priest we were all able to count on the core
values he cherished, which made him such a wonderful man and priest. Among all
the others, his stand-out qualities were no doubt his sincerity, warm
heartedness, unfailing support and his heart full of compassion.
While with us, both of Father Pat’s parents
fell seriously ill and indeed he subsequently suffered the loss of both of them
within a very short space of time. He would often dash off to the family home
in the north of England to help care for them, but always ensured he was back
in time to celebrate weekend Mass.
Celebrating Mass was core to Father Pat’s
faith and he had a special affinity with those who have preceded us in faith,
which he demonstrated by celebrating special Masses for the dead in November
and December. Easter embodies the centre of our faith and Father Pat would
always dedicate all his energy to the preparation of the Easter Triduum. He
wanted us all to share in the glory of the risen Christ and put all his efforts
into ensuring we were prepared.
Father Pat did not enjoy the best of health,
but he always took his medical concerns in his stride, displaying great
resilience and a disarming sense of humour. He made a famous comment when
announcing that he was obliged to go into hospital for the eighth time to have
yet another operation on his head: “they haven’t found a brain yet, let’s hope
they’re lucky this time!”
Father Pat was born on 23rd
December 1954 and died on 31st October 2013. He was ordained as a
Priest on 26th June 1992. Funeral Mass was held for him at Clifton
Cathedral on 15th November 2013, celebrated by Bishop Declan,
accompanied by around sixty priests and deacons.
The first reading was from Isaiah 25:6-9
which refers to the Lord removing the mourning veil and the wiping of tears
from every cheek. The second reading from Romans 14:7-12 refers to us living
and dying for the Lord. The Gospel was taken from St. John, the passage during
which Jesus explains: “I am the Way, The Truth and the Life. No one can come to
the Father except through me.”
The homily was given by Father Pat’s very
good friend, Rev Canon John Cunningham. Their friendship began when they both
started training for the priesthood in Rome. Father Pat had obtained a degree
in mathematics before entering training for the priesthood.
In the large congregation were many from our
parish, reflecting the great love and respect our parishioners had for Father
Pat. Also present were parishioners from Cheltenham where he served before he
came to us and from Chard, where he went after leaving us. Father Pat
accompanied many pilgrims to Lourdes and how pleasing it was to see many of
those pilgrims paying their last respects.
Father Pat will be very fondly remembered by
so many whose lives he touched. May he rest in peace.
