Some blog readers will recognise a few of the faces in this photograph, which shows the blessing of a Christmas tree at St Thomas More's on this day in 1998. Among them are Bishop Brewer, and, to the left of the picture, Sister Maureen Coyne, and Ursuline sister who still serves the parish today. The blessing took place in the midst of work on the St Thomas More centre, which adjoins the church. Although blessing a Christmas tree seems one of the less significant acts of a Bishop's work, it was certainly handy for him to get to. From 1937, when St Thomas More's was founded, the Bishop of Lancaster was resident within its parish boundary, at Bishop's House on Cannon Hill. This situation ended in 2003, when Bishop O'Donoghue famously sold the house and moved into a small apartment on the Cathedral site, where he remained until his retirement in May 2009.
3 weeks ago
