Westhoughton priest heads to Westminster for police Requiem Mass
Thursday 18th November 2021In the remembrance month of November, one of our parish priests travelled to Westminster to celebrate a Requiem Mass for men and women of the police force who have died over the past year.
Fr Barry Lomax, from The Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Westhoughton, also acts as the national chaplain to the Catholic Police Guild of England & Wales, and journeyed to Westminster Cathedral on Tuesday 9th November to help celebrate the guild’s 98th Annual Requiem Mass.
Due to Covid restrictions, this is the first time in two years the guild has been able to gather to celebrate the Mass at the cathedral – the guild’s spiritual home – tuning in last year instead to a virtual Requiem Mass led by Fr Barry at The Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The purpose of the Requiem is to remember and pray for those police officers and staff who have died both on and off duty, whether they be of our faith, other faiths, or had no faith at all. It is also an opportunity remember and pray for guild members who have passed away over the last 12 months.
As such, the guild welcomed representatives from police forces throughout England and Wales, including the Most Reverend Bishop Alan Williams SM, Bishop of Brentwood, to his first Police Requiem Mass in his new role as the Catholic Police Guild’s liaison with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Also in attendance was Kit Malthouse MP, Minister of State for Policing and Justice, and Dame Cressida Dick, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, along with many chief constables, deputy chief constables, and assistant chief constables from constabularies across England and Wales.
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