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Over
three hundred people crammed into the 11.15 am Mass on a beautiful
summer's day in mid-june to celebrate Fr. Tom's Golden Jubilee
- fifty years of service to West Yorkshire as a priest, following
his ordination in All Hallows, Dublin.
Bishops
David Konstant (left) and Arthur Roche (right) both led the solemn procession into church and spoke warmly of Fr. Tom. The Mass for
the Feast of Corpus Christi was concelebrated by Fr. Tom himself
as principle celebrant, Bishop David, Mgr. canon John Murphy(who's
first posting as a priest was to Otley sixty-two years ago!)
with Bishop Arthur in attendance on the altar "in Choir"
along with Fr. Martin Kelly (bishop's secretary).
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Every other church in Otley was represented as Churches Together, plus fifteen of Fr Tom's family from as far afield as London, Northumberland and the West of Ireland plus half a dozen of Kitty's family and around a dozen personal friends of Fr Tom's and as many parishioners as could squeeze into church! Fr Tom welcomed everybody and thanked them for coming. The people of the Parish, he said, had supported him through the years. He was happy that they were there to celebrate with him.
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Sr Mary O'Connor, Kitty's niece Mary Carr and Moira Wright
read. Mgr Murphy read the gospel. Preaching on the gospel for Corpus Christi, Bishop David started by congratulating Fr Tom and thanking him for everything he had done over his fifty years. How wonderful, he said, that so many people had come along to add their congratulations to his own.
He recalled how his own First Holy Communion had brought him an awareness of the presence of God. The Eucharist, he said, brings us a sense of vocation and was food for our journey as we worked out what our vocation in life was.
The Offertory procession, by Fr Tom's brothers Gerard and Denis, sister Eilish and sister in law Sheila, widow of Fr Tom's brother Donal, included some unusual offerings, as well as the usual bread and wine. The man from Tralee received a Gaelic football shirt from County Kerry and a picture of him with his Mother and Father on the day of his ordination exactly fifty years before!
The lovely atmosphere in the church was beautifully enhanced by the St Joseph's school choir (pictured right), who under the guidance of June Heatley really does go from strength to strength. They were on top form, singing hymns chosen by Fr Torn himself - Praise My Soul the King of Heaven, All that I am, This is my Body, Oh Bread of Heaven, Follow Me - but singing the parts of the Mass they excelled themselves, including a particularly moving Agnus Dei in a lovely modern treatment that "made the day", according to one parishioner.
As ever, Danny Hinchliffe's sensitive organ playing added another dimension to the music, adding up to a tremendous musical experience at the Mass.
One nice touch at Communion was the sight of Tim Morgan clutching a brace of aprons at the back of Church, as the various cooks of the feast to come had arrived at the back of Church, still wearing their kitchen aprons, which they removed to receive Holy Communion!
Before the final blessing Bishop Arthur added his deep gratitude for Fr Tom's "tireless work" over fifty years, calling him in tribute "a gentle man, a compassionate man, full of priestly work who applied himself to the work of the Lord." Before he could go any further the whole congregation burst into spontaneous applause!
After his tribute Bishop Arthur presented Fr Tom with an Apostolic Blessing from Pope Benedict (left).
A Perfect Party
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The final blessing and procession saw the bishops and priests gathered at the back of Church and everyone filed out and shook Fr Tom's hand, as the alluring smell of cooking wafted from the lawn behind Clitherow House. Four hundred people gathered in and around three large marquees, provided by Lisa Gustafson, Dianne Gaskin and the Otley Town Football Club, and two large gazebos! Splendid looking tables were formally arranged for the guests, who sat down with all the parishioners to a magnificent meal of steak, chicken, burgers, sausages, spuds and lots of salad, plus a choice of puddings, with ice cream for the children! Tea and coffee for all was provided by the friends of St Joseph's while the Social Club and HCPT Group manned a bar outdoors at the back of Clitherow House.
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Saint Joseph's choir weren't finished yet, as at 3 pm Mrs Heatley led them and the school's Music Group through a concert for Fr Tom. Seventy children attended the event in total with games and activities organised for them. The children had prepared their own special card for Fr Tom, which Thomas Jessop
presented to him, made by themselves with contributions from each class in the school.
Ian Monger, as Parish Pastoral Council Chairman, introduced the Parish presentation for Fr Tom. Christine Nicholson
represented the Parish and handed over another card, prepared by Ann Whitehead and signed by the whole Parish and all the organisations, with a gift of a cheque for £2,500 collected for him.
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Later, Ron Dickenson presented him with a photographic record of the day in a luxury album, which also included events from Father's nearly ten years in Otley, such as the "Hard Road" drama on the history of the Parish.
To close, Fr Tom thanked everyone for coming and sharing his day, making his own presentation of a large bunch of flowers to Margaret Poole on behalf of her apron-wearing band of helpers.
A lovely friendly atmosphere added up to a party that no-one wanted to leave and indeed many continued the celebrations among themselves as they drifted away.
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Congratulations Fr Tom!
A large selection of photographs taken on the day can be seen HERE
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