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Catholic Universe

‘Dawn comes just after the darkest part of the night’ 150 150 mhamer

‘Dawn comes just after the darkest part of the night’
Fr Frankie Mulgrew has given a message of hope during the coronavirus pandemic

Fr Frankie has given a message of hope during the pandemic

Fr Frankie Mulgrew has talked about the “coming of the dawn” as the world battles the coronavirus pandemic.

Jimmy Cricket’s younger son is the parish priest of St James and All Souls in Salford and Catholic chaplain at Salford University.

He has also been assisting with hospital ministry during the current crisis.

Fr Frankie is reported in the Catholic Universe talking about the importance of hope and love in response to the virus.

“The greatest message we can give anybody is the message that they’re loved, and to know they’re not alone,” Fr Mulgrew said in a recent interview with The Art of Dying Well.

“They’re loved enough that someone wants to be sat next to them in this difficulty, wants to stand with them on this front line… I think that’s really key.”

Fr Frankie has been supporting Fr Mark Paver, who is the lead chaplain at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust.

He said chaplains have personal protective equipment (PPE) and take the lead from the hospital on whether they can go into wards to minister.

“We’ve got to have the gear on, and even with personal equipment – there’s still the eyes, hopefully you can still display a message of eyes of love,” he said.

However, he admitted it was “tricky” and these are particularly “difficult circumstances”.

‘No night lasts forever’

“It’s letting people know that they’re not alone really,” Fr Frankie explained. “And from the priest’s perspective; it’s that God never leaves them.

“I think that’s the key thing, that He never leaves them; and that he always joins them in their pain.”

He said it was “a great honour” to be able to help and support as a chaplain, but insisted: “The real heroes are the doctors and nurses.”

Fr Frankie added: “What I am holding onto is that basically, the dawn comes just after the darkest part of the night. The dawn is coming. No night lasts forever before the sun rises. And when it rises, boy, does it shine brightly.”

Read the full story here

The UK government announced on 23 March it was imposing strict new curbs on life in the UK.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales said public liturgies should cease until further notice because of the coronavirus.

Many churches have been getting around the problem by streaming their services online – including Fr Frankie.

Also read: Coronavirus pandemic: Fr Frankie’s Masses go online

Master of his profession… champion of his faith 150 150 mhamer

Master of his profession… champion of his faith

The Universe article about Jimmy Cricket

Jimmy Cricket’s faith and his Papal Knighthood are among the topics of a recent feature written about the famous entertainer.

The article, by Leon Spence, was published in the Catholic Universe – the largest-selling Catholic newspaper for Great Britain and Ireland.

Jimmy, 70, is described as “the sort of comedian who young and old could appreciate”.

“He’s the kind of comedian who can deliver corny one-liners like ‘A sock is a sock to you and me but to the old woman who lived in a shoe it was wall-to-wall carpeting’ but still raise a belly laugh with professional timing and child-like wonderment.”

The feature reflects in some detail on the Papal Knighthood Jimmy (born with the surname Mulgrew) was awarded last year for his work in the community.

It is described as “an achievement he doesn’t advertise but with which he rightly silently glows with pride when mentioned”.

And it concludes: “Readers will be fully aware that celebrity interviews are not my regular area of writing. Politics and the state of the world are something which floats my boat more. But perhaps all of us, from time to time, have a duty to ask what life is all about?

“Seeing a man like Jimmy Mulgrew in action, a master of his profession on stage and someone proud to wear his faith on his sleeve off it, isn’t a bad place to start trying to emulate.”