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pope francis

‘I was beginning to think there’d been a mistake’ 150 150 mhamer

‘I was beginning to think there’d been a mistake’

Jimmy Cricket's Lancashire Evening Post columnJimmy Cricket has been reliving the moment he was told he had been awarded a Papal Knighthood by Pope Francis.

The famous entertainer, 70, tells Lancashire Evening Post readers in his latest monthly column that he thought there had been a mistake at first.

“It was a Friday afternoon in early October when Father Joe Sweeney, my  local parish priest from St Patrick’s (here in Rochdale) turned up at my door,” he recalls.

“As I brought him into the living room, I noticed he was carrying a large package.

“He said: ‘Jimmy, I’ve got a surprise for you. Would you like to sit down?’ He then opened the package to reveal a large certificate written in Latin.”

Adds Jimmy: “As he handed it to me and I looked closer, I could make out my real name in large letters – Jacob Joseph Mulgrew. As my full name is James Joseph Mulgrew, I was beginning to think there’d been a mistake.

“Then it dawned on me. Jacob must be Latin for James. Then I started to get excited.”

The veteran comedian was told he had been awarded a Papal Knighthood for all the work he had done over the years in support of charitable causes.

Jimmy was invested as a Knight of the Pontifical Order of St Gregory the Great in a special Mass at St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in January, presided over by the Bishop of the Diocese of Salford, Rt Rev John Arnold.

His LEP column for March continues: “All in all I was thrilled and humbled in equal degree at such an honour bestowed on me.

“Among some of the people who have received Papal Knighthoods in the past are Matt Busby, Bob Hope and Oskar Schindler. So you can see I’m in illustrious company.”

Pope Francis: Fr Frankie meets the Bishop of Rome 150 150 mhamer

Pope Francis: Fr Frankie meets the Bishop of Rome

Jimmy Cricket’s son Fr Frankie Mulgrew recently had the honour of meeting Pope Francis.

Fr Frankie, who has been a catholic priest for almost three years and is currently assistant priest at St Joseph’s Church in Blackburn, went on a January break to Rome after a busy time over the Christmas season.

Fr Frankie Mulgrew meets Pope Francis

While on holiday in Rome, Fr Frankie attended a papal audience and arrived at the Vatican with a picture of a special project he had been working on called the Mercy Bus. After the audience had concluded, Fr Frankie approached Pope Francis for a blessing for his project, which the Holy Father duly did.

The Mercy Bus project is an activity Fr Frankie has been heavily involved with and is very passionate about. It is a bus which has been commissioned by the Salford Diocese to tour around its various regions every Saturday afternoon throughout the period of Lent – a special time within the Catholic calendar. Wherever the bus stops, it will offer those who visit it the chance to meet a priest for a chat or to take part in an act of confession.

The places the bus has already visited or is still to visit include: Salford, Bolton, Burnley, Blackburn, Bury, Ashton-under-Lyne and north and south Manchester. The project also ties in with the current Jubilee Year of Mercy, which Pope Francis himself launched last December.

‘It was like the club circuit in the 1970s & 80s’ 150 150 mhamer

‘It was like the club circuit in the 1970s & 80s’

Jimmy Cricket appeared in the St Pat’s event at the Freckleton Sports and Social Club

Jimmy Cricket felt like he had gone back in time when he performed at a Lancashire venue recently.

The St Pat’s event featured famous entertainer Jimmy alongside the comedian Tony Jo at the Freckleton Sports and Social Club, just outside the city of Preston.

It was a fund-raiser to raise money for the cancer unit at the Victoria Hospital in Blackpool.

The event, which was held on a Sunday afternoon, was packed to the rafters.

Jimmy is performing more and more on a Sunday afternoon and is finding they are a popular time for people to attend a live event.

He said: “What made this afternoon even more enjoyable was that the atmosphere was more akin to the club circuit back in the 1970s and 1980s. I was very impressed with the set-up at this venue in Freckleton.”

Jimmy Cricket appeared in the St Pat’s event at the Freckleton Sports and Social Club

Fund-raiser for Lourdes Easter pilgrimage 150 150 mhamer

Fund-raiser for Lourdes Easter pilgrimage

Jimmy Cricket was at St Matthew’s Parish Hall in Jarrow in Tyne and WearJimmy Cricket was especially happy to help out at a fund-raising event recently.

The famous entertainer was at St Matthew’s Parish Hall in Jarrow in Tyne and Wear for the special function, which was organised by a lady called Liz Boylan.

It was arranged in memory of Liz’s late husband who passed away last year. She wanted the proceeds of the event to go to the Lourdes Easter pilgrimage. Easter is a special time at the famous shrine in France for young disabled children.

Liz got to know Jimmy’s son, Fr Frankie, when he studied theology at Ushaw College and Durham University a few years ago during his training for the Catholic priesthood.

So it was no surprise that Jimmy bumped into some of Fr Frankie’s friends with whom he trained and who went along to St Matthew’s to support Liz and her event.

Jimmy said: “A big thanks also to all at the Bede’s Well guest house in Jarrow where I and my wife, May, stayed after the show. We both received magnificent hospitality and I cannot praise the owner Paul enough.”

The two photos accompanying this story are of Jimmy and friends at the fund-raising event.

Jimmy Cricket was at St Matthew’s Parish Hall in Jarrow in Tyne and Wear