Famous entertainer Jimmy Cricket, aka James Mulgrew, has been invested as a Knight of the Pontifical Order of St Gregory the Great at St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Rochdale.
The service on Saturday 16 January was presided over by the Bishop of the Diocese of Salford, Rt Rev John Arnold.
Jimmy’s son, Fr Frankie Mulgrew, attended along with the parish priest of St Patrick’s – Rev Joe Sweeney, one of the Vicar Generals of Salford – Cannon Michael Cooke – and friends of Jimmy, Fr Des O’Driscoll and Fr Tom Mulheran.
Also present at the service was fellow comedian and papal knight, Don Maclean, who had travelled up for the service from his home in Solihull in the West Midlands.
The proposer of the award was Bill Lees. At first he did not know whether he could make the service due to a prior commitment, but in the end only missed the first 10 minutes and was able to make the rest of this special occasion.
The role of sponsor during the investiture part of the ceremony (pictured above) was taken by Lord David Alton.
During the service the choir from St Patrick’s primary school sang and there was also a song of reflection sung by Jimmy’s daughter, Katie.
After the service, a reception was held at the nearby St Vincent’s Parish Hall in Norden and most people who had attended the Mass were able to continue to celebrate with Jimmy on what was a memorable day for all.
* Click on either of the arrow-shaped play buttons above to watch a slideshow of pictures. The photographs (apart from the cover of the order of service) were provided by Michael Davis.
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