Fittingly, Canon Bob Hamill, parish priest at St Michael’s in East Ham who regularly takes disabled and disadvantaged children and young people to Lourdes with HCPT, celebrated his golden jubilee on 20 July at the pilgrimage centre, where he is part of the annual Diocesan Pilgrimage.
Fr Dominic Howarth reports that ‘Fr Bob’ received many congratulations and blessings at the opening Mass of the Pilgrimage. “He has given us fifty years of kindness, dedication, service, humour, patience and joy. Fr Bob’s Group are an immense feature of the Diocesan Pilgrimage and a tremendous inspiration to two decades worth of Brentwood Catholic Youth Service young pilgrims, who see service, additional needs, and the sheer joy of priesthood with fresh eyes, because of Fr Bob. Ad Multos Annos!”
Mass concluded with a spontaneous rendition of Bread of Heaven, sung with great verve – Fr Bob is Welsh and was ordained in Cardiff by the then Bishop of Brentwood, Rt Rev Patrick Casey.
Hear from Fr Bob a few years ago in Lourdes about how much it all means to him: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kVmu481ux8M