Earlier this year, the family of Mercy Associate Delia Lowndes RIP expressed a wish to honour their mother’s memory as well as her contribution to Corpus Christi Parish and our Mercy family with a lasting memorial. The idea of a tree in the Church Gardens was proposed and Father Andrew Martinez SDV, our Parish Priest, readily agreed. The family purchased a Silver Birch tree and Sisters Maura Halpin and Maureen Murphy, Mercy Associates Marie and Albert Gray, Sarah Hickman, Jan Keegan, Jim McEvilly and Brenda Ryan along with other friends of Delia RIP, gathered with them for the planting ceremony on Sunday 3rd September 2017 – Delia’s 2nd Anniversary. Recently ordained Father Fretch Ballesteros SDV led us in prayer to the God of all creation and blessed the planting site with holy water. Sister Maura concluded the ceremony with a final prayer and we proudly sang ‘the Suscipe’ around the young tree. It was appropriate that this prayerful event took place during ‘the Season of Creation’ designated by Pope Francis. The Silver Birch is a beautiful addition to our Church grounds, a living ‘Mercy’ reminder to us of a faithful Associate and a comfort to her family.

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