Three honoured for service to the Church

Pope Francis has honoured three dedicated St Mary’s Cathedral parishioners by awarding them the Benemerenti medal.

Bishop Terry presented the medals after concelebrating morning Mass with cathedral dean Canon Paul Farrer and his predecessor, Monsignor Gerard Robinson.

Teresa Lyth, Bernard McCaffrey and Paul Bowen have all given long and distinguished service to the Church.

“It was a great privilege, not just for the three of us, but also for the parish and the diocese,” said Paul, who, together with Teresa, organises stewarding at the cathedral.

“Our thanks must go to Pope Francis, the papal nuncio Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, Bishop Terry and Monsignor Gerard for sanctioning the award and also to our fellow parishioners and especially to our families, who have all supported us as we carried out our various ministries.”

Teresa chairs the parish Justice & Peace group and is also involved with organising food parcels for underprivileged families.

Bernard has been a steward since the cathedral opened and is now sacristan.

Paul is a registrar for weddings at both the cathedral and the Lady Chapel, among many other roles.