Of your charity, please pray for the repose of the soul of Dom Adian Doyle OSB. Monk Of Belmont Abbey, Hereford. Details of Father Aidan’s Requiem Mass to follow.

The following was posted on the Belmont Abbey website.

2nd June 2019

Dear friends in Christ,

We have all been saddened by the death of Fr Aidan, your beloved Parish Priest and a member of the Belmont Community. After a long and painful battle with cancer and a series of chest infections, he died peacefully on Monday, 27th May, the Solemnity of St Augustine of Canterbury. I was privileged to give him the Last Rites. Fr Aidan was only 63 years’ old and had served at Belmont in many capacities: monastic infirmarian, running Hedley Lodge in the early days, curate on various parishes, parish priest at Whitehaven, then Abertillery and Brynmawr, and finally at Bromyard and Leominster. He was a wonderful pastor, who took special care of the sick, dying and bereaved. His words of encouragement were filled with compassion and faith. You always came away from any conversation with him feeling better inside and touched by God and Our Lady, to whom he had the greatest devotion. He had a wicked sense of humour and was a brilliant mimic. We pray that the good Lord will receive him into the choir of angels and saints.
I would like to thank you all for caring for Fr Aidan during his last, protracted illness. Almost to the end he lived in hope of recovery and returning to serve you, his parishioners, but God had other plans. Now that he has left us, I can assure you that in a short time, in consultation with the Archbishop, I will appoint a parish priest to each parish, Thank you for your patience. In addition to praying for Fr Aidan and his family, could you spare a prayer for the Belmont Community? We have lost so many good men to an early grave, in fact, all Fr Aidan’s contemporaries. I wonder what God is trying to tell us! Let us live in hope and thanksgiving.

Every prayer and blessing,

Fr Paul

A few photographs of Fr Aidan and also Hugo his best friend.