Special service held for former Roman Catholic Dean of Wigan as he celebrates 60 years of being a priest

Sixty years of service to the Roman Catholic church was celebrated at St Jude’s Church, Worsley Mesnes, where former Dean of Wigan Canon Pat MacNally was the parish priest for 28 years.

He stepped down from that role in 2017, but was back at his old church for a celebratory mass with those in attendance including The Archbishop of Liverpool, Malcolm McMahon, Auxiliary Bishop Canon Tom Neylon and no fewer than 37 other priests!

The service was followed by a reception at St Jude’s Club which included a presentation by the Irish consul and the whole event was filmed for Irish television.

Irish-born, Canon MacNally has a long association with the borough as he studied for the priesthood at St Joseph’s College in Up Holland and was ordained there in June 1963.

He then went to minister in Liverpool before returning to the borough in the ranks of the clergy in 1989.