THE FUNERAL of a priest will be held at the same church in Barnsley where he started his ministry more than 50 years ago.
Canon Fr Stuart Ramsden died on Sunday aged 84. He had served as a parish priest 55 years, having retired in 2004.
His funeral will be held at St Peter’s Church on Doncaster Road, Barnsley, tomorrow (Saturday February 3) at noon followed by burial at Holy Innocents in Thornhill, Leeds.
The Archdeacon of Pontefract Peter Townley said Fr Ramsden had touched many lives during his tenure across Barnsley and other parts of the diocese including Featherstone and Middlestown.
“He had just celebrated his 84th birthday and had been a priest for 55 years,” said Mr Townley.
“He started his ministry at St Peter’s in Barnsley and it is particularly appropriate he is going to be taken into church there and the funeral is going to take place there.
“He learned the faith as a child at Holy Innocents in Thornhill, Leeds. After the funeral he is going to be buried there in the church yard.
“Throughout his ministry he was a very faithful parish priest, he was kind and generous and especially during the years when he had been retired he was such a great help in all the churches.
“He gave his whole life to the church and he was a great friend to many, many people.
“He is someone who we will all miss.”
Fr Ramsden never married and had two older sisters. He is survived by a niece who lives in York.
