Wednesday, November 4

1961: The Death of Bishop Flynn

Rt Rev. Thomas Flynn, Second Bishop of Lancaster, died on this day in 1961. He had presided over the Diocese for just over 22 years, a time which included the whole of the Second World War and its aftermath, the appointment of Lancaster's only auxiliary bishop to date, and the centenary of the Cathedral Church.

The notice book is surprising brief about his death; an entry for Sunday 5th November 1961 simply reads, "Bishop Flynn died about noon yesterday. His body will be brought here Wednesday at 4pm and the Requiem will be at 11.0 on Thursday." The entry for the following week suggests that there had been much activity in the intervening period: "We express our sincere thanks to those who kept guard over Bishop Flynn['s body], to those who worked in the cemetery and in the grounds to tidy them up for the funeral, to those who helped in church for the funeral Mass, to the bearers of the coffin and to those who helped in the presbytery while the visiting bishops were in residence. We call on you to pray for the soul of Bishop Flynn."