A View From The Pew – September 2026
Dorothy Alder R.I.P. (ILMODB)
I have a statue of Saint John Paul II in my bay window in the Presbytery at Brailes. It was gifted to me by Joan Manuel, the daughter of Dorothy Alder. My first appointment as parish priest was to St Anthony of Padua, Headington, way back in 1991. Those of you who are familiar with the John Radcliffe hospital will also be aware of the church in Headley Way which is situated at the entrance to the hospital grounds: That is St Anthony’s. As well as being appointed parish priest, I was also RC chaplain to the hospital, on call (with the dreaded bleep) six days and nights a week – (How times have changed!).
Dorothy was housebound when I arrived at St Anthony’s, so I would visit her on a regular basis with Holy Communion. I imagined that she was very active in the parish in her younger days: Indeed, her great faith and enthusiasm was passed on to her daughter Joan, who remained a great pillar of the parish over the decades.
Dorothy had a great love and devotion to Pope John Paul II, and I remember her proudly showing me the statue of him that she had bought. Knowing that the Pope used to enjoy hillwalking on his summer holidays, she used to write to him each year sending some Kendal Cake for his treks. She was greatly surprised and honoured one year to receive a letter from him, thanking her for her kind and regular gesture. Now I think Dorothy used to write in her letter about the Parish, because the Pope also wrote back in his letter that he would remember in his prayers the children and young people of St Anthony’s.
I remember vividly my first Mass at St Anthony’s and recalling that there were no children or sounds from children in the congregation. Coming from a busy, family-orientated parish in Birmingham as an assistant priest, it was certainly a sad memory. But over the next eight or nine years the parish had, what I can only describe, as a “baby boom” and families came flocking to the parish with babies in abundance being born. So much so, that over the years we had at least a dozen children happily going off to their children’s liturgy during Mass and the parish became well known for its vibrant and family community. One of these baby boomers was ordained to the priesthood this year, whilst another is a full-time nurse working in one of the poorer London hospital areas. Another founded “Empathy Week” in 2020, which has reached 1.8 million students in over 56 counties”.
Now I have little doubt that the promise made by Pope John Paul II brought about this wonderful transformation in the parish. And I am certain that this came about through the faith, love and initiative of dear Dorothy Alder.
Saint Pope John Paul II feast day is on October twenty second. His story is remarkable, and his pontificate was memorable: Indeed, many have given him the title – “St Pope John Paul the Great”. We also have the feast of All Saints. This is celebrated annually on 1st November, and on this day we are given the opportunity to remember those who do not have specific feast days in the liturgical calendar but, nevertheless, are now saints in heaven, praying for us all. I would like to think that Dorothy is numbered among these saints and her daughter Joan who passed away in 2024.
No doubt you will have known such people in your own lives, and it is my hope and prayer that through the power of the Holy Spirit your relationship with them continues. I also hope that one day we shall be numbered among the saints in heaven, where we shall meet the great saints, and the little saints, who help us even now through their prayers, their faith, and example.
God Bless, Fr David Tams