Page 12 - LOTN Autumn Issue 48 2021

OBITUARY

Fr Domenico leads two pilgrimages in 2022

r Domenico Zanre, parish priest of St Columba's,
Culloden, will lead two pilgrimages next year, and
Fthere are still a few places left if you're quick off the
mark!
The first is an eight-day pilgrimage, from the 16-23 May
2022, walking in the footsteps of Christ in the Holy Land.
From Galilee to Jerusalem, you will find yourself
immersed in spirituality and culture. This beautiful, tried
and tested itinerary promises to bring the faithful pilgrim
an unforgettable experience, including a non-stop return
flight from either Manchester or London Luton to Tel Aviv
airport, a touring coach and professional local guide,
as well as en-suite accommodation in Nazareth and in
Bethlehem.
The other pilgrimage is to Germany and Austria, to
see the great Passion Play in the small alpine village of
Oberammergau.
Since 1634, the entire town of Oberammergau, in Bavaria
(Southern Germany), has been involved in organising and
performing a play re-enacting the passion and death of The Oberammergau Passion Play
Christ. This Passion Play is mounted every ten years, and accommodation, and a full excursion programme, with
you will have the great privilege of sharing in this special guides, together with top grade tickets for the Passion Play.
event. You will find the full itinerary, pricing and booking forms
The price includes a return flight from Edinburgh for both these pilgrimages on the St Columba's website at:
to Munich, airport transfers, seven night’s half-board http://www.stcolumbasculloden.org/

Gerald Cunningham RIP loved the beauty of the
Church’s music, especially
the Gregorian, and gifted
“No Eulogy. ONLY the homily at the Mass which with a rich tenor voice, he
should include reference to the Four Last Things: Death, brought its beauty to others.
Judgment, Heaven, Hell (which are seldom referred to He was a founder member
nowadays)”. of the Cathedral Cantors.
Such were Gerald’s instructions. Very Gerald, it must be This explains today’s music.
said. Here too was a man who
Many have known him longer and in more intimate contexts experienced grief, losing
than I have. I can only say what I knew and how he appeared two wives to cancer and
to me. That isn’t to eulogise. It’s to remember him. And this others dear to him too.
is what we are doing in a Requiem: we are remembering There was something in the
someone before God. We are offering the fragments each of best sense stoical about him, Gerald Cunningham
us holds of a whole person who is known in his fullness only even in the way he sat himself in this church, dogged in prayer.
to God. Not a eulogy, just what I want to add to the “offertory
I remember a serious man, a man of the law by profession, collection”, so to speak. of our memories today.
a down-to-earth Aberdonian solicitor, fond of golf and skiing, St Augustine’s mother, St Monica, famously said that she
and in his heart a man of justice, resolutely so. didn’t mind where she was buried; what she really wanted after
I recall a man of just causes, eager to defend the unborn her death was prayer. And today Gerald, who definitely does
child, for example, or the unjustly accused, always ready to wish to be buried beside Rita, has said to us that he doesn’t
take up his pen and write to the Aberdeen Press and Journal want tributes. He wants prayer. He wants to refer us to what
on behalf of Christian and human good sense, even if it was lies beyond this world.
unpopular. ... Thank you for thinking of us in this way. May your
A man of loyalties: to his faith, to its liturgy, to the family and friends be comforted, may those who cared for you
sacraments. One of the few times, perhaps the only time in recent weeks be rewarded, may love of Christ fill us all, and
when he opened his eyes, during his last few days, was when may you pass from death to life.
he was anointed and absolved. Loyal to this parish, a faithful
attendee, a regular reader. A Catenian for many years, a papal Bishop Hugh Gilbert OSB
knight of the Order of St Sylvester. St Mary's Cathedral, Aberdeen, 24 November 2021
Ever since his time at St Mary’s College, Blairs, Gerald

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