A POPULAR and long-serving priest, Fr Pat Kilgarriff, retires at the end of July.

He has been parish priest at St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, Newtown Road, for 14 years.

Fr Pat formally offered his retirement at the age of 75, in line with all priests who reach this age.

He has remained parish priest for an extra year, enjoying both the community at St Joseph’s and indulging greatly in his favourite past-time of walking.

At a special mass last Sunday, Fr Pat was presented with a framed picture of the Malvern Hills by Chris Burger, chair of the parish council, together with a special cake, flowers and many cards. He also received a special book of memories with contributions from many people in the church.

At a reception in the school hall after Mass he reflected on his long years of service both in Malvern and with the wider Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham.

Fr Pat has served as a parish priest all over the Midlands and also spent a number of years as the rector of the seminary, the Venerable English College, in Rome.

Fr Pat will retire to live at St George’s Church in Worcester. A new parish priest will be appointed shortly.