POPE BENTErarcr xvi has awarded the Bene Merenti medal to a man from Northamptonshire in recognition of his work training altar servers for around 25 years.
Barry Fosdyke, of the parish of St Edward's in Kettering, was given the award by Bishop Peter Doyle of Northampton.
Mr Fosdyke has served a parish since 1941, when he was a six-year-old parishioner at the parish of Ely.
In Kettering, he has been a faithful Master of Ceremonies and assistant at innumerable Masses. His assured, modest and calm way with the altar servers has long been a precious part of parish life. He has led numerous pilgrimages to Lourdes with his wife, Marion.