Trailblazer priest dies

BY jOE jENKINS
THE FIRST MARRIED priest to be received into the Catholic Church in England died last week, aged 74, in Leeds.
Fr Eric Thacker, who was a Methodist minister and then an Anglican vicar before being received into the Church 12 years ago, was ordained into the Catholic priesthood in November 1990. He worked as a chaplain at St James's Hospital and assisted with parish work at the Immaculate Heart and St Patrick's, Leeds.
He is survived by his wife, five children and two grandchildren.
At Fr Thacker's funeral Mass on Monday, Bishop David Konstant was visibly moved, said a member of the congregation.