A light for every life lost
Cathedral tribute to Covid victims
MORE than 2,300 tealights illuminated Leicester Cathedral in a moving ceremony to mark the anniversary of the first national lockdown.
Each of the 2,307 candles lit during the moving Memorial of Lament service represented a life lost to the disease across the city, county and Rutland since the pandemic began.
The service, held on the anniversary of the first national lockdown, was also intended to recognise the other losses we have all suffered during the last year – from time with loved ones to jobs and stability.
Virus restrictions meant many were forced to watch the special serfrom home as local figureheads paid their respects.
One of the most moving speeches of the night came from Sanjiv Patel, a Covid-19 survivor who lost his father to the virus in 2020.
He shared his story of watching his family, including his children, face the symptoms of coronavirus before he and his father were both struck down and hospitalised.
Heartbreakingly, it was only Sanjiv who returned home, having been told of his father’s death on the phone while in his hospital bed.
“I’d spent all of my life with my father and I dearly miss him,”he said.
“However, I believe he lives through all of us today.”
Sanjiv, who is a spokesperson for BAPS Swaminarayan temple in Leicester, added he has since reflected on his faith and the values in life he holds dearest – including celebrating the memories he had with his father.
Dean of Leicester, The Very Reverend, David Monteith, gave the first reflections on the turbulent 12 months.
He said: “Tonight we stand in solidarity with grieving and those impacted by Covid-19.
“We stand in solidarity across all that can divide us as we see the disproportionate ways this virus has hit us and hit our worlds.”
The Lord Mayor of Leicester, Annette Byrne, and Leicestershire County Council chairman Pam Posvice nett lit the first two candles, to represent the lives lost in the city and county, respectively.
In the first speech of the service, Michael Kapur OBE, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire said: “Lockdown has been tough and has placed pressure on all our local services, economy and wellbeing in a way that hasn’t been seen since the Second World War.”
He also praised the NHS for their work so far in the “overwhelming task” of administering Covid-19 vaccinations.
Key workers – including carers, supermarket workers, teachers delivery drivers and police officers – were also recognised in his speech as the “unseen army of people workthe ing hard to keep us moving forward”.
His gratitude was also extended to community groups and volunteers who have helped the most vulnerable during the pandemic and without whose “kindness and sacrifice” we “quite simply couldn’t survive”.
Ivan Browne, director of public health for Leicester, opened his speech with the famous opening lines of Charles Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities - ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...’
He went on to recognise the city’s struggles and the way its people have come together in the face of adversity.
And as he closed his speech, he asked the city to “just keep holding on” until we “emerge united”.