Pope leads tributes to Sir David Amess
The Pope led tributes to Sir David Amess at a funeral Mass held in Westminster Cathedral for the late Conservative MP. The Pope, whom Sir David
– a devout Catholic – met on several occasions, praised the Conservative Southend West MP for years of “devoted public service”, in a message which was read out at the service.
Sir David was fatally stabbed at his constituency surgery in October.
The Mass was attended by hundreds of mourners, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative predecessors David Cameron, Theresa
May and Sir John Major.
Other senior political figures at the service included Labour leader Keir Starmer and Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, along with cabinet members including
Home Secretary Priti Patel – a close friend of the late MP – Chancellor Rishi Sunak and
Health Secretary Sajid Javid.
Parliamentary doorkeepers were among those present at the service to pay tribute to the MP, who served in Parliament for 38 years.
In a message delivered by Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain, the Pope called for those mourning Sir David to resolve to “combat evil with good” and to “build a society of ever greater justice”.
Following the Mass at Westminster, Sir David’s body was due to be interred during a private service. The Mass took place the day after a memorial service in Southend, during which hundreds of people lined the streets.
In a statement read out during the service by his friend, the former Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe, his family said: “We are enormously proud of him; our hearts are shattered, however there was still so much David wanted to do so this is not the end of Sir David Amess MP, it is the next chapter.”