Pray for the soul of Father Mark Elvins, KCGCO, OFM, Cap., who died at Oxford todayEternal Rest Grant to Him O Lord
And Let Perpetual Shine Upon Him
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8 comments:
May the angels escort him to Paradise. Amen.
A great friend to the poor and homeless.May the Lord have mercy on his soul and may he arrive safely home to heaven
His Memorial will always be The Soup Run which keeps desperate people alive every single day of the year whatever the weather God Rest His Soul
I don't remember Fr Mark looking like that. He was curate at St Peter's Hove from about 1980 until 1983, when he moved to St Mary Magdalen's and was curate until Fr Flanaghan died in 1990.
A truly kind, courteous and gentle man, who embodied and lived out to the full the chivalrous ideals he cherished. May Perpetual Light shine upon him and may he enjoy the company of Saint Francis, Blessed Charles von Hapsburg and all the saints and intercede for us who will miss him. Donal
I have mentioned the passing of Fr Mark at http://www.thomasmorelegal.org.uk/frmark.htm
Father Mark was the founding member and indeed the inspiration behind the founding of the Thomas More Legal Centre. When he and I firth met at St Walburgh in Preston it was the beginning of the process that led to the creation of the Centre
He served from the beginning as as Chaplain to the Centre and and as a valued member of the Board of Trustees combining it with his many other Charitable activities.
He will be greatly missed
Neil Addison (Barrister)
Director, Thomas More Legal Centre
I know Fr. Mark was dilgently writing his PhD thesis while he was at St Albans in Winslow, but am unsure whether he ever managed to complete and submit?
If not one hopes the University will fittingly award a postumuous PhD degree to him - he deserved it!!
I first met Mark at Oxford when he was at St Stephen's House and I was at Greyfriars. We were both involved in founding the Oxford Simon (Cyrenian) Society in 1967. Mark was a wonderful Chairman of the Group while I served as Treasurer. He revealed to me his cherished wish to become a Franciscan but didn't see how he could do this and remain an Anglican. I used to take him along to Greyfriars whenever we had student functions and he just admired the life of the Friars there. Leaving the Anglican Church would mean a giant step because his father was an Anglican Priest and he knew how his family would be very angry if he dropped out of St Stephen's. The bishop sent him away on along retreat to get his 'house' in order but Mark spent the time reading the works of John Henry Newman and other converts to Catholicism and was convinced by their arguments. He came back and decided to become a Catholic Priest. He was sent to Rome to study at the Beda and Gregorian and was ordained for the Diocese of Brighton and Arundel. The rest of his life is well documented. He was ostracised from his family bur never forgot his love for the poor. I lost touch with Mark till I returned to Greyfriars for their fiftieth anniversary. The first person I met who greeted me with a warm hug was this bearded Franciscan who called me Joe.. I asked who he was and he said laughing, " don't you remember. I'm mark Elvins." I was speechless. I had heard that he was a priest but did not know he had become a Franciscan. We had a wonderful catch-up and he said our friendship during our student days especially working with the poor had persuaded him to become a Greyfriar. I heard later that he had been sent to aFriary in the north but lost touch again until a mutual friend, a former friend from Grayfrias, wrote from Brighton to tell me Mark had died. I hope to be at his Requiem Mass at Greyfriars if my health allows. I don't know if he was ever reconciled with his family. May he rest in peace.
Rev deacon Joe Rogan
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