Priscilla Barlow, former County Ecumenical Officer (CEO) for Cambridgeshire, was yesterday (Sunday 13 June) made a Dame of St Gregory in recognition of her many years of work for Christian unity at county, diocesan and national level.
Priscilla served Cambridgeshire for over fourteen years as its CEO, and as well as honouring her, is also formal recognition of the importance which the Catholic Church places on ecumenism.
Priscilla is the second County Ecumenical Officer to be so recognised, following Anne Doyle, former County Ecumenical Officer for Wiltshire and Swindon, who became a Dame of St Gregory in 2004. She is pictured here with Bishop Alan Hopes, Catholic Bishop of East Anglia, who made the presentation, and Dr Geoffrey Cook, a Permanent Deacon who has chaired the Diocesan Commission for Dialogue and Unity since 1984.
The Order of St Gregory the Great is the fourth highest Papal order and is awarded for conspicuous service to the Church. It is not restricted to Catholics, and in 2016, Sheilagh Kesting, former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and former Ecumenical Officer of the Church of Scotland, was also made a Dame of St Gregory.