Remembering the victims of the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005 when 52 people died, Bishop Nicholas celebrated Mass on 8 July in Westminster Cathedral in their memory.
Reflecting on his own experience on the day of the 7/7 bombings, Bishop Nicholas recalled being in Rome with Cardinal Cormac where they heard the news of the “atrocity” and the Cardinal’s instant decision to return to London. He then went onto express compassion towards those who died in a prayer he recalled hearing days after the event which asked God to ‘stand beside these victims…their children and loved ones and comfort them in this darkest hour’.
Bishop Nicholas acknowledged all those involved in the event and their acts, such as ‘the courage of those who went to hold the dying and injured’, those who lost relatives and friends and those who ‘were traumatised through their involvement that day’. He mentioned being ‘deeply touched’ by a story of a man who was on one of the trains when a bomb went off who held a dying man in his arms and thanked God he could be there to comfort this man as he died, believing ‘no one should die alone’.
Expressing how touched he was by the man’s sense that ‘God used him to help that day’, he recited St Theresa’s words: ‘Christ has no body now on earth but yours’ as Christ ‘suffered with us’.
To read Bishop Nicholas' homily in full, please click HERE.
