It is with sad news we announce the death of Fr Aidan Bede Sharratt. He died peacefully yesterday evening, 22 April, at St Anne’s Care Home in Stoke Newington with Little Sisters of the Poor, and Sr Clement, praying at his bedside.
Fr Aidan was born in Northumberland on 15 May 1940 and ordained to the priesthood on 1 July 1965. Condolences are extended to his family and friends and to parishioners who recall Fr Aidan from his ministry in various parishes in the Diocese, and to Sr Caroline and the Sisters, staff and residents at St Anne’s.
Fr Aidan’s mortal remains will be received at St Anne’s Care Home, 77 Manor Road, London N16 5BL at 4.45pm on Wednesday 21 May before a Requiem Mass to be celebrated by Bishop Paul McAleenan at 5pm.
The Funeral Mass will be on Thursday 22 May at 11am with Bishop Nicholas Hudson presiding. The homily will be given by Fr John Williamson OCD. Cremation will follow at Islington Crematorium, 278 High Road, London N2 9AG.
We pray for the repose of Fr Aidan’s soul:
Lord Jesus, our Redeemer,
you willingly gave yourself up to death so that all people might be saved and pass from death into a new life.
Listen to our prayers, look with love on your people who mourn and pray for Fr Aidan.
Lord Jesus, holy and compassionate, forgive his sins.
By dying you opened the gates of life for those who believe in you.
Do not let our brother be parted from you, but by your glorious power give him light, joy and peace in heaven where you live for ever and ever.
Amen.
These words were written by the late Pope Francis on 7 February 2025 for the preface of a book soon to be published by Cardinal Angelo Scola, ‘Awaiting a New Beginning. Reflections on Old Age’:
"…these are pages born ‘from the thought and the affection’ of Cardinal Scola: not only from thought, but also from the emotional dimension, which is the one to which Christian faith points, since Christianity is not so much an intellectual act or a moral choice, but rather the affection for a person — that Christ who came to meet us and decided to call us friends. It is precisely the conclusion of these pages by Angelo Scola, a heartfelt confession of how he is preparing himself for the final encounter with Jesus, that gives us a consoling certainty: death is not the end of everything, but the beginning of something. It is a new beginning, as the title wisely highlights, because eternal life, which those who love already begin to experience on earth within the daily tasks of life — is beginning something that will never end. And it is precisely for this reason that it is a ‘new’ beginning, because we will live something we have never fully lived before: eternity."
Eternal rest grant unto Fr Aidan, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Obituary
In his prime Fr Aidan Sharratt although small in stature, 'vertically challenged' as he described himself, was a big advocate for people locally and universally who were poor, disadvantaged or marginalised. At the diocesan Council of Priests he would always speak out to ensure that the discussions and recommendations took into account the circumstances and needs of the weakest and most vulnerable members of the Church and wider society. He was aware that he was seen as the spokesperson for ‘the people’s republic of Islington’, and he enjoyed this! He could be intensely serious and also delightfully funny.
Born in Northumberland on 15 May 1940 Aidan was the sixth child of ten – seven boys and three girls – born to Edward and Frances Sharratt. He was brought up in a family of practising Catholics. His early years were spent in Gosforth where the family home was across the road from St Charles church and the primary school that he attended until he went to St Mary’s Missionary College at Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria. He was always aware and proud of the traditions of the Church in the north east of England, the land of saints such as Aidan, Bede, Cuthbert, Hilda and Oswald. His brother Michael was a priest, his sister Anne was a Religious Sister with the Medical Missionaries of Mary. Fr Michael lectured at Ushaw College, Sr Anne was a missionary in Nigeria. Aidan’s sense of vocation to the priesthood, from an early age, led him to the Holy Ghost Fathers, now known as the Spiritans. He was sent for studies in Rome, at the Pontifical Gregorian University, to study for a Licence in Sacred Theology.
Aidan was ordained to the priesthood, on 1 July 1965 by Bishop Edward Ellis of Nottingham, in Wellsborough, Leicestershire. Fr Aidan Sharratt CSSp celebrated his first Mass in Ponteland, Northumberland. He and his religious superiors were hoping that he would undertake missionary work in Nigeria but the plan was thwarted due to war and Fr Aidan was sent to London to study Classics at Queen Mary College, part of London University, in Mile End. He lived in the presbytery of Guardian Angels parish, Mile End from 1965-68. He then returned to Grange-over-Sands to teach at the Holy Ghost junior seminary until 1971 when he returned to Mile End to take up his appointment as Assistant Priest until 1973. He was then appointed Assistant Priest at St Joan of Arc, Highbury. He felt at home in the Diocese of Westminster and became an incardinated priest of the Diocese in November 1974. He remained at Highbury until 1978. His next appointment took him to Holy Rood, Watford where he remained until 1980 when he was appointed Parish Priest at St Paul the Apostle, Wood Green. He remained there until 1982. He was then appointed Assistant Priest at St Thomas More, Manor House and Parish Priest the following year. The parish modelled the Church of Vatican II and Fr Aidan’s pastoral ministry of outreach and inclusion, and his celebration of the liturgy, was appreciated by his parishioners. He remained in Manor House until January 2003 when he requested and was granted sabbatical leave.
Fr Aidan’s sabbatical enabled him to fulfil his ambition to walk the medieval pilgrim route through Italy, from the north west to the south east, the ‘Via Francigena’, from the Swiss border to the heel of Italy. The distance of over 900 miles was done entirely on foot. In his book ‘One Pilgrim’s Story’, a personal discovery of the Via Francigena, published in 2009, he wrote, 'To walk is to be in touch with both a land and its people, and I was more than happy to depend on those I met, and bring out that innate kindness which is in every Italian. I felt close to the medieval pilgrim too. Most of them walked, though some of the menfolk had donkeys (not so the women and the poor).' Fr Aidan was motivated to reach the destination while making the most of the journey – perhaps an allegory of the life of faith, a faith mediated to Fr Aidan by his family and also the faith of the saints of Northumbria whom he knew so well.
On his return from sabbatical Fr Aidan took up his next appointment as Parish Priest at St Joseph, Carpenders Park and South Oxhey from January 2004-12. In 2012 he was appointed Chaplain to the Sisters at the Carmelite monastery in St Charles Square, off Ladbroke Grove. As the resident Chaplain, ministering to the Sisters and living independently alongside the monastery, the situation suited him not least because of proximity to St Mary’s Hospital and the nearby Health Centre. At this time he was suffering with arthritis, kidney problems and deafness. He described celebrating Mass every day for the Carmelite Sisters as a privilege. In January 2015, four months before his seventy-fifth birthday,
Fr Aidan wrote to Cardinal Vincent to express his wish to retire from full time ministry at the customary age and to begin the next stage of his priestly life, 'probably in a home for the elderly', preferably in a place where other priests of the Diocese were living. He was keen that notice of his retirement would give sufficient time for his successor to be identified and appointed. He retired as Chaplain to Notting Hill Carmel in July 2015.
Fr Aidan did not relocate to a home for the elderly but to the presbytery of St Mary and St Michael parish, Commercial Road where he was given a warm welcome by Fr Willie Skehan, the Parish Priest. Fr Aidan moved there in July 2015 soon after celebrating the Golden Jubilee of his ordination. His accommodation was a well-appointed self-contained flat within the large presbytery. He was pleased to be of service to the parish, a parish that was living out the principles of the Second Vatican Council in terms of liturgy and pastoral engagement. Fr Aidan was happy. During the Covid lockdown he could be relied on to produce tasty pasta meals every evening, having developed an appetite from walking and gardening. As his health declined additional care was needed and St Anne’s Care Home in Stoke Newington, with the Little Sisters of the Poor, was to be his final place of residence. He went to live there in May 2021 to receive the care and support he needed, especially as the effects of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia increased. He came to be appreciated and loved by the Little Sisters, staff and residents. In August 2021 his younger brother, Fr Michael Sharratt, a priest of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, died at the age of 82 years. He had been living with the Little Sisters of the Poor at their care home in Newcastle.
Fr Aidan died peacefully at St Anne’s Care Home on 22 April 2025 at the age of 84 years, a few months before he was due to celebrate sixty years of priestly life and ministry. He was known by his family, friends and parishioners as having a deep faith, a quirky sense of humour and being something of a rebel. His idiosyncratic character endeared him to many and may have irritated some. When he felt something needed to be said or written he didn’t hold back. He was a Reader and Life Member of the British Library, often spending his weekly day off there doing his own research and also voluntary work identifying and translating medieval documents. He enjoyed doing crosswords, he read widely and accumulated a large number of books. He spoke Aramaic, French, German, Hebrew and Italian. He was keen on cricket from an early age, both watching and playing, and was a supporter of Newcastle United Football Club. He enjoyed walking, especially in the beautiful Northumberland countryside, along Hadrian’s Wall, and also the coastline of England in stages over three years. He also enjoyed art and was something of an artist, gifted at drawing cartoons and painting. History, especially Roman civilisation, and archaeology were also important to Fr Aidan. But, above all, it was his faith that was most important to him, and the vocation to which he was called – a vocation of service of the Lord and the Church, and the people entrusted to his care.
May the soul of Fr Aidan, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
