THE new Catholic Priest for St Cuthbert Mayne Parish said he is ‘privileged and humbled’ to have received such a warm welcome from his parishioners.

Canon John Deeny has been appointed to Launceston following the retirement of Fr David Annear.

Fr John, whose previous parish was at Exeter, transferred to the parish just over a month ago. As well as Launceston, the parish includes the Catholic communities at Bude and Callington, after Fr David incorporated them a few years after his appointment in 2010.

Fr John is now settling into life in Launceston after a busy September, during which he went to Rome through his role as priest lead for Caritas Plymouth, which is just getting off the ground. Caritas is the charitable outreach programme of the Catholic church, working in almost every country of the world.

He said: “I always knew when I was coming, September was going to be a busy month! Now in October I’m just feeling like I’m settling down a bit.

“I would love to spend a little time walking around the town, look at Launceston Castle and St Mary Magdalene’s Church. I would really like now to have a bit of time to be around a bit.”

Fr John said he’s also looking forward to learning more about the town and its history, for example, about the late Launceston poet Charles Causley. He said: “I don’t know much about him. My dad was an English literature man, so it would be slightly in his honour.”

Fr John is a priest of the Diocese of Plymouth and all his ministry has been in the diocese. He was ordained priest in his home parish of Crownhill, Plymouth in 1982. He joked: “Sometimes I look at the album and it’s all in colour, and the photos look really clear — it doesn’t look so ancient! Happy memories.”

He added: “In all my time I’ve never ministered in Cornwall.” Prior to Launceston, Fr John was in Exeter since 2002, first at Heavitree, then for the last three years at Sacred Heart.

He was born and brought up in Plymouth, and in his younger years his family would go to the beaches at St Ives and Whitsand.

Fr John said: “Although I was brought up in Plymouth, Cornwall’s a place of mystery and enchantment to me — in the best possible way.” He said he is ‘absolutely delighted’ to be in Launceston.

He said: “It’s quite a thing for anybody moving house, but for us everything changes — the people we know, our environment, the house — everything. Parish is like family to us in a sense.

“It’s a big change but it’s been made so much easier. While I loved where I was, I was kind of looking forward to coming to Cornwall, and knowing a little bit about the parish, to coming here.”

He also praised St Cuthbert Mayne Church, which was built over 100 years ago and contains the national shrine of St Cuthbert Mayne, who died for his faith in 1577. Fr John said: “The church — everything is so well kept. Fr David and the parishioners kept everything so beautiful and well cared for. It was lovely to come in where the church wasn’t falling down or the roof needs replacing!

“This church is a shrine to the martyr so it’s a very special church for our diocese.”

Launceston is special personally to Fr John too as when he was a child, an altar server, he went on the Launceston pilgrimage, describing it as a ‘massive event’ with around 7,000 pilgrims. Speaking to the Post from the presbytery, opposite the church, he said: “I remember coming here as a child when this was all fields — I think the pilgrimage started in the square.

“It’s quite an honour to be here. The relic is kept here — it’s a lovely connection for the diocese.”

Fr John was brought up in a Catholic family, and said always going to church on Sunday was part of their lives. He said: “There was a sense from a time of about 14 of vocation, of calling. I went on camps for people that might be interested in exploring vocation and they were very enjoyable camps.” He said he thinks it was then in school when his Catholic faith ‘changed from being something quite cultural, something I’ve always done, to being something quite personal — having that real sense of being called by the Lord and discipleship to follow him’.

He said he had very interesting jobs, including on ocean going tugs, and went to seminary when he had just turned 18 years old. This is where his love of Spain comes from, as he spent six years there, and he goes back every year with three men he went to seminary with.

As well as priest lead on Caritas Plymouth, he is one of the two vicar generals for the diocese, meaning he works very closely with Bishop Mark O’Toole, and is able to represent the Bishop at functions and events. As canon, he is part of the chapter of canons for Plymouth Cathedral for the diocese.

Fr John’s first service here was on his 60th birthday, when he said the parishioners put on a surprise party after mass. He said: “They were very welcoming — it’s really humbling.”