(LifeSiteNews) — Catholics are mourning the loss of popular faithful priest Fr. John Hunwicke of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, who passed away earlier this week.
On Tuesday, April 30, Father John Hunwicke passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, according to a Facebook post by the Oxford Oratory in Oxford, United Kingdom.
“Fr Hunwicke has been a friend of our community and a familiar face to our congregation for many years,” the Oratory wrote. “He will be greatly missed.”
Hunwicke joined the Catholic Church in 2011 and was ordained a priest in 2012 for the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.
He was well-known for his blog, Fr Hunwicke’s Mutual Enrichment, covering a number of topics including the liturgical tradition of the Roman Rite, current heresies, and the examples of the saints.
Hunwicke was also a staunch defender of traditional Church teaching, advising Catholics to remain faithful to the Catholic Church while helping them navigate Pope Francis’ papacy and its often dubious teachings.
In 2019, Hunwicke joined other faithful Catholic clergy and scholars in an open letter accusing Pope Francis of committing heresy.
They asked the bishops of the Catholic Church, to whom the open letter was addressed, to “take the steps necessary to deal with the grave situation” of a pope committing this crime.
Similarly, in 2020, Hunwicke defended U.S. priests who desired to say the Mass ad orientem, facing the altar, after Bishop Peter Christensen of Boise demanded that “priests must face the people when celebrating the Novus Ordo.”
“The High Altar [not, be it observed, every altar] should be constructed away from the wall, so that the option is open [possit] of walking easily around it and using it for Mass facing the people,” Hunwicke proposed.
“This [i.e., having the altar free-standing so that the options are open] is desirable wherever possible,” he continued.
Funeral arrangements for Hunwicke will be announced shortly. The Mass is set to be held at the Oxford Oratory.
Grant, we pray, O Lord, that the soul of John, your servant and Priest, whom you honored with sacred office while he lived in this world, may exult for ever in the glorious home of heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.