When in April 2015, Pope Francis announced an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, he said he wanted to make it evident that the Church's mission was to be a witness of compassion. Within days, the Vatican released the bull of indiction 'Misericordiae Vultus' (or The Face of Mercy) formally convoking the Holy Year. In this, the pontiff wrote:"It will be a way to reawaken our conscience, too often grown dull in the face of poverty, and let us enter more deeply into the heart of the Gospel where the poor have a special experience of God's mercy ... Let us rediscover these corporal works of mercy: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned and bury the dead."
In view of Pope Francis's words, KSC Council 493 discussed the possibility of a sponsored walk with Father Sean Kirwin, parish priest of Saint Paul's and Saint Timothy's, who had expressed a wish to support the Pope's aims in the Year of Mercy. It was agreed that the West Derby parish would hold the walk and that the Knights of Saint Columba would coordinate these efforts. The parishioners promptly raised the magnificent sum of £1,648 in sponsorship money and on 13 December, Grand Knight Andrew Cleary together with Brothers Mark Thompson, Terry Kelly and members of their families, attended Mass at Saint Anne's, Overbury Street where Brother Andrew presented a cheque for that amount to Father Peter Morgan (see photo) in aid of the Asylum Link based in that parish.
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