His knees were not as strong as his faith. But over the years, the weakness of the body did not affect his perseverance. In 2015, when he was 100 years old, he “takes a break” for a while when he realizes that his age has made him “a bit slow” in serving Mass!
91 years of service
For 91 years, he served as an acolyte for the Marian Starfish Catholic parish of the coastal city of Saltcoats in Ireland. From 1924 to 2015, Mr. Peter Reilly helped many generations of priests (at least thirty, according to the parish).
The Pope is grateful
Peter Reilly dedicated his life to family, community and faith, receiving the award of two pontificates: Benedict XVI awarded him the "Bene Merenti" medal, a medal awarded by Germany It was founded in 1832 by Pope Gregoria XVI to reward those who have served their families, their communities and the universal Church for a long time and outstanding service.
Pope Francis sent him his own blessing on the occasion of his 100th birthday. That day, he also received a birthday card from the Queen of England!
A white acolyte is waiting for him to put on to continue serving as a 101-year-old, and Peter declared: “Now I am afraid of falling when I go down the steps. But I'll keep going, I'm not giving up. I hope to be of Holy Communion again when my knees are “active” again!”