Pilgrims hope for new saint
Hundreds of Catholics made a pilgrimage to an abbey to pray for a former priest to become Britain's first black saint.
Blessed Cyprian Tansi, who was born in Nigeria, was a monk at Mount St Bernard Abbey, near Whitwick, for over a decade.
About 700 worshippers held a mass and prayed, danced and sang on Saturday, asking God to make him a saint.
Father Joseph Delargy, of the abbey, said: "The day went very well and was very colourful due to all the singing and dancing.
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"It was a lovely day, and the weather stayed good for us.
"It began with a mass and that went on for two-and-a-half hours with all the singing and dancing.
"We had a 45-minute break for food, which everyone brought, and then had a procession and various prayers and blessings."
Mr Tansi arrived in Leicestershire from Nigeria in 1950 to train for the priesthood and remained a monk at Mount St Bernard's for 14 years, until his death in 1964, aged 61.
Comments
by Elaine1971
Friday, August 31 2012, 11:38AM
“Thought it was busy when I passed on the way home from work last Saturday!
I often give the monks a cheery wave, and on Tuesday I saw two nuns near the monastery... their faces lit up when I waved to them. Needless to say, they enthusiastically waved back at me. :o)”