Ministry to people dying of AIDS

Sr. Veronica Gissing writes:

I first came across AIDS when I was doing spiritual direction. I had someone who was desperately upset that her brother was dying of AIDS. She didn't really know what it was and neither did I. He was in the United States and she couldn't let the rest of the family know. I realised then, that this was something awful. A few months later I was in San Francisco, the Castle area, I was at Mass and the priest said, “Now let's pray for the next group of people who are going to die this week”. That's how it was, all the young in the Castle area were dying of AIDS.   When I got back to England I thought that I must do something but didn't know where to start.

I phoned someone who put me in touch with an Anglican Franciscan.  I went to see him, a lovely man.

AIDS in London was divided between the East and West. The West End had all the facilities, they were well educated, had money and the East was poor. Many of the people I met in the East came from difficult upbringings and I got the sense that they had never known love and now they were outcasts in the area. I was involved in a centre which we called Route 15- it was on the route 15 bus which many had to take to get up to the London hospitals. It was useful and no one in the local area knew what it was- so it was safe.

There was a quiet room with a peaceful waterfall. We met, talked and had a Tuesday night supper with yards and yards of jam roly-poly pudding and custard. They loved it!

Mostly we had young people but also a few wonderful middle-aged people who of course died quite quickly. We had many funerals, lots of different types of funerals. There was a lovely Catholic priest who was chaplain at London hospital who was very involved with the AIDS response, something that surprised many. He had a terrific sense of humour and a great Oxford accent which stood out in the chaotic East End!    Always on December 1st, a day to remember those affected by AIDS, we would hold a deeply spiritual remembrance service, with prayers and candles to remember those we had lost.

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Sr Gwyn Richards

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Sister Magdalen Bellasis – a remarkable Ursuline