THE severe shortage of Roman Catholic priests means Leyburn and Bedale will have to share one from September.
This will mean considerable reorganisation of services at Bedale, Leyburn and Ulshaw Bridge, and there will be no Sunday mass at St Columba's in Masham.
Mgr Seamus Kilbane, parish priest at Leyburn and Ulshaw Bridge for seven years, retires in September. The man given the responsibility of the double parish is Fr Pat O'Neill, at present at St Anne's, Eston.
In a letter to parishioners last weekend, the Bishop of Middlesbrough wrote: "The reality of our present severe decrease in priestly resources is causing this kind of pastoral reorganisation to become commonplace."
He praised Mgr Kilbane for his 46 years of priestly service and his work in the Leyburn and Middlesbrough diocese. and wished him at happy retirement at his new home in York
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