THE 80th birthday of parish priest Father John Caden will be celebrated this evening with a Mass of Thanksgiving at Sedgefield St John Fisher RC Church.
Father Caden has been a priest for 54 years, 37 of which have been spent in Sedgefield, where he has been involved in the community as a town and county councillor.
His duties also included becoming chaplain to Winterton Hospital and later to the community hospital.
A founder member of Sedgefield Community Association, he is now the president and is also a representative of the diocese on Durham and Darlington education committees.
He has been closely associated with Carmel Technology College, in Darlington, where he was chairman of governors for 25 years.
A lover of sport, while a curate Father Caden was an amateur player with Darlington Football Club. Later his interest in tennis led him to becoming a regular playing partner of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
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