On Sunday 23 July, Canon Peter Stanley will officially celebrate his Ruby Jubilee into the priesthood.

After a childhood spent moving around from place-to-place, Fr Peter found solace in the church, and wanted to become a priest since making his First Holy Communion.

After finishing school, he went to work in his parents’ business, and then trained to be a pilot. He even got his pilot’s licence. He was then training for a Commercial Licence in Birmingham, before deciding to join seminary.

 On his journey into the priesthood, Fr Peter said: “I always wanted to be a priest from my earliest days as a child.

 "But because my dad was in the Police Force in Lancashire County, we lived like nomads, and moved from house to house in Lancashire.

 “So, I had a very poor early education and even into High School. I was at St. Kevin's in Kirkby for most of my later education and still wanted to be a priest then, but because I did so badly in my O Levels, I was told I probably couldn’t cope with the studies.

 “So, I left and went to work. I worked on the new Seaforth Container Docks, as a Junior Engineer and then went into business with my parents for seven years in a hotel. During that time, I trained to be a pilot.

 “As a result of that, I was going to get a sponsorship with an airline then called British Caledonian Airways, based in Birmingham.

 “One day I flew another pilot up to Carlisle airport, flew back alone, got in the car drove into Liverpool to a priest I knew in St. Margaret Mary's in Knotty Ash. I rang the doorbell; he answered the door and he knew straightaway why I had come.

“He said ‘it hasn't gone away, has it?’ I said, ‘No Father’.  So I came in, had a chat, and in the September 1978, I started college to be a priest. I was 25 when I started, and 31 when I was ordained.”

Since his ordination back in 1983, Fr Peter has mainly worked in hospital chaplaincy and although it is not the easiest at times, he does take rewards from the work he does.

He added: “For the last 40 years, I've always been involved with Hospital Chaplaincy.

 “I was at St. Luke's for six years. Then I was appointed Youth Chaplain and School Chaplain, moving full time to Southport, St. Mary's. While I was there, I helped the Chaplain at Southport Hospital with cover for his days off and holidays.

 “And then I was moved to Our Lady’s, Hillside as parish priest, before going to St Joseph’s, Chorley in December 1994. Of course, Chorley Hospital is in that parish. So, it meant I could continue with Hospital Chaplaincy.

 “Hospital chaplaincy, for me personally, is a very fulfilling and very humbling ministry.

 “We're not just there for the difficult times, we want to be part of people’s recovery health. We've been working on this for many, many years to build up a rapport with the staff and relatives throughout Hospital Ministries.”  

 Finally, when asked about his plans about the future, Fr Peter said he hopes to be able to remain around when his retirement comes in four years’ time.

 He said: “I’ll be 75 in November 2027, and, health permitting, I would like to carry on until then.

 “I hope I can help the younger priests, with supply for the weekend. So that they can get a break.”