London: Cathedral hosts 'thanksgiving ceremony' after beloved cat passes away

A gothic cathedral in London recently hosted a thanksgiving ceremony for a stray cat that had resided there for over a decade. Southwark Cathedral, located in the vicinity of the London Bridge, took to Twitter to invite people to a ceremony held in the memory of the loving cat named “Doorkins Magnificat”. The feline had, over the years, acquired celebrity status featuring in children’s book, meeting Queen Elizabeth and even had its own social media account.

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The brown and golden coloured cat had initially ventured inside the cathedral in search of food in 2008. Since then, she had become a permanent fixture on the Church’s ground. After enjoying a remarkable lifestyle, she passed away last month at the home of the cathedral’s caretaker, who she had lived with in her final year. On October 29, Doorkins was laid to rest in a special service hosted by the Dean of Southwark Cathedral, Andrew Nunn. Her memorial service was also streaming live on social media.

Speaking to CNN, Nunn reckoned that Doorkins was “enormously popular” and had a massive Twitter following in addition to being the focus of a lot of people’s visits to the cathedral. Defending the decision to hold the thanksgiving ceremony amid the pandemic, he said that the response to her death was "enormous" and the church knew that they had to do something.

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But not everyone approved of the service. Several pastors and bishops criticised the Nunn for hosting the event despite the devastation caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom. Taking to Twitter, Philip North, the Bishop of Burnley wrote, “Is this a joke? I do hope so. If not it’s grossly insensitive to bereaved families and those ministering to them in the NW under the regional coronavirus restrictions.”

'A lovely service' 

However, despite the flak, Nunn said that he had "no regrets" for hosting the ceremony adding that the church couldn’t just ignore the feline’s demise. ''It was heartwarming as well as emotional,” he said. His decision was backed by netizens, who took to their respective accounts to shared their memories with Doorkins on social media and thanked Nunn for the “touching” thanksgiving service.

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