Elderly lady dies at church

A shocked eye witness, who was attending the mass, and who knew the lady by sight, said she believed the person concerned to be in her eighties, and saw first hand what happened.

She said: "She just keeled over her friends shoulder and collapsed."

She added: "It's very sad but passing away in church is a beautiful way to go."

Parish Priest and Dean, Father Chris Spain, who was not in church at the time, said two ambulances attended the scene and four paramedics tried for, "approximately forty five minutes", to resuscitate the lady but without success.

The mass was subsequently cancelled and bewildered parishioners silently filed out of the church.

Father Spain said he knew the lady well, and she was a devout Catholic who had been attending the church for at least the past eight years.

He said: " I was not in Bexhill at the time and as soon as I received a call telling me what had happened I immediately made my way over to the church. The lady collapsed just before the mass was to take place. The friend, who attended mass with her, said she had appeared to be her normal self right up to before she collapsed."

Whilst waiting for the paramedics to arrive, the lady was well taken care of by Parish Priest Father Stan Mycek and trainee Priest David King, whom Father Spain said, "administered to her".

This included giving artificial respiration, which they did by following phone instructions from the ambulance service, and in addition they helped keep everyone calm and under control.

Father Spain said she will be sadly missed at the church, adding:

"She had a good sense of humour and a profound faith which was lovely.

Father Mycek prayed with her and administered last rites."

The ladies husband and daughter were called to the church and Father Spain said they were naturally very shocked on hearing of their sad loss.

He said: "It was a lovely place to die, she had a great love of both St Mary's and the community of Bexhill."

The cause of death has yet to be ascertained.