Death of Fr Geoffrey Lynch monk, former secretary to four Ampleforth Abbots

Fr Geoffrey Lynch OSB

Fr Geoffrey Lynch OSB, Benedictine monk of Ampleforth Abbey who was secretary to Abbot Basil Hume, Abbot Ambrose Griffiths, Abbot Patrick Barry, and Abbot Timothy Wright, died peacefully at Ampleforth Abbey in Yorkshire on Friday 8 February 2013 at the age of 86.

Christopher Lynch (Geoffrey was the name given to him when he became a monk in 1948) was born in Wallasey in 1926 and educated at Ampleforth. From 1944-1948 he was in the RAFVR and Royal Air Force. It was while he was based at the Aircrew Receiving Centre in Torquay and training for the Japanese war that Christopher considered the call to be a monk. In June 1948 he joined a 230-mile pilgrimage walking from Wrexham to the national shrine of Our Lady in Walsingham, and then in September that year he joined the monastic community at Ampleforth. Fr Geoffrey was ordained priest in July 1957 and worked for some time in the Junior House, where he became Assistant Housemaster.

In August 1968 Fr Geoffrey was appointed secretary to the then Abbot of Ampleforth, Basil Hume. He continued in this role under Abbot Hume’s successors – Ambrose Griffiths (1976-1984), Patrick Barry (1984-1994) – and combined it with a number of roles that he was asked to carry out in the community and beyond, particularly that of Novice Master at Ampleforth (1976-1983) and Prior of St Bede’s Monastery and Pastoral Centre in York (1987-1994). In 1994 Fr Geoffrey was appointed parish priest of the Lancashire parish of St Joseph’s, Brindle. Five years later he returned to the Abbey and became secretary to Abbot Timothy Wright, a post he filled until 2002, as well as parish priest of Our Lady and the Holy Angels in Gilling East.

In February 2006, Fr Geoffrey was involved in a serious car accident which necessitated seven months in hospitals and the amputation of one leg above the knee. Undeterred, Fr Geoffrey took up a number of duties within the community, including time as Assistant Monastery Librarian, Chair of the Staff Association, and Part-time receptionist.

During his 60 years as a monk, Fr Geoffrey served as secretary or member of a number of groups and was editor of the Benedictine Yearbook from 2001-2006.

The Funeral Mass for Fr Geoffrey Lynch will take place in Ampleforth Abbey on Friday 15 February 2013, at 11.30 am, followed by burial in the vault in the Monks’ Wood.