Celebrating the life and poetry of John Bradburne

John Bradburne

Earlier this month the John Bradburne Memorial Society (JBMS) launched its 100-day Poetry Project, in honour of the life and work for his Centenary Year in 2021.

For the following 100 days, leading up to John's 100th Birthday on 14 June 2021, prominent figures and supporters will read out one of John's poems on the Society's YouTube channel. (See link below)

You can also visit the JBMS poetry website where Professor David Crystal has compiled all of John Bradburne's poetry to an online database.

John Bradburne was born in Skirwith, Cumbria, in 1921. A third-order Franciscan, he was killed in Rhodesia in 1979 for refusing to abandon the leprosy patients he had looked after for many years.

John dedicated his life to look after the poorest, most needy leprosy patients and society's outcasts, providing 10 years of selfless physical and spiritual care until he was murdered in 1979.

Since his death, Mutemwa, the leprosy settlement where he worked, has become a major pilgrimage centre. Each year, on the anniversary of his death, September 5, thousands gather to hear Mass and process up the mountain where he walked and prayed.

The John Bradburne Memorial Society was established in 1995 by Celia Brigstocke, John's niece, to do two things: to continue his legacy by providing perpetual financial support for the Mutemwa Leprosy Care Centre, desperately in need of help, and to promote his cause for beatification, given the widespread belief in his sanctity expressed by all who met him.

LINKS

John Bradburne Youtube channel - www.youtube.com/channel/UCcGjYYMDHb4vQStf63_PKDg

JBMS poetry website - www.johnbradburnepoems.com/public/home.aspx