Catholic Union gives thanks for the life of Baroness Masham of Ilton

Lady Masham, official portrait

Source: Catholic Union

Following the death of Baroness Masham of Ilton, The Dowager Countess of Swinton, the Catholic Union has issued the following statement.

Catholic Union Director, Nigel Parker, comments: "It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of Baroness Masham of Ilton. Lady Masham lived a life of service. She served as a crossbench peer for over 50 years and continued to play an active role in public life until just a few weeks ago. A former Vice President of the Catholic Union, Lady Masham spoke fearlessly about her faith, which no doubt inspired her public service.

"Lady Masham was a faithful attendant at the Wednesday Mass in Parliament. Never one to be told that something could not be done, she found a way of accessing the underground Chapel in Parliament in her wheelchair. Her disability, like her faith, was never something she would tolerate being a ground for discrimination or disadvantage.

"Most recently, Lady Masham helped improve police guidance on priests having access to crime scenes. Following the murder of Sir David Amess in October 2021, she was one of the first to raise concerns that he had been unable to receive the Last Rites on the day he died. In a very moving debate in Parliament, she described the Last Rites as a sacrament 'to strengthen and comfort the soul, and food for the journey'. We pray that she will receive that fullness of comfort and peace now."

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Susan Lilian Primrose Cunliffe-Lister, Countess of Swinton, Baroness Masham of Ilton, (née Sinclair; 14 April 1935 - 12 March 2023) was a British crossbench member of the House of Lords, disability campaigner and Paralympic athlete. She was Vice President of the Snowdon Trust, founded by the Earl of Snowdon, which provides grants and scholarships for students with disabilities. Her 53 years' membership of the House of Lords was the longest of any female peer.

Born on 14 April 1935, she was the daughter of Major Sir Ronald Sinclair, 8th Baronet. She was educated at the Heathfield School and London Polytechnic (the Royal Polytechnic Institution).

In 1959 she married David Cunliffe-Lister, Lord Masham (1937-2006), who became Earl of Swinton in 1972. By this marriage, she became entitled to the honorifics Lady Masham, and, later, Countess of Swinton. She was created a life peer in 1970 as the Baroness Masham of Ilton, of Masham in the North Riding of the County of York.

Lady Masham was a prominent Roman Catholic convert and a patron of the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology.

She and her husband adopted two children, Clare and Jessie.