Pioneering Priest Pat Revisits Ordination Spot In Salisbury Cathedral
One of the first women to be ordained as a priest at Salisbury Cathedral has returned for a personal visit thanks to her Dorset care home.
Pat Stear, who has lived at Colten Care’s Newstone House in Sturminster Newton for the past four years, travelled with carers to the spot where her ordination service took place.
The trip came amid wider celebrations in the clergy to mark the 30th anniversary of the first women’s ordinations in the Church of England in 1994.
At the time of her service in 1997, Pat was aged 59 and one of only 12 female priests to be ordained at the Cathedral.
She went on to minister in four parishes north of Dorchester: Bradford Peverell, Stratton, Frampton and Sydling St Nicholas.
Her time as a reverend followed periods living in Bournemouth and, for 13 years, in the United States. Her early life was spent in London.
Pat, who is now 86, journeyed back to the Cathedral by minibus accompanied by friend and fellow Newstone House resident Ann Clarke, whose husband was a priest, and Ruth Telford, a member of the home’s Companionship Team.
Helped by a volunteer guide, the party had a tour of the Cathedral and saw the area where Pat would have donned her robes for the ordination service.
After her trip back, Pat said: “I found it really lovely. The more we walked round, the more the memories came back. I really enjoyed the visit.”
Salisbury Cathedral held a special anniversary service on Saturday 15 June, 2024, to honour the first women’s ordinations 30 years ago.
The Bishop of Sherborne, The Rt Revd Karen Gorham presided, and Bishop June Osborne, former Dean of Salisbury, gave a sermon.
The service was attended by four of the first female priests ordained in Salisbury along with others currently living in the diocese.
