Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Rare Papal medal recognises Forfar man Bill’s half century of service to St Fergus church

Bill and Helen Flight at the medal presentation with Bishop of Dunkeld Stephen Logan (left) and Father Tobias Okoro of St Fergus.
Bill and Helen Flight at the medal presentation with Bishop of Dunkeld Stephen Logan (left) and Father Tobias Okoro of St Fergus.

In half a century as a member of Forfar’s St Fergus Catholic Church, Bill Flight has pretty much seen and done it all.

From taking Holy Communion as a parishioner minister to using his career experience as a draughtsman to design and build a new church hall.

He’s even rolled up his sleeves to repair a boundary wall hit by cars three times in recent succession.

And now the 74-year-old has been recognised for his 50 years of dedication with the award of a prestigious Vatican medal by Pope Francis.

Rare honour

Dundee-born Bill is one of fewer than 50 people worldwide to have been given the Benemerenti Medal by the current Pope.

He said the “unbelievable” honour was a humbling accolade.

And he paid special tribute to wife, Helen, with the couple having just celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.

They have three daughters and seven grandchildren, with many of the family at the medal ceremony.

Bill Flight Catholic Church medal
Bill and Helen Flight with members of their family at the St Fergus ceremony.

“We moved to just outside Forfar when we were married in 1972 and came to St Fergus then,” said Bill.

“Since then we have felt that we wanted to give whoever was at St Fergus our support in whatever way we could.”

A number of priests in that time included long-term figure Eugene O’Sullivan.

It’s seen Bill serve as a reader and on church committees including 20 years as treasurer.

“I became a minister of the Eucharist in 1996 and was honoured and delighted for several years to take Holy Communion,” he said.

And a passion for music has been a feature of his time in Forfar.

“In 1975 I and other parishioners started a music group to sing the hymns during mass.

“I played guitar and have continued playing, alongside many different choir members over nearly 45 years.

“In recent years I have taken on full responsibility for running the choir and choosing the hymns for singing at mass.

“Recently I led a large group of about 30 parishioners and formed a choir to sing at the Inter Churches Remembrance celebrations.”

Helen has organised the children’s Christmas parties at the church for many years.

And between them the couple have led countless fundraisers.

Bill Flight church award
Bill and Helen Flight at the medal ceremony.

Invaluable engineering skills

Bill’s professional background has proved invaluable at both St Fergus and St Anthony’s in Kirriemuir.

A lifetime as a draughtsman and engineer began with roles in Veeder Root and Timex in Dundee.

But he then found his “dream job” with Angus businessman Ken Smith of FPC Developments.

And for almost 20 years that involved Bill in everything from agricultural projects to the creation of the Letham Grange hotel and golf resort near Arbroath.

He retired in 2013 after a spell as a design and project engineer in the oil industry.

So Bill’s expertise has proved invaluable in a variety of projects, including design and build of a new hall at St Fergus and the church rewiring.

“It is a phenomenal thing for me to have received this, and the culmination of the work of so many at St Fergus,” said Bill.

Benemernti medal citation
The Benemerenti Medal citation.

“It’s a beautiful gold medal and something spectacular really, I’m very proud.”

The Benemerenti Medal presentation by Bishop of Dunkeld Stephen Robson also served as a farewell for Father Tobias Okoro who is leaving St Fergus after seven years for a new post at St. Pious and St. Patrick’s in Dundee.

The historic honour

The Benemerenti Medal was originally established as an award for soldiers in the Papal Army.

It is now a civil decoration but may still be awarded to members of the Pontifical Swiss Guards.

It was first given by Pope Pius VI in the late 18th century.

Benemerenti Medal
Bill Flight’s Benemerenti Medal.

And in 1925, the concept of awarding the medal as a mark of recognition for service to the Catholic Church by clergy and the laity was established.

The medal is a gold Greek cross with Christ raising his hand in blessing.

Its yellow and white ribbon reflects the colours of the Papacy.

Conversation