Madam, - Somewhere in Co Tipperary there lives a young Roman Catholic priest named Father Rory. I do not know his surname, but shall never forget him. He came to me in an hour of need. "Like an angel," said a friend.
At the end of a thousands-strong candlelight procession in front of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in southwestern France, on the night of Monday, August 18th, I found that my wallet had been stolen from my buttoned back trouser pocket. It contained my Connecticut driver's license, two credit cards, $1,200 in cash, and most, most critically, my US residency identification card ("green card").
The unhindered return home of three pilgrims - my wife, our 13-year-old niece, and me - had been jeopardised.
As I crawled around on the ground in the dark, hoping foolishly that the wallet had perhaps dropped out, a slender, youthful priest suddenly appeared at my side.
For the next three-and-a-half hours, until 2am, Father Rory patiently assisted me at the Lourdes police station, made telephone calls to cancel the vulnerable credit cards, and even refused to let me pay the taxi fare back to our hotel.
Always encouraging, he later left a supportive letter at our hotel and returned daily to the lost-and-found office at the sanctuary to see if the wallet had been found discarded and turned in. It often happens: the cash is all that is wanted.
I was unlucky enough to have been victimised that August night by pickpockets who prey on the pilgrim multitudes, yet I was fortunate also to encounter a real-life angel: bright-spirited, comforting, and selfless. A priest from Ireland who ministered to me in France.
My thanks to Father Rory. May life's road be kind to him, and may St Bernadette of Lourdes keep him always within sight. - Yours, etc,
MICHAEL D HULL, Enfield, Connecticut, USA.