Father Chris Jenkins has died. I sent this note to Belmont Abbey:

“Fr Chris preached a mean sermon at Cambridge. His annual questioning of the theological credentials of the Cambridge Intercollegiate Christian Union was the most notorious, but his other set-pieces, including his welcome and words of advice for new students, and his challenge to those seeking jobs in the milk round not to devote their lives to salary scales also stay with me. Over beer in the chaplaincy bar, or wine on other occasions, he would be controversial and provocative, but (as Lucy Hartley rightly says) he nurtured diversity of opinion and approach in the Chaplaincy. (Lucy also is right about his tendency to fall asleep during films.) His influence on my own intellectual approach to the Faith was profound; he will be remembered with fondness and respect by many.”

To which I would add that I hope his dislike for the Welsh was a put-on, given that he had just been posted to Dolgellau and died in Gwent. He could be socially disastrous; I remember one awful evening when he came round to my room and completely alienated many of my non-Catholic friends. But my Cambridge world was much more interesting for having him in it, and his farewell dinner as Chaplain in Newnham in June 1988 was an emotional moment for all of us.