The National Police Requiem 2025

On Tuesday 4 November 2025, officers and staff from police forces around the country gathered with serving and retired members of the Guild in Westminster Cathedral to celebrate the 102nd Annual National Police Requiem.

Representing HM Government was The Minister Of State for Policing, Sarah Jones MP and also in attendance was The Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp MP.

The Chief Celebrant was the Guilds' National Chaplain, Fr Barry Lomax. His co-celebrants were RC Priest Chaplains from various forces. The clergy procession from the sacristy also included non RC clergy Police Chaplains along with The National Police Roll of Honour (with thanks to the Police Memorial Trust), male and female headdress from The Metropolitan Police and a cap from The PSNI who also provided their largest contingent ever in the congregation. All these along with a poppy wreath were laid before the High Altar.

The procession was met at the West Door of the Cathedral by a procession of force standards and colour parties who had formed up nearby, led by officers from The Metropolitan Police Sovereigns Colour Unit and had marched onto the Cathedral piazza. They led he clergy into the Cathedral to the sound of the first hymn, Praise to The Holiest, written by St. John Henry Newman.

Once again The Metropolitan Police Choir excelled themselves and music during the Mass was from Faure, Mozart, Rachmaninoff and Perosi.

The homily was given by Fr Barry Lomax and is reproduced below :

"Those of you who know me well, know how passionate I am about Police Chaplaincy, which is a ministry I’ve been involved in for over 24 years both as a volunteer and now as the fulltime Force Lead Chaplain to Greater Manchester Police and as the National Chaplain to the Catholic Police Guild of England & Wales. Police chaplaincy, founded on the principle that we are there to support all faiths and none, gives a unique opportunity to walk with our officers and staff through both challenging and joyful moments by simply becoming part of their story, their history. Through this simple contact, our lives and theirs are changed.

This notion of how every contact leaves a trace will be a familiar one to our forensic and policing colleagues as Locards Principle, which asserts that the perpetrator of a crime will inevitably bring something into the scene and leave with something from it—both of which can serve as forensic evidence. Dr. Edmond Locard, a pioneer in forensic science often referred to as the Sherlock Holmes of Lyon, articulated this foundational concept as: “Every contact leaves a trace.” In essence, whenever two objects, or indeed people, come into contact, there is an exchange.

Paul L. Kirk expanded on this idea, writing:

"Wherever he steps, whatever he touches, whatever he leaves, even unconsciously, will serve as a silent witness against him... This is evidence that does not forget. It is not confused by the excitement of the moment. It is not absent because human witnesses are. It is factual evidence. Physical evidence cannot be wrong, it cannot perjure itself, it cannot be wholly absent. Only human failure to find it, study it, and understand it can diminish its value."

In our first reading from the Book of Wisdom, we are reminded that honour is not measured by the length of life, but by the way it is lived. Far too many of those officers we remember here today were relatively young in service and in years and yet they were full in the hope of more to come. And it is here, before this altar, that we gather to remember them and all those who have touched our lives—often through quiet, unassuming acts of kindness. Though we may not have recognised their significance at the time, those moments of contact have left an indelible trace within us. As the reading says:

"Being perfected in a short time, he fulfilled long years; for his soul was pleasing to the Lord, therefore he took him quickly from the midst of wickedness. Yet the people saw and did not understand."

St. Paul, writing to the Thessalonians, offers comfort in the face of such mystery and loss. He assures us that:

"The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive... will be caught up together with them... and so we will always be with the Lord."

We are encouraged to support one another with these words of hope, indeed even more so in this Jubilee Year of HOPE, as we, pilgrims of Hope, continue our own life journey.

In our Gospel reading, we encounter the widowed mother from Nain, accompanying her only son to his burial. It’s a scene tragically echoed in the cemeteries of war-torn regions such as Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, and beyond, a visible enactment of St. John Henry Newman’s other hymn “Lead kindly Light”, “Lead kindly light, amid the encircling gloom; O lead me on”. For it is in the depths of such darkness and grief, that we too are challenged—as our opening hymn suggests—to consider how praise can still be offered.

Yet, in this moment of sorrow, Jesus sees this widow, and “his heart went out to her.” He is emotionally touched, as St. John Henry Newman would say, “Heart speaks to heart”. And it is with a simple touch of Jesus’ hand that, “the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.” That simple contact left a lasting trace—not only in their lives but in the lives of all those who witnessed it. And here in this place, through faith and prayer, it touches us still.

Though we may not experience and see such miracles today, our continued contact with our loved ones through prayer and remembrance allows them to live on eternally in our hearts and in our minds. Their contact whilst living amongst us, leaves a trace that stays with us, and they remain no further away than the whisper of their name. To quote St. Paul, when speaking to the Romans: “The life and death of each of us has its influence on others; if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord, so that alive or dead we belong to the Lord”.

November is traditionally a month of remembrance and prayer. And once again in this Requiem Mass, we bring to the altar the names of those we have loved and lost along life’s journey. As we remember them, we do indeed give “praise to the Holiest in the height,” and it is only through our trust and hope in a loving and faithful God that we can also go on to say, with true conviction, “and in the depths give praise.”

The Minister for Policing read out the names of those who had died in service in the past year, the Union Flag was lowered and The Last Post was sounded by buglers from The Metropolitan Police. They also sounded Reveille once the minutes silence had been observed.

Just prior to the final blessing, a citation was read out to honour a long standing Guile member, Mr Frank Pearson, for his outstanding devotion to the Guild and other numerous charitable causes connected to the Church and his work with the Greater Manchester Choir.

The following morning, the wreath was laid by The Guilds Chaplain and National Chair at The National Police Memorial situated at the junction of The Mall and Horse Guards Avenue.

Thanks to all those able to attend and as ever to Westminster Cathedral staff.

The 103rdNational Police Requiem will take place at Westminster Cathedral on Tuesday 3 November 2026 at 1430HRS.