A DEACON who went back to study the bible in his late 50s says his memories of the last 25 years have been nothing but “wonderful and lovely”.

The Rev Duncan Whitehouse celebrated his milestone anniversary with members of the congregation of the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Epping.

The 82-year-old was born into an Anglican family but says he felt more and more drawn to Catholicism when he turned 19.

While he was training to be an engineer in Stafford he began a postal course to learn more about the religion – and as fate would have it – it was around this time he met his Catholic wife, Dorothy.

He said: “I was used to fighting my faith as an Anglican, but I started losing those arguments. I soon realised Catholicism gave me the answers I needed.

“I was always religious, I’d go to church twice on a Sunday, but I decided to learn more about being Catholic.

“My wife was wonderfully supportive about my decision. After meeting her, the rest, as they say, is history.”

The couple married and had four children while Rev Deacon worked as an engineer for a number of decades.

After being made redundant twice and needing a heart bypass, he set up a successful blinds business with his wife.

But he said something kept drawing him to the church and after a while, it was a voice he couldn’t ignore.

So at the age of 54, he made a brave move and decided to go back into education to train to become a Deacon.

He said: “I argued with God for three years before I actually put my name forward. In that time the Holy Spirit wouldn’t leave me alone.

“We had a nice lifestyle, we had good neighbours and a good social life and didn’t want anything to change. But I got all the support I needed and decided to start training.

“The hardest part was going back into academics as I’d been out of education for around 30 years. I had no problems though, you just waltz through it, don’t you?”

Now a great-grandad, he says he never thought ahead to his silver anniversary, although he has fond memories from his time as a deacon over the years.

“It’s a wonderful community here. Everyone is very supportive and there’s a mix of people, as well as a very strong group.

“Being a deacon required me to adopt a different personality. I was always a leader running my own business but now I’m more caring and empathetic.

“My favourite thing about this job is helping vulnerable people, who need someone to turn to. It’s lovely being able to be that person.”