For the first time, an Indian-origin priest has been appointed as the House of Commons speaker’s 80th chaplain to conduct daily prayers in the Commons chamber and provide pastoral care to MPs and staff as part of a practice that dates from around 1558.
Born in Kuala Lumpur to an Indian mother and a British father, Rev Canon Patricia Hillas moved to the UK with her family in 1971. Formerly a social worker, she specialised in supporting individuals and families diagnosed with HIV and AIDS.
Hillas is the second woman from a minority background in the role, after the incumbent, Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, speaker John Bercow said. Hillas was in the forefront in providing support to victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017.
Bercow said: “We were greatly taken by her team’s care and support for the families of those bereaved in the Grenfell Tower tragedy around the national memorial service, and her ministry beyond the church, to homeless people, to refugees and those diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.”
Better known as Tricia, she said she was “thrilled and excited” to be taking over from Hudson-Wilkin: “I am very keen to immerse myself in parliament and to support the work of staff and MPs whose decisions have a real and lasting impact on communities across the UK.”
{{/usCountry}}Better known as Tricia, she said she was “thrilled and excited” to be taking over from Hudson-Wilkin: “I am very keen to immerse myself in parliament and to support the work of staff and MPs whose decisions have a real and lasting impact on communities across the UK.”
{{/usCountry}}Hillas, who is currently the Canon Pastor at St Paul’s Cathedral, will also conduct a weekly Eucharistic service in the chapel, and officiate at weddings, marriage blessings and baptisms of MPs and their immediate families.