Tributes to an influential figure in religious order

The Very Reverend Brother Bernard Burke died peacefully in Darlington after a remarkable life leading the Hospitaller Order of St John of God through momentous changes.

He became the first provincial of the Order in England in 1953 and held the position for nine years.

During that time, the Order bought the Rockcliffe Park house at Hurworth, near Darlington, first to serve as a tuberculosis sanatorium, then an orthopaedic hospital and finally as a service for disabled adults.

The nearby Hurworth Grange, now a community centre, was also purchased as an apostolic school for prospective Brothers.

In 1969, when Brother Bernard was 58, he transferred to Zambia, to head a project to create a 60-bed hospital in Lusaka.

He organised the design and construction of the hospital, eventually becoming its first prior.

He continued duties in the African country at the age of 70, answering a plea from the Bishop of Monze to set up a post-surgical rehabilitation centre for children.

Brother Bernard later returned to Britain, living for many years at St John of God Hospital, in Scorton, North Yorkshire.

In March this year, he moved to the St John of God community in Hemlington, near Middlesbrough, but returned to Darlington in May to live at Ventress Hall nursing home.

During his long ministry he witnessed big changes.

He saw the Order's services grow in London and Hertfordshire and extend into West Yorkshire, Tyneside, Teesside and most recently into Scotland, Wales, the Midlands and West Sussex.

He saw the number of people supported by the Order grow to more than 1,000 nationwide.

The Very Reverend John Martin, of the Order, paid a glowing tribute to Brother Bernard.

He said: "He was the Order's great innovator, a man of prayer, a towering presence in the life of the Brothers.

"He was dearly loved by us all and will be greatly missed. He was truly the father of our province and we will not see his like again."