THE Roman Catholic Church has recognised a school chairman for his services to the local community.

Tony Baron, managing director and chairman of Whalley’s Oakhill School and Nursery, on Wiswell Lane, was awarded the Papal Knighthood of St Gregory the Great in a ceremony at the school.

The order is bestowed on Roman Catholic men and women in recognition of their service to the community and acknowledges exceptional endeavours and the good example they set.

The ceremony took place at Oakhill in a Mass officiated by the Right Reverend, John Arnold, Bishop of Salford, in the company of hundreds of invited guests, parishioners, parents and pupils.

Mr Baron was regaled in a fine green jacket, black hat with feathers, a short sword with a handle made of mother of pearl with a medallion of the order and an eight-pointed cross, the insignia of the Order.

The 76-year-old from Great Harwood, said the event had been 18 months in the making.

He said: “I felt very proud at the ceremony.

“It has been 18 months in the making.

“I was initially proposed and it was then sent backwards and forwards from the parish churches to the bishops to Rome and then back home.

“My friends and family were absolutely overjoyed.

“It’s not something that you expect to happen very often, certainly in the North of England where there are only half a dozen papal knights.”

The school chairman was nominated for the award by his colleague Joseph Kelly, who is the head of religious education at the Wiswell Lane school.

Mr Kelly said: “Tony knows that being a Catholic means being a universal member of the Church and has supported Catholic Charitable causes in Africa and South America.

“We all know Tony as a father figure at Oakhill and today is an opportunity to say thank you to him for all that he has done and continues to do for the Catholic Church.

“It is a pleasure to know Tony and consider him as a friend.”

Mr Baron’s daughter Gemma said: “My dad was shocked. He didn’t know what he did to deserve this.”