Tributes paid as much-loved priest dies aged 101

The Rev Andrew Collins, who served as rector in the South Staffordshire village of Enville, near Stourbridge, was one of the Diocese of Lichfield's oldest priests when he died.

He has been described as 'loved' and 'respected' by former MP Lord Patrick Cormack and 'remarkable' by the Bishop of Lichfield.

Rev Collins was ordained in Lichfield in 1961 and, after being curate at All Saints in Sedgley, served as rector at St Mary the Virgin Church, in Enville, before his retirement in 1990.

But he still continued taking church services well into his 90s. His funeral was held at St Mary the Virgin on January 5 following his death on December 19.

Rev Martin Soar, associate minister at St Mary the Virgin, said: "Andrew was remarkably agile in body, mind and spirit until very recently.

"It was only in the last three or four years that he no longer stood in for me at 8am communion services if I was away.

"We had some memorable times together including sharing communion with him on his 101st birthday, St Andrew's Day. Only a week before he died, as his death approached, we read Psalm 139 together."

Lord Cormack, the former South Staffordshire MP, added: "No-one who was in St Mary's on November 29, 2015, will ever forget that happy, moving and memorable service when Andrew Collins, our much-loved former rector, presided at the Eucharist on the eve of his 100th birthday.

"Later, we toasted him at a reception in Enville Hall, and on the day itself, St Andrew's Day, the Archbishop of Canterbury telephoned his congratulations.

"It is impossible to adequately sum up Andrew's long life of dedication and service in a few words but I do not think any Rector of St Mary's in the last 800 years can have been more loved and respected.

"He was known in almost every home in the parish for he believed it was impossible to be a parish priest without knowing his parishioners. And he came to know so many over a long, lingering, cup of tea, or gin and tonic.

"Andrew lived in Enville for 40 years and served the village long after his official retirement. He will be sorely missed and fondly remembered."

The Bishop of Lichfield, Right Reverend Dr Michael Ipgrave, said: "For Andrew, formed as he was by a deep priestly spirituality, serving his church and his community was much more than just a job.

"The fact that he carried on ministering until only a few years before his death at 101 is remarkable."