Farewell Elias: Mayor was bright light for the city he loved
There was a particularly stirring moment during the service to remember Elias Mattu, Wolverhampton’s serving Mayor who died last month at the age of 59.
During his eulogy, council leader Roger Lawrence reflected on the city’s ‘out of darkness cometh light’ motto, describing his great friend Mr Mattu as ‘a bright light’ in times of trouble.
Express & Star comment: Elias left this world undefeated
Almost as the words left his mouth, a shaft of sunshine beamed through the stained glass windows of St Peter’s Church and covered Mr Mattu’s flag-draped coffin.
Around the congregation there was a mixture of knowing looks and surprise – after all, minutes earlier the rain had lashed down as grey clouds filled the sky above the city.
“I thought the light shining through was so poignant and really summed up what so many people think of Elias,” Councillor Phil Bateman told me after the service.
In truth it was one of a series of touching moments as the city came together to remember the popular Mayor, councillor, father and friend.
Outside the church huge crowds gathered in the piazza to pay their last respects, the city falling into silence as the funeral cortège made its way from his home in Penn Fields.
Mr Mattu’s death last month, which came following a lengthy battle with illness, had led to a huge outpouring of grief from across the city and further afield.
And the tributes have continued.
In an emotional address, Mr Mattu’s daughter Jessica said: “He was my heart, my protector, my dad. I am so proud of everything he accomplished and the man that he was.”
She added: “You’ve left me, mom and the boys, but you are in a better place. We will miss you everyday.” His son, Ishmael Mattu, said: “You were the best dad who became my best friend as I grew into an adult.”
In a nod to his father’s weight-lifting past, he added: “We thought you were the strongest man in the world.”
Mr Mattu’s brother, the Rev Ashok Masih Mattu, said: “Maybe the illness defeated him, but he kept his faith and to us he left here undefeated.
“He loved our city of Wolverhampton. He was a people’s champion.”
The Rev Ravi Singh described devout Christian Mr Mattu as ‘a darling of the community’. “A man of integrity he certainly was, but he was also a man of great humility,” he added.
“I am proud of the man he was and of the mark he has left on Wolverhampton.”
The strength of feeling towards Mr Mattu was evident from the huge turnout and the kind words attendees bestowed upon him.
City MP Pat McFadden described him as ‘a much-loved servant of the city’, while his parliamentary colleague Eleanor Smith said Mr Mattu was ‘a man of the people’ whose ‘faith shone through’.
Former Wolverhampton MP Rob Marris said he was ‘a great man and a great friend’.
“We were commrades in the struggle for Socialism for more than a quarter of a century,” he added. “We shall miss him terribly.”
Labour MEP and former candidate for West Midlands Mayor, Sion Simon, said: “Elias was a genuinely special man. He was always amazingly kind to me. I will miss him a lot.”
Mohamlal Sharma, the president of the Penn Road temple, summed up the views of many when he said: “Elias was a diamond in Wolverhampton. He is irreplacable.”
