David Hennessy, former St Joseph’s College headmaster and Felixstowe priest, dies at 67

An ex-headmaster of St Joseph’s College in Ipswich, who went on to become a parish priest in Felixstowe, has died after a long illness.

Then Brother David Hennessy, of the De La Salle order, he became head of the independent day and boarding school in the autumn of 1987.

He said, before he started, that: “We have got to move with the times, but that is not to say I will follow any educational fashion.” He added that “huge value” would be put on links with the community.

Brother David later trained for the Roman Catholic priesthood, being ordained in the college chapel three weeks before Christmas 1998. As Father Hennessy he served in Cambridgeshire before becoming the parish priest at St Felix, Felixstowe, in 2007.

The Right Rev Alan Hopes, Bishop of East Anglia, said: “Fr David Hennessy, after many years of living with cancer, died very peacefully… in the convent of Jesus and Mary in Felixstowe. He was aided by the prayers of his family and some of the Sisters who were with him.

“I am extremely grateful to the sisters and to Carol (the manager) who have supported him and encouraged him through these last months.”