DETAILS of the funeral of the much-loved Denise Inge, wife to the Bishop of Worcester, have been released.

It will be held at Worcester Cathedral on Tuesday, May 6 and the Bishop has requested donations in lieu for the Berega Hospital, in Morogoro, Tanzania.

The Bishop and his eldest daughter, Eleanor, have visited the 120-bed hospital which serves an estimated 217,000 of the poorest residents of Tanzania. The hospital, which is linked with the Diocese of Worcester, is reliant on charitable donations and volunteer work.

Announcing the funeral plans on the Diocese of Worcester’s website yesterday, Bishop John also thanked all those who have offered tributes to his wife since her death on Easter Sunday.

He said: “Thank you for all the love, support and prayers that we have received during Denise’s illness and since she died.”

The 51-year-old died surrounded by her husband, their two daughters, Olivia aged nine and Eleanor who is 15, and her sister and mother, who had recently flown in from America, on Easter Sunday after almost a year of suffering from an inoperable sarcoma in her abdomen.

The end was “mercifully quick” as she was said to have deteriorated rapidly overnight on Saturday and was given communion and anointed by the Dean of Worcester on Sunday morning before passing away at 3pm.

Bishop John said it was appropriate for his wife to die on Easter Sunday, the day of the resurrection of Christ, and said the year of aggressive chemotherapy treatment to try to shrink the sarcoma to make surgery an option was like a long Lent - a time of fasting and reflection.

“Through bitter grief at her loss, we rejoice that she was taken to the Lord on Easter Day after what seemed like a very long Lent, lasting a year,” the Bishop said.

“I’m constantly reminded of what Denise said at a prayer meeting shortly after she was diagnosed: ‘Whatever happens, Alleluia is our song’.”

Alleluia, chanted and sang in church to praise the glory of God, is traditionally not sang during Lent but is used on Easter Sunday to celebrate Jesus’ return from the dead.

Although anyone can attend the open funeral at 2pm on the day, it is requested that no floral tributes are given, but instead people make donations to the Berega Hospital, in Morogoro, Tanzania.

There will also be a private burial service in Bredwardine, in Herefordshire, which was Dr Inge’s chosen location as she and the Bishop have a cottage near by where they spent a lot of time, the following day.