Scottish Catholic Observer

A terminally ill woman from Leith’s dying wish to go to the Vatican has been answered thanks to a public fundraising campaign that was supported by Archbishop Leo Cushley.

“I can’t believe that this is really happening. I’m both incredibly excited and quite nervous,” Corinne Barber, who flew out to Rome last Thursday, said. “The effort involved in getting there is significant but I am looking forward to the experience once we’re there.”

Ms Barber, 42, has a heart disorder that means she may only have five to 12 months left to live. The funds to send her to Rome were raised through the efforts of her brother Darren who used the online crowdfunding site GoFundMe. The campaign touched the heart of Archbishop Cushley of St Andrews and Edinburgh, who gave it his full support.

“We are thrilled that Corinne is finally able to make her pilgrimage to Rome and we will now make sure that she is at next week’s audience with Pope Francis,” Archbishop Cushley said. “We also hope to arrange a private tour of the Vatican for Corinne including the Sistine Chapel. It’s the very least we can do to help.”

Ms Barber is making the pilgrimage with her mother Irene. Corinne’s husband Andrew and her twin sister Sandra will also join them in Rome.

“I am absolutely ecstatic that we are finally in a position to make this happen,” her brother said. “We have received hundreds of donations and messages of support and have been thrilled to have received such encouragement from the Archbishop and Metropolitan of St Andrews and Edinburgh who have very generously covered the insurance costs of the trip.”

Earlier this year, Ms Barber told the SCO she wanted to make this ‘spiritual pilgrimage’ because throughout her long illness, ‘when the really low points come, as they do for everyone, I find great strength in my relationship with God.’

“I have always been a very private person when it came to both my Faith and my illness, perhaps I simply thought that people would not be interested,” she said. “I was wrong.”

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—This story ran in full in the December 4 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.