FATHER Bernard Caszo bid farewell to pupils and staff at St Joseph's RC Primary School in Devizes as he prepares to leave the parish after 15 years.

Father Bernard, 70, is taking a sabbatical while he takes stock and decides where his career will take him next.

He was born in India and was a driver of steam locomotives for Indian Railways before entering a seminary in Nagpur at the age of 24. He spent four years in Fribourg, Switzerland, studying theology before he was ordained there in March 1967.

He came to Devizes in 1989 to take over a rather dispirited congregation, which had suffered from constant changes in clergy over a short period.

He has been the longest serving parish priest in Devizes, with the exception of Father Louis Valluet, who served between 1909 and 1949.

During Father Bernard's tenure, he has overseen big changes in the community, including two major building projects the renovation of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in St Joseph's Walk and the building of the parish hall next door.

Former headmistress of St Joseph's School, Miss Pat Kennedy, said: "Father Bernard has made many friends in Devizes. We are all going to miss him very much and we wish him every blessing and happiness in the future."

A thanksgiving mass was celebrated at the church on Sunday, followed by a reception in the school hall.