Devout St Annes woman credits 'deep faith' as key to long life on 100th birthday

Veronica Worthington, a devout Catholic, received a papal blessing from the Pope at her birthday party at Headroomgate Care Home, Oxford Road, where she lives.

Her nephew Alex Walker, 65, said: "I feel like she wasn't really meant to this world because she's so innocent. She doesn't understand why people would ever harm each other. She has a very strong, deep faith as a member of the Catholic church. She would never harm anyone and she would never want anyone to harm anyone else. It's her deep faith that has kept her going."

Veronica spent most of her life in Grange Park, Blackpool, where she looked after her older sister Mary Ellen.

She joined the Women's Royal Air Force during the Second World War, and later worked at a post office in Cleveleys.

Alex said: "She had a terrific birthday. We had been planning it for a year and it's sad that we had the pandemic along with it, but the care home staff made it a day for her to remember.

"I gave her the Pope's papal blessing, which is a blessing you can ask from the Pope for special occasions. She was overjoyed about that. That was more important to her than the card from the Queen. They both made her day very special."

Care home manager Chilan Whitelegge said: "Veronica came to us in July 2017. She's a lovely lady and a very classy woman. She's happy with her coffee every day - of course she'll have a brandy with that!

"She can still go up and down the stairs on her own and she's fully mobile, no problems at all. Looking at her, you wouldn't think she's 100."