Florence Nightingale remembered at annual service

Monday, 12th May 2025

Florence Nightingale remembered at annual service

A Service to Commemorate the Life of Florence Nightingale was held at Westminster Abbey at 6.30pm on Wednesday 12th May 2025.

The service is held annually to celebrate nursing and midwifery and all staff, both qualified and unqualified, and the importance of supporting one another through challenging times.

The service was conducted by the Sub Dean of Westminster, David Stanton who said in his Bidding:

“Welcome to Westminster Abbey, the house of God, a place of remembrance, a community of hope. Today, before God, we gather to offer our praise and thanksgiving, and to recall the life and witness of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Celebrating the work of the Florence Nightingale Foundation and in the good company of working nursing professionals we acknowledge the legacy of commitment, compassion, and excellence we inherit.
We pray that Florence Nightingale’s determination to improve the quality of care, and secure better training may shape the gift we leave to those who follow us. We praise God for all those nurses who, like her, have carried the lamp of healing into the dark places of our world.”

Address and Readings 

The Rt Reverend and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally gave the Address.

Kateryna Balabanova CNO Ukraine read Isaiah 61:1-3 and Wes Streeting MP read Matthew 25: 31-40.

Rolls of Honour

The service included the Procession of the British Commonwealth Nurses’ Roll of Honour, which was borne through the Abbey by Flight Sergeant Hannah Downs, PMRAFNS, escorted by the three Matrons-in-Chief of His Majesty’s Armed Forces. The Roll includes the names of nurses who lost their lives during the Second World War, and is kept in the Florence Nightingale Chapel at the Abbey.

The First Word War 1914–1918 Roll of Honour was introduced this year to remember the 162 
nursing assistants and probationers who lost their lives. The Bearer of the Roll is Captain 
Chloe Brahmbhatt RAMS. 

The COVID-19 Pandemic Roll of Honour was also borne through the church. The Roll remembers the nurses, midwives, nursing associates and health care support workers who lost their lives during the pandemic. It was carried by the UK’s Chief Nursing Officers:

A lamp, symbolic of Florence Nightingale, was also carried through the Abbey by Lieutenant Commander Su Jeffreys RN.

Prayers and music

Prayers were led by the Abbey’s Sacrist, Helena Bickley-Percival, and said by:

  • Claire Painter, Florence Nightingale Foundation Alumna, Chief Nursing Officer, London Bridge Hospital, HCA Healthcare UK
  • Professor Jackie Kelly, Dean, Professor of Heath and Social Care Leadership, Pro Vice Chancellor & Dean, Anglia Ruskin University
  • Gill Walton CBE RM, Royal College of Midwives
  • Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer, England, Florence Nightingale Foundation Alumnus 

The service was sung by the Westminster Abbey Special Service Choir, conducted by Matthew Jorysz, Sub-Organist. The organ was played by Paul Greally, Assistant Organist. 

Order of service

Download the Order of Service for the Florence Nightingale Service

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