Ann Widdecombe’s funeral service will take place this week at the Catholic abbey where she regularly worshipped in Devon.
A requiem mass will be held for the former Tory minister, who became a Reform UK spokeswoman, at Buckfast Abbey on Wednesday. Ms Widdecombe was a frequent worshipper in the Abbey Church.
The private requiem mass will include a homily from the Rt Rev David Charlesworth, Abbot of Buckfast.
The former MP, 78, died on 8 July after she was hit over the head with a hammer 21 times at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor, Devon.
Joshua Kerry, 28, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, was charged with her murder on 20 July.
A statement from the abbey said Ms Widdecombe would be “missed and fondly remembered” and “many in our worshipping community knew her as a kind and warm character”.
“Ann was a woman of profound faith, a faith which found expression in the public forum of politics,” the statement said.
“Ann was unafraid to express her unwavering convictions, formed through her Roman Catholic faith. She had a sharp intellect and was a dedicated public servant.”
A public memorial for Ms Widdecombe will be held later this year.
In a statement, Ms Widdecombe’s family previously said: “A more public memorial will follow later in the year, the details of which will be released in due course.
“While we are very grateful for the wide expression of condolences, the family would ask that this initial service is limited to those closest to Ann.”
On the day of her death, the former Conservative minister was interviewed by Christian radio station TWR at 12.10pm. Police believe she was murdered 20 minutes later.
She was due to appear on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright. Messages between Ms Widdecombe and a TV producer reveal that she had suddenly stopped replying minutes before police believe the attack took place.
Ms Widdecombe was first elected as a Conservative MP in Kent in 1987, was a prisons minister in the 1990s and later became an MEP for the Brexit Party.
At the time of her death, she was a spokeswoman on immigration and justice for Reform UK.
She also found fame outside politics on Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.
