Priest Dies One Week after Ordination

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Father Graham Turner, a priest from England, died from leukemia just one week after he was ordained. Yes, he’s a priest forever.
During Holy Week, it became apparent that Graham’s disease was progressing and that his prognosis was poor; so Graham’s father petitioned Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, to ordain his son before his death. Cardinal O’Brien agreed, and 48-year-old Graham Turner was ordained on Easter Monday in the chapel of Salford Royal Hospital, near Manchester, England, with his parents, his brother and sister present. One week later, Father Turner passed away without ever serving in a parish, without exercising the ministry to which he felt called.
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Monsignor Roderick Strange, rector of the Beda Seminary, was present as well, and he remarked on the poignancy and power of the ceremony. “There is a line in the ordination rite,” Msgr. Strange said, “where the bishop tells the ordinand to model their life on the mystery of Christ’s cross; and that was very much fulfilled in that ceremony.”
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patheos.com/blogs/kathyschiffer/2012/04/ordained-for-just-a-week-then-heaven/
This story reminds me of a man from my former parish who died the evening after he was ordained.

mmredeemer.org/parish/koc/about/

Eternal Rest, grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.
 
I read about this a short while ago. I am so glad that he was able to be ordained before he died. I am sure that must have made him very happy. May he rest in peace.
 
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.

This is very sad, but at least Fr. Graham was able to make it to Ordination, so that is a blessing.

This brings to mind a friend of mine and her family. Her brother became a priest. He was diagnosed with lymphoma while in the seminary. He too was ordained and very nearly made it to his first anniversary as a priest before he passed away at age 26.
 
“without exercising the ministry to which he felt called.”

The blogger missed the bulls eye. Every newly ordained priest concelebrates at his ordination mass with the ordaining bishop. He did not die without exercising his ministry. He exercised the most important ministry of the priesthood, the celebration of Holy Mass.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, FFV 🙂
 
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