Spiritan religious and priest, Fr Cyril Ward died peacefully at the age of 90 years following a period of illness. He succumbed shortly before 7.00 p.m. on Monday, October 9 at Spiritan House, Port-of-Spain.

Cyril Ward professed first vows in the Congregation of the Holy Ghost and the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1937. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1946, he was appointed from his home Province of Ireland to Trinidad where he would serve the local Church for the rest of his life.

His earliest years (1947-48) were spent in the just established Fatima College. From 1949, Fr Ward was assigned as a teacher at St Mary’s College.

He moved from the strictly academic to the parochial pastoral milieu in the latter part of the 1950s. He served the archdiocese in the parishes of Diego Martin (1956-59), Petit Valley (1963-74), Curepe (1975-82), and Mayaro (1982-85).

From there, Fr Ward retired from active parish ministry, joining the resident community at Spiritan House. This afforded him dedicated time for a life of reading, study and prayerful contemplation, the fruit of which was his ministry as spiritual director, counsellor and confessor.

Over the past 20 years, Fr Ward ministered to Catholic schools, group retreats and many persons, young and old, from throughout Trinidad who sought him out.

Despite decreased mobility due to constraints of age and health in his latter years, Fr Ward nonetheless continued to minister the love and healing of the God of the Covenant to those who came to him.

Fr Cyril Ward’s passing in the year of his priestly Diamond Jubilee, comes in the wake of the death of two of his Spiritan confrères of the Province of Trinidad earlier this year, namely Fr Peter Nicholson (April 23) and Fr Phillip Forde (April 30).

The Catholic News extends prayerful condolences to the Spiritan community on the death of Fr Ward

Eternal rest, grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.

Fr Peter Nicholson

Fr Phillip Forde