Obituary Notice
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Fr. Finbar Ward (1877-1926) 4 ee nee — PR. PINBAR OF THE SORROWFUL AR oF wan, 7 — passtoutst. DECEMBER.— - Death laid a swift and a heavy hand on the Community of St. -foseph's Retveat, Highgate, Londén, Bngland: in December, 1026, On . the 9th of that month thete passed t6 hisg eternal reward Fr. Finbar Ward, OsP,"in #eligion fr. Finbar of the Sorrowful Heart of Marys. . . Pes Binbar waa an active member of the Sommunity attached to St. Joseph's Retreat and nis unéxpedted death came ag a severe shock to all'who: Knew him. Up te the saturday predeeding his death Fr. Fin- , .. bar appeated to be enjoying his usual godd health and attended to his h gonfessional that night until after Sipem. Befote tetiving, however, i. he ¢omplained of feeling cold and 4 short time afterwards an excruci- ating pain in his right side aésompatiied by difficulty in breathing ne¢edditated the summoning of 4 physidian, Pneumonia was didgnosed, and fy. FPinbat waa taken early on Sunday morning to a private hospi- tal in London where everything possible wad done to help the patient to & sppédy recovery, But from the first the specialist who attended him and the hospital staff fealized ‘that the case was indeed a des- Gab. " perate one. His tight lung was already out of action and the left ‘ _ was badly affected. His condition was ao critical that oxygen had e t6. be administered unceasingly during the whole time he was in hos- - pital. In spite of every care ard Attention the malady gained on him and after fighting bravely for four full days Fr. Finbar died peace~ 7 fully in the early hours of Thursday, December Othe mo fis death was ammost edifying one. Cons¢ious to the end, Fr. r Finbar realised that his labours for hia bivine Master were over and that for him had come ‘the night when no man may work'. Fortified — t with the last rites of the Ghureéh-drid having joinaé as best he could in thé prayers for the dying he oreatied forth his soul to God with perfect resignation to the Divine Will, giving thode who surronnded his death bed 4 perfect example of christian fortitude and confid- OOS Sgualiead aniy by the patiente with which he had borne the paina and the dtvedag of his preceeding blineass a, . _ Botn ih Dublin, 6th J@hdpyy Maron, 1877, Fr. Pinbar was edu- cated 4b the well known ¢ollege @onducted by the Marist Fathers in - Leeson Ste in that eity.s In 1806, following the example of his brother Fr. Henry Ward, Passionist, he entered the novictate of the Order at Broadway, Worcestershire, professed the following year, he came to St.. Joseph's, Highgate, London to pursue his studies for the priest- hood and was ordained on the 24th Sepbember 1904 at St. Edmund's College, Ware. fhe firet scene of his priestly labours was at St. Mary's he Retreat, Harborne, Birmingham where he laboured for nearly 13 years six of whith were passed as Vice-Rector of the Retreats While at
RTT RIT it cee cree lig eae nari . Harborne Fr, Finbar deeply attached himngelf to the, inmates .of. . the large Home for the aged condudted- by the Little Bisters: of the — Poor, For 12 years he was in daily and. often nightly, attendance ~. -|in thig institution, and when at length his. Superiors ¢alled bin | {tobe Vicar of St. Mary's Retreat; Catitathen, 3. Wales, : these poor ‘people and the Sisters of the Corittinity showed in no unéersain'| fashion that they realized they Wete loodifig a real father«in-god. Fr. Finbar duting his chaplaincy of the Convent of. the Litt1lé Sige ters of the Poor gave a wonderful-examplée of punctuality,» Not only did he never mids a day at the Céfvent but during all those 43° years of condtant attendance he Wad not late in coming even onde. From Carmathen after thréée yeata as Vied«Rector, Fre Finbar was appointed to St. Paul's Retteat. Mt, Argus, Dublini and]. _ later to St. Paul's Retreat, Tieleys Yorkshire, fn January 1934 |He Game to St. Joseph's Retreat, Highgate London and here he worked with his oustomary zeal until hia untimely death last year. Fi. Finbar had no mean #eputation aa a missioner and director of retreats, and some sf his most ardent admireres were those to whom he had endeared himself by his labours as a Passionist midsionary. His list of ¢onvertsa to the Catholic faith was nota “short one and hig work in this réspect though unostenkéatious was dolid and lasting. He had a wondérful genius for making friends and keeping them, and his unexpected death came as a heavy blow to those who treasured his acquaintance. . . fo his brethren in réligion his sudden departure from amongst them can hardly yet.be realized, His cheery presence and priestly bearing will he sadly misted 4t St. Joseph's. But the cons Soling fact remains that though he died at a comparatively early . age yet He fully realised that hig ‘dies Magna' had dawned, He knew ‘he was dying, he was prepared to die, and tis wonderful resignation to God's Holy Will and his donfidénée an dod'sa Koy Merey were vive | idly displayed to those assembled aréund his death beds ‘In pace in Adipsum dormiam, et requiescam! qhoniam to, Domine, singulariter in spe gonatituisti me’, (Psa.4%. - ffhe obgequies took plade on Saturday morning, Dec.11th 1926 at St. Joseph's Retreat, Highgaté,. before ag crowded congregation, his brother Fr. Henry Ward,C.P. being ¢elebrant of the Mags. The mus-= io wap beautifully rendered by the pupile of gt. Aloysius! College, Highgate. The Abgolutions arid final prayers were recited by the Prov inoial, V. Rev. Fr. Alban, C.P., and the remains were laid to reat in the private mausoleum in the tlonastery grounds. There, whapre as a dtudent he prayed and studied and learnt to be a Passionist, Fr. Finbar sleeps his last long sleep,saurfounded by his brethren who _ ptedeed-ed him, awaiting the glorious resurrection. .
Source: Obituary Notices, Provincial Archive, St Joseph's Province. Passionist Congregation.