Fr Peter Ward

Early life

Peter Ward was born in College Park, an Eastern suburb Adelaide, on December 1, 1932. He was the fifth of eight children born to Kevin and Anne Ward. His early education was at St Joseph’s School at Ellangowan (St Peters parish) and later at Christian Brothers College, Rostrevor.

He began his ecclesiastical studies at St Francis Xaviers Seminary in 1949 and completed them at St Patrick’s College Manly. He was ordained to the priesthood in St Francis Xavier's Cathedral on August 6,1955. However, shortly before his ordination the family was saddened by the sudden death of his father as a result of a heart attack. This was a family trait inherited by Peter and his brothers.

Appointments

His first appointment in December 1956 was as assistant priest at Glenelg where he remained until June 1964 when he was appointed parish priest of Pinnaroo. In January 1966 he was appointed parish priest of Naracoorte, where he remained until January 1974 when he was appointed parish priest of Parkside.

At the end of June 1979 Fr Peter was appointed parish priest of Hectorville and later that year took long service leave for four months. In January 1986 he was appointed parish priests of Blackwood, where he remained for 12 years.

In September 1997, accompanied by his cousin, Fr Mark Nugent CP, Fr Peter travelled to Ireland, in the hope of doing some research on their family history. They have left the research they achieved on the family history to be carried on by the next generation of nieces and nephews. They also spent a week in Canada on their return journey.

In early childhood Fr Peter was used to a large family garden and he inherited this love of gardening and while at Blackwood developed a rather spectacular flower garden – a family trait he shared with his sister Catherine, who also had a lovely garden. 

Fr Peter would go to help his mother and Auntie Jess every Tuesday, his day off, with any repairs to the house and also the much loved garden. This enabled his mother to live in her own home for the rest of her life. He also developed a love of photography.

Diocesan involvement

During his career Fr Peter served on many special purpose committees in the Archdiocese. There is also a strong tradition of law in the Ward family and Peter would have loved an opportunity to study and specialise in Canon Law, but never came his way.

However he did find some outlet through his long involvement in the Matrimonial Tribunal. 

For many years he acted as Notary of the Matrimonial Tribunal, to which he was appointed in March 1958.

He was the first Chaplain to the Cana Conference of the Archdiocese – a body that was involved in running Marriage Preparation Courses for engaged couples.

He also was a member of the Priests Senate for many years and served as Chairman for two years and was a member of the Executive.

In 1978 Fr Peter was involved in the establishment of the Priestly Life and Ministry Committee, which undertook responsibility for arranging seminars and retreats for priests. He took on the role of secretary and served for two years on that committee.
During 1990/91 Fr Ward headed up the “Your Kingdom Come” project which marked a significant milestone in the life of the diocese.

The published report became a working document for many aspects of church life for the next few years. Apart from chairing the working party, Fr Peter composed the prayer that was recited before all meetings over a long period of time.

Final years

Some years later Fr Peter found life a bit of a struggle and so he undertook a course at Encompass which he later admitted marked a real turning point in his life. Soon after he agreed to a transfer from Blackwood and thus in April 1998 Fr Peter moved to the parish of Victor Harbor/Goolwa. While there he celebrated his Golden Jubilee of priesthood with a special Mass and memorable social gathering at Goolwa. He thoroughly enjoyed his years at Victor Harbor.

Throughout his life Fr Peter was faithful to his daily prayer and the recitation of the Divine Office. He was a man of strict routine as far as prayer was concerned. He also devoted a great deal of time and energy in the study of the scriptures and the preparation of his Sunday homilies.

He had something of a gift for preaching and parishioners enjoyed his sermons. He developed a great love for music, especially church music, and at Victor Harbor with the help of a brilliant organist he encouraged the choir and congregation in their singing.

On August 9, 2006 Fr Peter died rather suddenly after a short illness. His funeral Mass was held in St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral on August 12 and his remains were interred at Centennial Park Cemetery.

May he rest in peace.