Newly-ordained Tyrone priest celebrates first Mass

A YOUNG priest from Killyclogher celebrated his first Mass this week, just a day after being ordained.

Fr Stephen Ward was ordained to the priesthood on Sunday at Christ the King Church, Killyclogher.

Fr Ward, previously Deacon for the Derry Diocese and a Cappagh parishioner, is the eldest of two children, born to Patricia and the late Paul Ward of Killyclogher.

He attended St Mary’s PS in Killyclogher, the Christian Brothers’ School in Omagh before going on to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown, and graduating in 2008.

Fr Ward’s parents and grandparents have played an important role in his life regarding faith, most notably his late granny, Annie McMahon who he said had the “greatest influence” on him as a child.

“I recall my granny suffering from osteoporosis and arthritis,” Fr Ward told the Diocese of Derry monthly magazine ‘The Net’.

“Her hands would badly swell up, particularly during the summer, and with bandages around them she still held on to her beads and prayed the Rosary.

“I also remember my parents, aunts and uncles on their knees praying the Rosary.

“Especially when myself and my sister were younger, my parents would have said prayers with us before bed time and read us stories from the bible.

“However, throughout my teens I experienced the typical teenage rebellion and didn’t care much about faith.”

Fr Ward concedes that he hadn’t been interested in joining the priesthood as a younger man, but that changed when his father developed a “profound relationship with Jesus.”

“In my younger years, I was always curious about priesthood although I wasn’t actually thinking of being one,” he said.

“As a young man, I could not have told you what was going on at Mass, but I was somehow always drawn to what the priest was doing.

“The first time I found myself considering the priesthood really came to me around 2007 when my dad done his Cursillo weekend that year and he came home a better person in every way.

“This inspired me to pursue a bit of soul searching myself after experiencing my fathers profound relationship with Jesus.

“I want the same thing as I had what I can only describe as a God-shaped hole in my life.

“Yearning for God, I didn’t realise at the time that God was in fact searching for me.”

Speaking with the UH after celebrating his first Mass at St Mary’s Church in Killyclogher on Monday night, Fr Ward said he was a “little nervous” during the momentous occasion.

“Yes, I was definitely a bit nervous upon saying my first Mass.

“As Deacon, I had some Mass practice but I must admit, the first time doing it for real was slightly daunting… but I was carried along with God’s grace and I felt his presence and closeness to me.

“I know now that this is where God wants me to be.”

Fr Ward also offered a special note of praise and thanksgiving to his mother, Patricia, his sister, Nicole and brother-in-law, Niall for all their love and support as well as the wider Ward, McMahon and McCarron families.

He also expressed sincere gratitude to his deceased family members, including his father, Paul, and his grandparents, Tommy and Ann Ward as well as John and Annie McMahon.

With a special thanks to the people of his parish and fellow clergymen, the newly ordained Fr Stephen Ward concluded his message of praise and thanks stating, “May God bless you all abundantly, and may you all continue to keep me in your prayers and be rest assured of my continued prayers.”