 Fr.
Hubert Francis Ward, OP
Hubert Ward was born November 14, 1911, the first of two sons of John H. Ward and the
former Anna Brennan, who owned a small farm near Stockton, California. Both sons became priests of the Western Province,
Fr. Daniel Ward preceding his brother in death by some years.
Hubert’s formal education began at the local
public school shortly after his sixth birthday. He
later transferred to St. Mary’s Parochial School, where he completed his eighth grade
in 1925. He then entered St. Agnes High School
in Stockton, from which he graduated with honors in 1929.
This school was staffed by the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, and it was
his first acquaintance with the Dominican Order; he was tremendously impressed by the
sisters and priests.
My first meeting with
Hubert was in 1928 when, with my fellow seminarians, John (later Fr. Patrick) Kelly and
Carrol (later Fr. Peter) Curran, I went to visit the Sisters at St. Agnes, one of whom was
a cousin of John Kelly. That afternoon after
school, Hubert drove the three of us in his Ford to the highway out of town where we could
hitch a ride back to Benicia. Some months
after that, Hubert came to visit us at Benicia, and told us of his intention to enter the
postulate with us the following year after his graduation, which he did. Our superior in the postulate at that time was Fr.
John Sebastian Owens, who was an excellent professor and who gave us spiritual direction. Hubert was an outstanding student, a very good
athlete and a fine companion.
When we received
the habit at St. Dominic’s in Benicia from Fr. James Bertrand Connolly, then Prior
Provincial, on September 15, 1931, Hubert was among our number, having completed three
years of study in two. At that time, Hubert
took St. Francis as his patron, and subsequently was known as Brother Francis. The following year, he made his simple profession
at the hands of Fr. Connolly, then moved with his classmates to St. Albert’s College in Oakland to begin his
scholastic studies. Three years later, he made
solemn professional before the Prior, Fr. John Owens, and he was ordained to the
priesthood on May 22, 1937, by Archbishop John J. Mitty at St. Mary’s Cathedral in
San Francisco.
After ordination, Fr. Ward and
I remained at St. Albert’s to finish
theological studies, and during his years as a student priest, Fr. Ward was already giving
counsel and direction to some of the younger brothers.
During the years he studied at St. Albert’s, he was a brother in the full
sense of the term—a serious student, an earnest and serious religious, a considerate
and friendly companion, and an energetic and hard worker.
Fr. Ward’s first assignment was to St. Dominic’s Parish in San Francisco,
but he was there only two years before being recalled to St. Albert’s to be appointed
Master of Students where he gave direction and spiritual guidance to the brothers for
three years. During those years, he also
conducted retreats and preached in a number of parishes.
In 1945, he was elected Prior of the Novitiate in Kentfield, where he gave evidence
of both good administrative ability and leadership to the community. He was very highly regarded by the brethren, and
was very shortly there-after elected Prior of St. Dominic’s in San Francisco, and
appointed Director of the Third Order.
At St.
Dominic’s, he proved himself a very progressive Prior by activating both the youth
groups and the adult organizations. He also
remodeled the basement of the church into social and meeting rooms, and had the old hall
torn down and the space turned into a much-needed parking lot.
After six years as Prior, Fr. Ward was again
appointed Master of Students at St. Albert’s, as well as Master of Brothers. Always ready and willing to carry out any
assignment given to him, he was appointed Sub-prior of St. Albert’s in 1955, and two
years later was elected Prior. He also
accepted the appointments of Promoter of the Dominican Confraternities and Director of
Vocations. These elections and appointments
give evidence of the esteem and respect in which Fr. Ward was held by the men of the
Province. After his terms as Prior, he was
appointed Syndic of the Province, and later Superior and Pastor of St. Vincent’s
Parish in Vallejo.
In 1964, he was elected
Prior Provincial of the Western Province. From
the very first days of his religious life, Fr. Ward was devoted to Our Lady’s Rosary,
and often spoke of spreading that devotion. One
of his first moves on being assigned as Prior of St. Dominic’s in The City was to
open an office, which he called the Rosary Center, through which he worked to propagate
devotion to the Rosary. This Center has, over
the years, developed a very extensive enrollment.
After
his term as Provincial, Fr. Ward again accepted a number of assignments, first to St. Mary
Magdalen Parish in Berkeley, then Director of the Mission Office and Promoter of the
Rosary Confraternity and the Holy Name Society. At
this time, Fr. Ward’s health began to fail, and he suffered from cancer, although it
was not clinically diagnosed as such at the time. However,
he refused to let this stop him, and he accepted the appointment of Pastor and Superior at
St. Dominic’s in Benicia.
However, after
little more than a year, ill health forced him to resign, and he came to live at St.
Dominic’s in The City for the final years of his life.
In San Francisco, he attended courses in counseling at City College, and
gave assistance and direction to alcoholics and drug users.
The last few years of his life, he suffered greatly from the consuming
disease, yet he was never heard to complain. On
the contrary, he was always cheerful, greeting everyone with a smile, and he would say
that the pain was bearable. I was with him at
the hospital when he died on June 6, 1983, and administered to him the Sacrament of the
Sick, viaticum and the last blessing. Fr. Ward
was a man who loved both the priesthood and the Dominican Order. Now, in his new life of eternal peace, I am
confident our Brother Francis will intercede with the Holy Spirit and direct the
Dominicans of the Western Province.
--Fr. Joseph Asturias,
0. P. |
