The funerals of two retired priests of the Archdiocese were held within days of each other. Fr. John Loughlin was buried from St. Andrew’s Cathedral on 21 October, and Fr. John Flynn Ward from Our Lady & St. Mark’s, Alexandria on 24 October. Archbishop Conti presided at both funerals and was joined by many priests from across the Archdiocese.
Fr. Loughlin had been retired for many years, due to ill-health and had resided at St. Joseph’s Care Home. His long-time friend and fellow-priest, Fr. Peter O’Farrell, gave the homily. Fr. Ward, a native of Alexandria, had been a military chaplain, and in his homily, Archbishop Conti recalled how the severe head injury suffered in a car accident in Germany when he was a chaplain had resulted in lasting effects on his memory. Towards the end of his life, these had been exacerbated by Alzheimer’s.
