In Pace Christi

At the young age of twelve, Fr. Troy left his native town of Birmingham in the Midlands and went north to Yorkshire where he entered our Minor Seminary at St. Peter Claver College in Stillington.

He proved to be an inquisitive and bright pupil. A characteristic that accompanied him throughout his life. Like most of the Radical Members of the London Province he was destined to be a “Jack of all trades!” turning his hands to varied ministries.

Fr. John was the son of a Welsh father and English mother, both with Irish roots. The family consisted of five sisters and two brothers.

He continued his studies and religious formation at Sunningdale and then went on to Rome completing his theological studies at the College of Propaganda Fide.

He was ordained on April 7^th 1962 at the Lateran Basilica in Rome with two other Comboni Missionaries. Present for the wonderful occasion, travelling from England, were his parents and members of his family. On that day thirty-eight new priests were ordained in various places in Italy whilst four had been ordained in the U.S.A. on March 17^th, making a total of forty-two Ordinations for that year.

After Ordination Fr. John was assigned to the London Province and took over the running of the Mission Office and edited the Verona Fathers’ Mission Magazine for several years, whilst residing at Dawson Place. In 1966 he set off for Uganda to begin the first period of a total of three stays in that country. Working as a Parish Priest at times and editing Leadership Magazine cause him great joy. He loved Africa and her peoples and would always refer to these years as his happiest years of his life. In between stints in Uganda he worked from Mirfield as Vocation Director and in 1981 after a period in the Parish of Rickmansworth he was appointed Provincial Superior of the London Province. During his time as Provincial he was responsible for opening a presence of the Comboni Missionaries in Ireland in 1985. Previous attempts, due to the reluctance of the Irish Hierarchy to allow yet another Missionary Order open a house in Ireland, had failed. Many students went to learn English at the ‘Divine Word School of English’ in Maynooth on the outskirts of Dublin.  Another historic moment during his time as Provincial was the closing of the Junior Seminary in Mirfield in 1984 thus ending a presence there of twenty-five years.

Fr. John was called to Rome to the Office of General Secretariat and was very much involved in translation work. He was responsible for the English edition of the ‘Writings’ of St. Daniel Comboni which were published in 2005. He was gifted with a prodigious capacity for languages and perhaps due to his cultural roots had mastered the basics of Welsh and Irish Gaelic. His command of Italian was excellent and his knowledge of Logbara, Alur and Kiswahili stood him in good stead for his work amongst the peoples of West Nile in North-West Uganda.

After Rome Fr. John returned to the London Province and spent different periods assisting in the Mission Office of Leeds and as the Priest-in-Charge at the Sacred Heart Church in Sunningdale where he is fondly remembered for his kindly service and devout liturgies. Gifted with a strong constitution and an interest in sports, particularly cricket and Formula One, helped him to be a convivial figure in the Community.  The celebration of his Priestly Golden Jubilee in 2012 at Sunningdale was a joyful occasion when together with his sisters, brother, Confrères and friends he was able to give thanks to God for such a wonderful grace.

Sadly, with the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease, he was transferred to Castel d’Azzano in 2018 where he passed away peacefully affected by COVID-19 on the morning of November 20^th 2020.

The Funeral Mass was presided by Fr. Teresino Serra, Superior of the Motherhouse in Verona, with Fr. Baldan, the Provincial of Italy, and several other Confrères concelebrating. In his homily Fr. Teresino spoke movingly of Fr. John as, “a real gentleman, a joyful person and a faithful missionary, … a great and holy servant to the Mission of Africa and the Congregation”.  

The Funeral Mass was ‘live-streamed’ from the Chapel dedicated to St. Daniel Comboni in the Motherhouse and so his surviving sisters and brother, his extended Family, Confrères in the London Province and friends from down the years were able to participate albeit from a distance. May he rest in peace.
(Fr. Downey John McGuire, mccj)