Columban Fr Keith Gorman
Columban Fr Keith Gorman died at Mercy Place, Parkville, Victoria, on December 19, 2016 the day after the 73rd anniversary of his ordination and a month before his 97th birthday. Fr Keith was born in Brisbane, Queensland, an only son between two sisters.
He travelled to St Columban’s Seminary, Essendon, to begin his seminary training in 1937. Then, because WWII made it unsafe to travel to Ireland, in 1940 he went to the Columban Seminary in Omaha, Nebraska, USA, to complete his theology studies. He was the first of a number of Australian and New Zealand Columban seminarians to do this during the war years. He was ordained in St Joseph’s Cathedral, Buffalo, NY, on December 18, 1943.
Returning to Australia the following year, Fr Keith worked in a number of parishes until 1948 when he was appointed to China but this was changed to Japan after a few months in Shanghai. He studied Japanese language at Yokohama and was then appointed as pastor at the parish of Chigasaki, diocese of Yokohama. After vacation in 1955 he was appointed pastor at Yakatamachi in Wakayama City.
In 1964 Fr Keith was appointed to the Australian/New Zealand Region, stationed at first in the Columban House in Toowong, Brisbane. Then he did parish supplies for three years and Columban promotion work in the Perth Archdiocese. This was followed by a few years as Bursar at the Columban Seminary in Turramurra and then as Vocations Coordinator in the state of New South Wales.
In 1975 Fr Keith began a ministry to the aged as chaplain at Nazareth House Aged Care, Turramurra, Sydney. After a sabbatical and some studies in the subject of ageing Fr Keith continued in this ministry as chaplain to the retired Presentation Sisters at Windsor in Melbourne. Around the same time he helped to found ROTA - Religious of the Third Age, a social and spiritual organisation for retired Religious. During this period Fr Keith wrote a number of articles on the theme of ageing, some of which were printed in The Far East.
Fr Keith himself retired to St Columban’s, Essendon, in 1997 and was a lively and cheerful presence there until a fall in September, 2012, resulted in hospitalisation and a subsequent move to Mercy Place Aged Care, Parkville, Victoria.
Fr Keith is remembered and loved as a humble man who always had time and respect for everyone. He excluded no one. He was fun-loving and always ready to laugh, share a joke – even one on himself – and join in whatever was going on. In one of his articles he wrote that his idea of heaven was having breakfast with Jesus on the shores of eternity following the scene in John 21. A Requiem Mass for Fr Keith was offered on December 23, 2016 at St Columban’s, Essendon, by his Columban confreres, a number of his relatives, former associates and friends. He was laid to rest at Melbourne General cemetery, Carlton. May he rest in peace.
Read more from The Far East, March 2017