Meet: Father James G. Ward, CM

I started thinking about becoming a priest at age seven,” says Father James G. Ward, CM, but, he insists, “it wasn’t that unusual at the time.” He describes his upbringing as typical in 1950s Chicago: “There were about 1,000 kids in St. Michael’s Parish grade school, about 700 in the high school, and over 60 priests, brothers, and sisters involved in the schools and parish. So my family – I was one of six children – grew up surrounded by a large parish. The priests and religious were my examples, and I wanted to be like them.”

He also lived just six blocks from DePaul University, where he was introduced to the Congregation of the Mission. “It was a quick fit,” he says. He earned his B.A. from St. Mary’s of the Barrens Seminary in Perryville, Missouri, and later returned to DePaul University to earn a M.A. in Philosophy and his Ph.D. He also earned a M.A. in Theology from De Andreis Seminary.

After five years of teaching at St. Mary’s Seminary and the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, Fr. Ward served as pastor, first in Long Beach, Mississippi, for five years and later in New Orleans for nearly eight years.

Working abroad in Guatemala and the Philippines at various points in his ministry convinced him to get healthcare training. “Healthcare is so desperately needed in many parts of the world,” says Fr. Ward.

He studied nursing while stationed at the Vincentian residence in North Little Rock, Arkansas. After earning his LPN, he became a part-time nurse at the nearby Wrightsville Prison Infirmary, where he learned how important it is to offer compassion. “Sometimes listening is as important as medical attention,” he says. He was also a member of the Vincentian Evangelization Team based there, which has an active Hispanic ministry.

Now Fr. Ward is embarking on a new assignment. As of July 1, he will assume the role of president of the Association of the Miraculous Medal in Perryville. He admits to some nervousness, feeling he has big shoes to fill. “I want to build on the wonderful work of my predecessors. One of them, Father Charles Shelby, CM, tells me that, ‘I have the best boss in the world, the Blessed Mother.’ That comforts me.”

Fr. Ward will bring his experience with the Hispanic ministry in Arkansas to his new position, extending outreach to that and other cultural groups. He also intends to use new technology to reach out to young Catholic adults. “Many of our grandmothers today want to read a printed newsletter, but young people want
to get their information online. How do we use technology to reach out to them?” asks Fr. Ward.