Melbourne, Australia, 3 July 2022 -- Our brother and friend, Fr. Norman Ford SDB, passed away peacefully at Mercy Place in East Melbourne on 25 June, at 8:00 am.
Fr. 'Norm' was 87 years of age. He was a professed son of Don Bosco for 69 years, and a priest of the Catholic Church for 58 years.
Born in 1935 in Ballarat, Victoria (Australia), Norman completed his Salesian novitiate in 1953. After making final profession on 31 January 1959 in Sunbury (Melbourne), Cl. Norm studied theology in Italy and was ordained a priest by Bishop Giuseppe Cognata at Valdocco, Turin (Italy) in 1964. Since his return from Italy, Fr Norm spent most of his life and ministry around the formation of young Salesians in training in Melbourne.
Being a highly academic and a simple consecrated person, Norm also spent more than 40 years of his life in tertiary education and research particularly in the fields of philosophy and ethics. He served as a Master of the Catholic Theological College in Melbourne, and continued to teach philosophy for many years. He had won world-wide recognition for his scholarship in the field of bio-ethics, had an outstanding publications record, and was a regular participant and invited speaker at international conferences. Fr Ford also was the Foundation Director of the Caroline Chisholm Centre for Health Ethics in East Melbourne.
In recent years Fr. Norman was a member of the Salesian Community in Brunswick. Yet, due to urgent need for extra care, 3 years ago he moved into Mercy Place in East Melbourne as a resident.
The funeral was held on Thursday 30 June at St Margaret Mary's church in Brunswick North, at 10:30 am.
Eternal rest grant unto Fr Norm O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul rest in peace, amen!
Sources:
AUL province Facebook (Salesians of Don Bosco - Australia & Pacific)
https://vox.divinity.edu.au/news/in-memoriam-rev-professor-emeritus-norman-ford-sdb/
https://tributes.theage.com.au/obituaries/448881/reverend-professor-emeritus-norman-ford/?r=https://tributes.theage.com.au/obituaries/theage-au/
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