Father Jack Ward, passionate about canon law, plans for retirement

Father John “Jack” Ward, a priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore for nearly four decades known for his sense of humor and concern for parishioners, will retire on Sept. 30. Currently pastor of Our Lady of the Fields in Millersville, Father Ward has enjoyed a long ministry that includes serving in the Archdiocese of Baltimore Tribunal, six local parishes and as priest-secretary for Cardinal William H. Keeler.

Father Ward was born and raised in New Orleans, where he graduated from Holy Cross High School. When he was 17, his father died, and he and his mother moved to Baltimore, her hometown. He earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Baltimore and master’s degrees from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Towson University.

Out of college, Father Ward was a lay teacher at St. Mark School in Catonsville and Immaculate Heart of Mary in Baynesville. From 1977 to 1979, he taught English at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore.

“While teaching in Catholic schools, I was very impressed by the Sisters of Mercy and the Franciscan Friars,” said Father Ward, 72. “During that time, it dawned on me that God was calling me.”

When he was contemplating becoming a priest, he didn’t think it was possible. He had signed another teaching contract, and he had bills to pay, but he couldn’t get it out of his mind.

“So I went to the (Baltimore) Basilica, and I knelt down and prayed,” Father Ward remembered. “I said make it happen or leave me alone.”

He soon entered St. Mary’s Seminary and University and was ordained a priest on May 10, 1986 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.

For anyone who is considering a religious vocation, Father Ward offers the following advice: “Number one, pray hard. Number two, try it, you’ll probably like it. And number three, if you think God is calling you, he probably is, and he won’t stop until you answer.”

Father Ward’s first assignment as a priest was associate pastor of St. Mark. He was also associate pastor of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, and pastor of Our Lady of Hope, Dundalk, Prince of Peace in Edgewood and St. Francis de Sales in Abingdon until he left to become pastor of Our Lady of the Fields in 2020.

 “Working in the parishes, I enjoy the people, but I don’t enjoy the administration,” he said.

Father Ward spent several years as a judge in the Archdiocese of Baltimore Tribunal and has served as Adjutant Judicial Vicar since 2010.

“I enjoy helping people with the legalities of the church, specifically with annulments and people who want to remarry in the church,” said Father Ward, who has a degree in canon law from Catholic University and a civil law degree from LaSalle University in Louisiana. “I am there for both the highs and lows in their lives.”

“Working in the Tribunal has been a great source of pride for me,” he said. “Monsignor Jeremiah Kenney was a tremendous mentor to me in the study of canon law and my interest in it. He continues to be a good friend.”

Monsignor Kenney, retired Judicial and Episcopal Vicar Emeritus, first met Father Ward when he taught him at Holy Cross High School in New Orleans. They met up years later in Baltimore, eventually working together for 10 years in the Tribunal.

“He was a great help and devoted hours and hours of service,” said Monsignor Kenney, who assists at St. Bartholomew in Manchester. “He was very dedicated to our annulment program. I could count on him for anything. He has the ability to meet people where they are in terms of their faith and take them to the next level.”

“He loves people and is a great guy,” added Monsignor Kenney. “He has an absolutely great sense of humor. I have never seen him in a bad mood.”

After serving as a Tribunal judge, Father Ward was Cardinal William H. Keeler’s priest-secretary from 1996 to 1999. 

“It was a lot of fun, and he was delightful to work for,” Father Ward said. “He had a caustic wit, which I enjoyed very much. He was very caring and good with people.”

Father Ward said Cardinal Keeler was always very cognizant of his time off, and never bothered him during his regular Wednesday night outing for a steak and a beer.

He next became pastor of Our Lady of Hope, where he stayed for 11 years.

J.D. Urbach, a lifelong parishioner of Our Lady of Hope and current president of the Our Lady of Hope/St. Luke School board, first met Father Ward when he arrived at the parish and Urbach had just started dating his future wife, Michele.

“Father Jack counseled us through Pre-Cana and performed our wedding in May 2001,” said Urbach, who recently celebrated his 22nd wedding anniversary. “When Michele and I were first married, we moved to Owings Mills, but every Sunday we’d drive around the beltway back to Dundalk to be with our extended family for Mass at Our Lady of Hope. Our son was born in January 2003 and as a toddler loved going to Mass to see Father Jack.” 

Urbach noted that Father Ward was a wonderful liturgist and homilist, and he helped his family through times of sorrow, when they lost four close family members in five years.

“Our whole family was very fortunate to have a caring Church community and supportive pastor like Father Jack to turn to for prayers and compassion and support,” he said.

During his retirement, Father Ward hopes to relax – on the advice of his doctor – and find a parish that needs help so he can fill in for Masses. He also plans to continue studying and practicing canon law and dedicate more time to his hobby, model railroading. He will be living in an apartment he owns in the Baltimore area and would like to regularly visit New Orleans.

“I want to be remembered by people as a guy who worked hard and brought God to them and very much enjoyed his priesthood,” he said.

Also see

Father Gills retires after a ministry that took him around the world and around the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Father Foley, pastor to retired priests, set to retire himself

‘Unflappable’ pastor who shepherded major parish projects ready to retire

Approaching retirement, Monsignor Barker reflects on shepherding one of the largest parishes in the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Founding pastor of Frederick parish to retire

Brother to teacher to pastor: Father Franken’s long and varied vocation

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