It is with sadness we announce the death of Fr Edward Carroll on Sunday 4 January, peacefully at St Joseph's Hospice in Hackney.
Fr Teave, as he was known by many, was admitted to St Joseph's on Wednesday afternoon for end of life care. Before that he was living at Nazareth House in Finchley where he was cared for by the Sisters, staff and Chaplain, Fr Terry Tastard. At St Joseph's the staff and Chaplain, Fr Terry Seasman, met Fr Teave's needs.
Condolences are extended to all at Nazareth House and St Joseph’s, and to Fr Teave's family and friends, including members of the Neo Catechumenal Way - Fr Teave was a member of the First Community at Mile End.
He waa born in Newry, Co. Down on 13 September 1933 and ordained to the priesthood in Newry Cathedral on 17 August 1975.
Fr Teave’s mortal remains will be received at Guardian Angels church, Mile End, Mile End Road E3 4QS on Monday 2 February at 3.30pm. There will be a Requiem Mass at 7.30pm.
The Funeral Mass will be in the same church on Tuesday 3 February at 11am. Bishop Paul McAleenan will be the main celebrant and Fr Antonio Ritaccio will give the homily. Burial will follow at St Patrick’s Cemetery, Langthorne Road, Leytonstone E11 4HW.
We pray for the repose of Fr Teave's soul.
From Psalm 26:
There is one thing I ask of the Lord,
for this I long,
to live in the house of the Lord,
all the days of my life,
to savour the sweetness of the Lord,
to behold his temple.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Obituary
The son of Hugh and Rose Anne Carrol, Edward Patrick Carroll was born in Newry, Co. Down on 13 September 1933 and baptised the following day. Known as Teave throughout his life, he was Confirmed in the Cathedral of SS Patrick and Colman, Newry on 22 June 1941. The family home was on Mary Street, his father worked in the local docks. The young Teave was educated locally by the Christian Brothers from 1940-52. He then went to work in the estimating and surveying departments of a construction company. For seventeen years he served as the leader of the local troop of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland. For three years he was the Diocesan Commissioner. On the first Sunday of the month the scout troop lined up outside the Carroll family home and marched to the 8am Mass in the Cathedral. He and the troop enjoyed the annual summer camps in various locations in Ireland. His sense of being called to the priesthood developed and at the age of 40 he applied for acceptance by the Diocese of Westminster. Before that he explored the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood as a missionary, studying with the Society of African Missions (SMA) at the Missionary Institute in north London from 1970-73. But he realized that his vocation was to diocesan priesthood and he continued his studies at the Westminster diocesan seminary, St Edmund’s College in Ware, Hertfordshire. He was ordained as a Deacon in the College chapel on 30 March 1975 by Bishop Christopher Butler OSB. Teave’s uncle, Francis Malachy Carroll, was an SMA Father who became a bishop and served as Papal Nuncio to Liberia. Archbishop Carroll ordained his nephew in Newry Cathedral on 17 August 1975.
Fr Teave’s first appointment was to the parish of The Immaculate Heart of Mary and St Dominic, Homerton where he served as Assistant Priest from September 1975 to August 1980. He then moved to the parish of St Charles Borromeo, Ogle Street where he served as Assistant Priest and Hospital Chaplain until August 1984. Assistant Priest at St John Fisher, Perivale was his next appointment until he moved to Guardian Angels, Mile End in September 1985 where he remained until August 1990. His next appointment was as Parish Priest at the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Holloway until October 1999. While at Holloway Fr Teave was the victim of a violent attack in the presbytery by a student with mental health issues. Fr Teave was seriously injured but his strong faith moved him to visit his attacker who had been arrested, tried, convicted and imprisoned, and to seek reconciliation with him. In 2000 Fr Teave took up his appointment as Assistant Priest at Our Lady of Willesden where he remained for several months before taking up his next appointment as Parish Priest at The Good Shepherd, Shenley where he served until his retirement on 28 February 2007. He chose to live independently in Borehamwood with the support of the Diocese. Health concerns required specialist regular treatment at University College Hospital in central London, and also at Watford and Hemel Hempstead Hospitals.
As a member of the Neocatechumenal Way since 1975, Fr Teave’s strong commitment to catechising – teaching people the faith and deepening their understanding of the significance of baptism to bring them closer to the Lord – took him to various places at home and overseas, including several weeks in South Korea, alongside his regular parish ministry. Throughout his life he maintained a passion for evangelisation and catechesis and an interest in sport and music.
On 13 September 2025 at Nazareth House in Finchley where he was living Fr Teave celebrated his 92nd birthday and the Golden Jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood with family, friends and the Sisters, staff and residents. At the Mass of thanksgiving a message from Cardinal Vincent Nichols was read: ‘May this Holy Year be for you a time of renewed joy, deepened faith and abundant blessings. This is a time in which we can celebrate how well you have used the years God has graciously given you to serve Him and His holy Church with great faithfulness and generosity.’
A few days before the Lord called him to himself Fr Teave moved to St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney for end of life care. He passed peacefully on 4 January 2026. He had made known his wish for his funeral to be at Guardian Angels, Mile End where he was a member of the First Neocatechumenate Community.
A member of the Holloway Community recently described Fr Teave as ‘a rough diamond, smoothed and polished by his suffering, triumphant over death and alive in spirit.’
At his birth Teave was given a cross with the figure of the crucified Jesus that had been given to his parents as a wedding present. He brought that crucifix with him wherever he went. He saw in the cross a symbol of humiliation, suffering and death made victorious by the power of the Father’s love. The Exultation of the Holy Cross, celebrated annually by the Church on 14 September, was of special significance to Fr Teave as the anniversary of his baptism and the beginning of his pilgrimage of faith. Close to his treasured crucifix Fr Teave had the words of the ‘Anima Christi’:
Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O Good Jesus, hear me.
Within Thy wounds hide me.
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee.
From the malignant enemy defend me.
At the hour of my death call me.
And close to You bid me that with Thy saints,
I may be praising Thee for ever and ever. Amen
May Fr Teave’s faithful and generous soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
