It is with sad news we announce the death of Fr Michael Stewart, earlier this morning (1 July 2025). He died peacefully at St Anne’s Care Home in Stoke Newington where he had recently taken up residence.
Fr Michael was born in Newport, south Wales on 28 April 1935. Considered to be a ‘late vocation’ he studied for the priesthood at Allen Hall for a year before going to the Beda in Rome. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Westminster on 3 July 1982.
Condolences are extended to Fr Michael’s family, friends and colleagues and to the parishioners of the parishes where he served in this Diocese and, briefly, in the Diocese of Brentwood and to the Sisters, staff and residents at St Anne’s Care Home.
Fr Michael’s Funeral Mass will be on Friday 8 August at 2pm at Marychurch, Hatfield: 26 Salisbury Square, Hatfield AL9 5JD. Bishop Nicholas Hudson will preside and Fr Kevin Moule will give the homily. Cremation will follow at Oak Hill Crematorium at 3pm. Fr Michael’s cremated remains will be interred in south Wales in due course.
We pray for the repose of Fr Michael’s soul:
Lord Jesus, our Redeemer,
you willingly gave yourself up to death so that all people might be saved and pass from death into a new life.
Listen to our prayers, look with love on your people who mourn and pray for Fr Michael.
Lord Jesus, holy and compassionate, forgive his sins.
By dying you opened the gates of life for those who believe in you.
Do not let our brother be parted from you, but by your glorious power give him light, joy and peace in heaven where you live for ever and ever.
Amen.
In Word and Sacrament, Fr Michael was a faithful minister of the Lord.
May he be granted a place at God's heavenly table.
May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Obituary
Michael Stewart was born in the family home in Malpas, Newport, in south Wales on 28 April 1935. He was the fourth of five children born to Albert and Mary Stewart. He became particularly close to the youngest sibling, Mary, after she developed mental health issues in her twenties. He was educated locally and left school at the age of fifteen. He took employment before doing his National Service with the Royal Air Force, after which he worked for Radio Rentals for several years in various locations. In 1970, Michael resigned from Radio Rentals in Wakefield, Yorkshire, where he was the Branch Manager. He wanted a career change, from retail to social work. The Area Manager wrote a personal letter to Michael, offering him support once he had moved on from the company and also advising him that, going forward, ‘…the only basic ingredient you need is good common sense and a will to do the task which you have been given’. Michael enrolled at Park Lane College of Further Education in Leeds and was awarded a Diploma in Social Welfare in 1971. From September 1971, Michael was employed by ‘The Friends of the Galilean’, working in their home for disabled children in Bethany, Palestine.
In 1976, Michael realised that he had to respond to ‘the call’ from the Lord to offer himself for priesthood. He had the support of his Parish Priest, a Rosminian in the local parish at Stow Hill in Newport. He was accepted as an aspirant to religious life, and then as a novice, with the Consolata Fathers, with whom he studied philosophy in Dublin and took part in community life in their college in Totteridge. When Michael realised it was time to move on, his wish was readily granted by the Master of Novices. He applied to the Diocese of Westminster. He was accepted as a student for the priesthood for the Diocese and given a place at Allen Hall seminary in Chelsea to commence his formation in September 1978. Because of his age – by now he was forty-three – it was decided that he should continue his formation at the Beda College in Rome, known as the seminary for ‘late vocations’, and to do a shortened course and because of his studies with the Consolata Fathers in Dublin and in Mill Hill, and at Allen Hall.
Michael was ordained to the priesthood on 4 July 1982 at Our Lady of the Rosary, Marylebone by Bishop Gerald Mahon MHM, auxiliary Bishop of Westminster. After his ordination, Fr Michael took up his first appointment, as Assistant Priest at Ruislip, later that month. His next appointment, as Assistant Priest at Waltham Cross, commenced in May 1984. This was followed by his appointment, in 1985, as resident Chaplain to the Carmelite Sisters in Ware, Hertfordshire. In writing to congratulate him on this appointment, Bishop James O’Brien, area Bishop in Hertfordshire, cautioned Fr Michael against becoming a recluse because the monastery was somewhat isolated, and he encouraged him to take an active part in the local deanery. ‘Let it be known to the local clergy that you are willing to help, ’ the Bishop advised. Fr Michael took up his next appointment in 1986, as Parish Priest of Highfield and Grove Hill, Hemel Hempstead. After a year, Fr Michael left to explore the possibility of a vocation with the Cistercian monks on Caldey Island, off the Pembrokeshire coast, south Wales. He didn’t stay long. Westminster Cathedral was Fr Michael’s next destination, appointed as a Cathedral chaplain in 1989. This was not a happy time for Fr Michael. In April 1990, Fr Michael departed to take up his next appointment at St Teresa’s, Rochford in the Diocese of Brentwood for six months. In November 1990, Fr Michael took up his next appointment, back in the Diocese of Westminster, as Parish Priest of St Scholastica’s, Clapton. Marychurch, Hatfield, was Fr Michael’s next appointment as Parish Priest. He took up his appointment in 1993 and remained until 2002.
In the summer of 2000, Fr Michael was diagnosed with an illness that required intense treatment, that necessitated taking time away from his parish responsibilities. When he returned to Hatfield in the summer of 2001, he noticed that ‘the stress and pressure of parish life makes me grumpy, short-tempered and over-tired.’ He gave consideration to requesting early retirement from full-time ministry at the age of 67, before the usual retirement age of 75. This would enable him to give additional support to his sister, who lived with mental health issues from the age of 24. His request to stand down as Parish Priest at Marychurch, Hatfield, was granted, and he retired from full-time parish ministry in February 2002. In a letter to the Cardinal, he wrote, ‘I very much regret this necessity, but now request to retire and allow things to take their course…I have enjoyed twenty wonderful years as a priest of the Diocese, these last eight and a half at Hatfield. I have helped and encouraged several vocations in this Diocese and elsewhere, thanks be to God…It has always been my belief (from twenty years in business management) to animate, encourage and always support workers, in particular within the spiritual life of the Church…’ At Marychurch, Hatfield, Fr Michael’s somewhat restless spirit had, at last, found peace.
Fr Michael moved to a new address, on Bull Stag Green in Hatfield, that was to be his home for the next 23 years. He provided supply ministry in local parishes and was very much in demand. In the summer of 2006, Fr Michael felt well enough to offer himself for additional service of the Diocese. He was asked to provide regular weekend support to the parish of Baldock from October 2006. When Fr Michael’s connection with Baldock ended, he offered his availability elsewhere in Hertfordshire and also in Cardiff and Lancaster.
Throughout his priesthood, Fr Michael had a firm commitment to prayer and to the celebration of the sacraments, and a firm trust in God’s providence. He had a particular concern for disadvantaged people. He was generous with the time he gave to people individually. His gift of empathy enabled people to share their concerns with him. He was a kind and compassionate confessor. All who knew him will recall with fondness their conversations with him when he readily shared his opinions and passions. He was a great talker in social settings, but his lengthy homilies in church irritated some! He had a positive approach to life and to people, but could be critical of institutions. He enjoyed watching television, especially football and quiz shows, and programmes about the natural world. He also enjoyed reading. He made time for his family and was helpful in practical ways, such as carrying out repairs and doing gardening. In recent years, with increasing frailty, his trust in God was undiminished, and he was ready for the call to heaven whenever that would come. God called Fr Michael to himself on 1 July 2025. He was blessed with a peaceful death at St Anne’s Care Home, where he had been living for a few weeks.
May the soul of Fr. Michael, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
