We announce the sad news of the death today of Fr Peter John Dwyer, the oldest priest of the Diocese and the longest-ordained, peacefully at Watford General Hospital where he spent the last few days receiving end of life care.
Fr Peter was born in London on 29 January 1933 and ordained to the priesthood on 15 June 1957. The Lord called him home on the sixty-ninth anniversary of his ordination.
Condolences are extended to Fr Peter’s family, friends and colleagues, and to his former parishioners in parishes where he served and to former students and staff of the schools in which he taught.
Fr Peter’s mortal remains will be received at St Alban and St Stephen church, St Albans on Monday 13 July at 6.30pm immediately followed by Evening Prayer for the Dead.
The Funeral Mass will be in the same church on Tuesday 14 July at 11.30am. Archbishop Richard will be the main celebrant and Fr Michael O’Boy will give the homily. Burial will follow at St Patrick’s Cemetery, Leytonstone the following day – a private family service.
Fr Peter was a member of the Deceased Clergy Association.
We pray for the repose of Fr Peter’s soul:
Grant, we pray, O Lord, that the soul of Fr Peter, your servant and priest, whom you honoured with sacred office may exult forever in the glorious home of heaven.
St John Henry Newman:
“May the Lord support us all the day long,
Till the shades lengthen and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over,
and our work is done.
Then in his mercy may he give us a safe lodging,
and holy rest, and peace at the last.”
Eternal rest grant unto Fr Peter, 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
On 15 June 2026 the most senior priest of the Diocese, both in years of ordained service as a priest and longevity, was called home to heaven by the Lord. Fr Peter John Dwyer died on his sixty-ninth anniversary of ordination to the priesthood, at the age of ninety-three. He would frequently remind people of his status – years ordained and years of age – with much satisfaction and merriment, and he did so until shortly before his passing. As the only priest of the Diocese ordained in the 1950s he quirkily insisted that on Ash Wednesdays he would receive the blessed Ashes not on his forehead but on his tonsure, the crown, of his head. He loved the past, he embraced the present and he had hope for the future, entrusting it to the good Lord.
William and Miriam Dwyer had three sons, Michael, Peter and Brian who were known in their childhood as Mickle, Pickle and Barny-wee. ‘Pickle’, Peter, was born in south London on 29 January 1933 and baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, Nunhead on 26 February 1933. He was confirmed on 26 April 1942. Like so many other children, Peter was evacuated during the Second World War and he went to live in Whittington, Staffordshire. He went on to attend the Salesian College in Burwash, East Sussex as a boarder from 1942-45 before moving to Oxfordshire where he was educated at the Salesian College in Cowley from 1945-50. He felt called to the priesthood from an early age and explored the possibility of becoming a Dominican. He was accepted for the novitiate at Woodchester in Gloucestershire but it quickly became clear that Peter and religious life were not a good match. Peter, now living in Hackney, applied for acceptance as a student for the priesthood, for the Diocese of Westminster. His application was approved and he began formation at St Edmund’s College, Ware in Hertfordshire, in September 1951. Seminary reports indicate that Peter found the studies to be challenging. The President of St Edmund’s commented, in the summer of 1953, that Peter was ‘far from intelligent’. The comment, far from discouraging Peter, spurred him on to apply himself more seriously to the studies and to work hard to fulfill his desire for acceptance for ordination. By the summer of 1955 the seminary President reported a ‘marked improvement in Peter’s approach to life, he appears to be much more serious now’. In September 1956 Peter was ordained to the diaconate in the college chapel at St Edmund’s and to the priesthood, by Cardinal William Godfrey in Westminster Cathedral, on 15 June 1957. Fr Peter always referred to Cardinal Godfrey, Archbishop of Westminster from December 1956-January 1963, affectionately as ‘Uncle Bill’.
Fr Peter’s first appointment as a newly-ordained priest was to Our Lady of the Rosary, Marylebone where he served until 1958 when he took up his appointment as Assistant Priest at The Blessed Sacrament, Copenhagen Street. The following year he was appointed Assistant Priest at St John Vianney, West Green where he remained until 1962 when he was appointed to St Aloysius, Somers Town. He remained for three years and then his career as a priest-teacher began. He had a love for history, especially medieval history and early modernity, and taught Church history and religious education at Finchley Catholic Grammar school, 1965-70 and returned there in 1980; La Sainte Union Convent School, 1973-77; Cardinal Wiseman School, 1977-78; Bishop Douglass School, 1978-79; St Angela’s Ursuline Convent School in the Diocese of Brentwood, 1979-80. Between teaching at Finchley Grammar and Cardinal Wisemen, Fr Peter spent three years as part of the university chaplaincy team while studying for a degree at Birkbeck College, London University. The Head of History at La Sainte Union wrote, in 1978, that Fr Peter was, as a teacher, ‘very successful. He was responsible for introducing Twentieth Century World History into the school examination syllabus for O Level in 1975. His examination results were very good, achieving a 100% pass rate at A Level…Class outings helped to develop and stimulate further interest as well as indicating his ability to organize. Fr Peter mixed well with both staff and pupils. He took part in all school activities and had a capacity for enlivening pupils’ socials through his participation…he was involved in pastoral work and helped many of his students to sort out their problems.’ In 1979 the Headmaster of Bishop Douglass School wrote that Fr Peter, who was employed as acting Head of History, 1978-79, was ‘an excellent and dedicated history teacher who has a very pleasant relationship with pupils of all ages…his classes are notable for the hard and purposeful work done in a relaxed atmosphere. When necessary, he can be very firm and demanding and he will not tolerate time-wasting or disruption. He is a popular and loyal colleague who is well-liked in the staff common room. He impresses one as a man of great personal and practical
sanctity with a ready wit and smile…’ As well as teaching history and R.E., Fr Peter also taught Spanish and classical studies. His degrees, B.A. and M.A., his membership of the British Historical Association, his Post Graduate Teacher’s Certificate and his pastoral heart stood Fr Peter in good stead for his participation in the Church’s mission of education.
While at the seminary Peter came to know a seminarian from Texas. In the summer of 1961 Fr Peter joined him in Amarillo for a vacation. To do so, at that time, consent was needed from the Archbishop of Westminster, the Bishop of Amarillo and the Apostolic Delegate to Great Britain! Consent was given by all parties. Fr Peter enjoyed visits to the United States. In 1977 and again in 1981 he considered moving there, to teach. His desire was supported by Cardinal Hume, Archbishop of Westminster, but it did not come to pass. Again, in 1983, Fr Peter expressed his desire to teach Church history in the United States, in St Petersburg in Florida. Cardinal Hume wrote to the Bishop in support of Fr Peter’s wish but, again, it did not come to pass. Fr Peter wrote regularly to Cardinal Hume concerning teaching and the ethos of Catholic schools, enclosing with his letters the latest edition of the National Catholic Reporter, an independent American newspaper founded in 1964 reporting on matters concerning the Catholic Church. In 1988, following his retirement from teaching, Fr Peter requested a period of leave of absence from the Diocese, to be spent in Florida. Florida had become something of a second home to him, being the regular destination for his summer holidays while having a rest from teaching and providing supply ministry.
In 1989 Fr Peter spoke with Cardinal Hume about the possibility of teaching Church history at the Missionary Institute in Mill Hill. Cardinal Hume gave Fr Peter his support for this plan. He wrote to the Director of Studies at the MIL, saying, ‘Fr Peter would make an admirable lecturer in Church history and he can talk in an interesting manner about it. I think it would be a very good appointment’. Fr Peter was given the job. He moved from his accommodation in Radlett to live in St Albans from October 1989. He continued to write regularly to Cardinal Hume with news of his activities and his views concerning the Church locally and globally. The Cardinal continued to consult with Fr Peter when writing books, articles or homilies on Church history, the Saints and other personalities. In the early 1990s Fr Peter was asked by the Cardinal to give a series of talks to Anglican clergy who had ‘crossed the Tiber’ to be received into the Catholic Church, many of whom went on to be ordained as Catholic priests. Fr Peter enjoyed visits to Rome, especially to Palazzola, the villa of the English College to the south of Rome at Rocca di Papa in the Alban Hills and formerly a 13th century Cistercian monastery. He undertook chaplaincy ministry there in October 2019 and had hoped to go there again, in March this year, but the deterioration of his health prevented him from doing so.
Fr Peter will be fondly remembered as a great conversationalist, especially on matters concerning Church history and the saints and sinners of different periods. While he didn’t thrive as a seminarian, he went on to develop an exceptional intellect and an insatiable curiosity. He delighted in conversation, discussion and debate, encouraging others to think deeply, read widely and engage with the world and its people, places and history. He had a strong admiration for Pope Pius IX and for Cardinal George Basil Hume, both referred to as ‘my friends’. Pictures of these and other people important to Fr Peter were prominently displayed in the sitting room of his house in St Albans. He took pleasure in telling visitors all about them! He was well read and widely travelled – his interests spanned epochs and continents. His personal library of over 3,000 books testify to his wide range of interests, providing him with material for informed conversations with copious anecdotes and sharp humour. He formed enduring friendships, including with clergy and laity of all ages, and people of other faiths. On 27 May, three weeks before the Lord called him home, Fr Peter was accompanied by the Vicar General to the home of his close friends in St Albans, the Khan family, to enjoy warm hospitality, lively conversation and an enjoyable meal marking Eid-al-Adha, the end of Ramadan.
And now Fr Peter has a place at the heavenly banquet in the company of the Lord whom he knew, served and loved, and with the saints and repentant sinners he knew so well.
