The death of Father John Horgan on Oct. 19 brought an outpouring of testimonials from individuals on the impact he had on their lives. Here are some of the tributes we received.
Father John Horgan was a great friend to the Catholic Education Resource Center as a director for 26 years. His extensive knowledge of the Church and savvy grasp of politics and culture helped guide our board through many complex discernments.
He was a gracious host, and we’re grateful for the memorable and entertaining dinners that often preceded those meetings we held at his rectory. He had a manner that made each person he dealt with feel known and valued. We, along with the many, many others whom he advised, counselled, befriended, and encouraged, will miss him enormously.
J. Fraser Field
Publisher
Catholic Education Resource Center
We loved Father Horgan dearly. There was never a time that I was not amazed and touched by his homilies. He was a great and kind priest as our pastor at Saints Peter and Paul. May he be comforted now in Jesus’ loving hands.
Lydia Chua
Vancouver
I had the opportunity to work with Father John Horgan from 2001-2003, assisting him and Fathers Donald Neumann and Patrick Tepoorten in organizing the Holy Hour and Youth Conference during the Visit of the Relics of St. Therese in 2001.
Father John Horgan was the speaker at the conference and before 700 young people gathered at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Coquitlam he ignited the fire within the young people. There was so much enthusiasm, spiritual awakening, and willingness to work that God instilled in the hearts and minds of the young attendees through his servant, Father Horgan. The event was a great success!
Aquinas Institute sponsored an Advent Retreat at Corpus Christi Church in 2002 with the support of Father Neumann. Again, Father Horgan was the guest speaker for the full day retreat. Notwithstanding the heavy rains in the morning, more than 800 people from various parishes packed the church. It was standing room only. People were craving spiritual renewal via an Advent retreat. Father Horgan was the perfect speaker. People returned to the practise of their faith. Some went to confession after decades of living without the benefit of the sacrament of reconciliation.
Wherever Father Horgan spoke people just wanted to hear him. He was a walking spiritual encyclopedia. People listened to him intently and were spiritually motivated.
When Father Neuman passed away, Father Horgan took over the preparation of the Aquinas book Meditations on the Holy Eucharist. He readily gave me appointments to discuss the book and to guide me. He was a wonderful spiritual director – supportive, knowledgeable, and highly intellectual.
However, due to his busy and hectic schedule at the Sts. Peter and Paul in North Vancouver and at EWTN in the U.S., Divine Providence had other plans for the book. Msgr. Pedro Lopez-Gallo took over to help in its completion and publication during the Year of the Eucharist proclaimed by Pope John Paul II in 2004.
When a friend and parishioner notified me of Father Horgan’s worsening health I found out he had been staying for a long time at Vancouver General Hospital. I wanted to visit him but was told that there were strict instructions that visitors were not allowed. Thus, I started praying for a good, holy, and happy death for him.
At the recent funeral Mass for Father Jose Luis Soria, I met one of Father Horgan’s friends who, to my surprise, told me I should visit Father Horgan despite the restrictions. With a long-stemmed rose from an Opus Dei friend and a similar white rose from me, I went to the hospital. On my way to his floor I met the hospital chaplain in the elevator. He told me no visitors were allowed, so I gave him the two roses and asked him to give them to Father Horgan along with prayers from the Opus Dei and from me. God knew that I would not be able to see Father Horgan and he gave me a priest to deliver the roses and the messages to Father Horgan. God’s mercy, forgiveness and goodness cannot be outdone.
I thank God for the good, holy life of Father John Horgan. Thank you, Father Horgan, for sharing your love for the Holy Eucharist, Our Blessed Mother Mary, and the angels. Thank you for guiding me and helping me in the early preparation of the Meditations book. May God reward you in heaven with the beatific vision and may Our Blessed Mother Mary and the angels welcome you.
Teresita Nixon
Sacred Heart Parish, Delta
Everyone at No Stomach for Cancer would like to extend their sympathies to the friends and family of Father John Horgan. Please accept our heartfelt condolences for the loss of your friend and loved one. May God bless you during this difficult time.
Jon Florin
Executive Director
No Stomach for Cancer
Middleton, WI
In addition to Father Horgan’s credentials mentioned in your Sept. 24 article, he also taught at Our Lady of Peace Retreat Center in Beaverton, Ore., and at Westminster Abbey.
Father Horgan was also this year named spiritual director for the Guard of Honour Vancouver Chapter, a Eucharistic association of members who unite whatever they are doing at a particular hour of the day with the sufferings of Jesus on the cross.
The first Guard of Honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Centre in Vancouver was inaugurated in June. Unfortunately Father Horgan was unable to join us due to his illness.
Mary Waung
Daughters of the Church
Father John Horgan will also be remembered as spiritual director of The Daughters of the Church for over 20 years.
In 2001, Marthiel O’Larey and Patricia Ballard, inspired by St. John Paul II’s 1996 post- synodal apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata, approached Father Horgan to speak to him of their interior call to a life of consecration as lay women in the midst of ordinary life – outside of a religious community and convent life. He listened and invited a small group of women to meet at his parish where he gave them formation talks, retreats, and the Church support he knew they needed to nurture their fledgling vocations. Father John Horgan was inspired to name the community “Daughters of the Church.”
On Dec. 11, 2021, Archbishop J. Michael Miller, Father Horgan, and Father Paul Goo concelebrated a thanksgiving Mass at the John Paul II Pastoral Centre Chapel for the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the Daughters of the Church, a private pious association of lay women consecrated to God expressed in a private vow of lifelong celibate chastity. In his speech at the reception, Archbishop Miller referred to the community as “the fruit of Vatican II.”
Under Father Horgan’s direction the Daughters of the Church steadily increased to 13 consecrated lay women, a new form of consecrated life in the diocese.
The Daughters of the Church meets in person monthly at Immaculate Conception Church in Vancouver and weekly by Zoom or conference call. For more information visit rcav.org/about/communities-of-consecrated-women/daughters-of-thechurch.
Patricia Ballard
Moderator, Daughters of the Church