Fr. David’s Biography
Fr David Ward was born in South Hylton, just outside Sunderland, in County Durham. His family moved to Great Yarmouth when he was twelve and he has lived in East Anglia for most of his life since then.
In 1976 his elder sister joined the Catholic Church and David followed suit the following year. He first tried his vocation as a priest for the Diocese of East Anglia at All Hallows Seminary in Dublin from 1979 to 1981 but, on reflection, realised he had rushed into things. After ten years doing various jobs, plus some periods of unemployment, he approached the Diocese again and was accepted in 1991. He then studied at St John’s Seminary at Wonersh, near Guildford in Surrey, and was ordained priest at the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Norwich, on May 31st 1997. His first appointment was as assistant priest at OLEM, Cambridge, for four years, followed by one year at St Benet’s in Beccles, and over twelve years at the cathedral in Norwich. For the last five years of his time as assistant priest at the cathedral Fr David was also priest-in-charge at Our Lady & St Walstan in Costessey. He left the cathedral when he was appointed parish priest of Costessey in September 2014.
His interests outside the Church are many and varied. He is a great theatre lover and can often be seen at the Theatre Royal in Norwich. His interest isn’t confined to watching – for many years before seminary (and even while studying) he was actively involved in amateur dramatics. Even now, he occasionally treads the boards in his notorious one-man show to raise money for different charities. He also loves films and is an avid reader. He has a large extended family, many of them living in the Great Yarmouth area, whom he visits frequently on his day off. Not a great one for exercise, he does make the occasional trip to Africa Alive, at Kessingland, and Banham Zoo where he has a season ticket. Along with the fresh air and walking he also manages to indulge his passion for giraffes – a passion obvious to anyone who has ever entered the Presbytery.