The Revd Stephen Stavrou writes:
ONLY a few weeks before his death, the Revd Graham Morgan celebrated 40 years of ordination to the priesthood. He was too frail to say mass himself; so I did so, in the chapel of St Mary’s Convent and Nursing Home, in Chiswick, where he had been living for some months. At the start of the service, he said how unworthy he was as a Christian and priest, and that he relied upon the prayers of Our Lady of Walsingham and the mercy of Christ as he approached his death. It was typical of Graham’s humility that he should express himself in this way. It was particularly appropriate that Graham should spend his final months in a place that he had known for more than 30 years, many of them as a trustee, combining his pastoral experience and nursing background.
Graham was born in 1947 to Islwyn and Phyllis Morgan, and his early life and education were in south Wales, where he trained as a nurse. He later trained for ministry on the then Southwark Ordination course and was ordained deacon in St Paul’s Cathedral in 1983 and priest in 1984, while continuing his nursing career. He became Executive Director of Nursing and Quality of the North West London Hospitals NHS Trust from 1995 until his retirement. In 2000, Graham was appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to health care.
The Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, worked with Graham when she was Chief Nursing Officer for England. She said that he was a champion of high-quality patient care and was passionate about nursing. “Both in nursing and as a priest, he showed hospitality and professionalism, but, above all, care.”
Graham served as an SSM, and was particularly interested in the relationship between Christianity and the workplace. He believed that a Christian best expressed their faith not by talking about God while at work, but by doing their job to the best of their ability. He served curacies at St Stephen’s, Gloucester Road, and Holy Innocents’, Hammersmith, before coming to St Michael and All Angels, Bedford Park, in 2002. While St Michael’s was his home for the longest period of his ministry, he was always generous in helping out at other churches, and became well known across west London.
Graham had overcome a stammer in earlier life, and his sermons were always articulate, heartfelt, and thoughtful, although they often appeared spontaneous because he never used any notes. On one memorable occasion, he knelt down in front of the congregation imploring the prayers of Our Lady of Walsingham. From another person, such actions might seem artificially theatrical, but, in Graham, it was a genuine expression of deep Catholic piety.
The mercy and love of God was an enduring feature of Graham’s ministry, and, for this reason, people from far and wide sought him out for confession and counsel. Graham’s Catholic faith was never rigid and always practical and generous. Those who received Graham’s pastoral ministry came away with their burdens lifted and a sense of joy. Joy permeated Graham’s approach to life, and, in nearly every photo of him, he is smiling or laughing. He had a great love of music, especially opera, classic films, and musical theatre. He loved to eat out at old-fashioned restaurants, and I’m not sure he ever cooked a meal in his life.
Graham’s pastoral generosity was connected to his personal honesty. Despite a traditional approach to the Catholicity of the Church of England, he fully supported the ordination of women as priests because he believed that he had to extend the same theological generosity to others as had been extended to him as an openly partnered gay priest. Nevertheless, it was a testament to the high esteem in which he was held that Graham retained many close friends who were traditionalists on both subjects.
Graham was just 18 when he met his partner, Raymond (Ray) Willetts. At that time, the higher age of consent for gay people meant that their relationship was not legal. But they overcame prejudice and other obstacles, entered a civil partnership in 2006, and remained together until Ray’s death in 2020.
Graham was first diagnosed with prostate cancer some years previously. Although successfully treated at the time, the cancer returned, and, as the discomfort and pain increased, he longed to be with God. He approached death with characteristic matter-of-factness. On being asked how he was,, he would smile and say, “I’m dying.” For Graham, death was a reality to be prepared for with prayer and in the hope of God’s mercy.
Graham died on 26 September, aged 77. He is survived by his brother, Keith. His requiem mass will be at St Michael and All Angels, Bedford Park, on Tuesday.