In Our Prayers: Father Ian Ker

Please remember in your prayers Father Ian Ker, who passed away on Nov. 5. Ker was 80 years old.

Ker was the leading authority on the life and work of St. John Henry Cardinal Newman. Mass will be offered for the repose of his soul at the 5:05 p.m. Mass at Sitzmann on Wednesday, Nov. 9.

From Catholic World Report:

Father Ian Ker, as he recalled, was "offered an endowed chair not in English but in theology and philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, on the basis of what I had published about Newman. Even though I had no degree in theology, having studied privately for ordination (like Pope St. Paul VI)."

St. Thomas suited Father Ker. "I lived in a residence for priests teaching at the university and I found myself in the company of some wonderful eccentrics. It was one of the happiest times in my life and I made many friends there."

Father Ian Ker spoke on "John Henry Newman: A Doctor of the Church?" at the Cardinal Newman Canonization Lecture in the 3M Auditorium in Owens Science Hall, on Sept. 15, 2008. Ker's lecture was sponsored by the Center for Catholic Studies. (M Jensen/University of St. Thomas)