So during the prayers of the faithful, I learned that Fr. Warren Keene had died.
He was one of the priests at my parish when I came into the Church. All three have now passed on.
I could find no obituary and he is pretty much absent from Google search results. What information I do have is from my own blog from previous posts on him.
Still, I wanted to praise and pray for this wonderful priest. He was a late vocation priest and had worked as an organic chemist for a decade. He entered the seminary in the Diocese of Gibratar and later received the S.T.B., M.A., S.T.L. and J.C.D. degrees from the Pontifical University of S. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Ordained on October 25, 1981.
I loved him for many reasons. At Daily Masses his homilies were short, but not short on content. He had an obvious love of Patristics since the Church Fathers were often the focus of his meditations.
What I found most impressive about his was that during the consecration his devotion was so obvious. I believe that if I hadn’t already believed in the Eucharist, that I would have come to believe just by watching him. I saw Jesus there through his eyes. On Good Friday’s I particularly remember his meditations he gave, especially on the last seven “words” of Jesus. He was also the priest that was saying the Latin Mass for us. This parish had the indult that was required before the later Motu Proprio that opened this up.
During his time at my previous parish, he also worked as a Chaplain at a hospital.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine. Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
