World-renowned historian, Cambridge professor and Newmarket Deacon, Rev John Morrill, was ordained to the Catholic priesthood at St John’s Cathedral in Norwich on Saturday September 21.

A 250-strong congregation of clergy, family, friends, former students and university colleagues saw Dcn John ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Peter Collins, at the age of 78.

In his homily, Bishop Peter said: “This man has heard the voice of God calling to him on so many occasions, a man who has willingly and generously responded to the call of Jesus in so many ways across a lifetime.

“John has a global academic reputation and has earned accolades and fellowships too many to mention. He has written a tottering tower of books and produced a cascade of learned papers and more projects approach completion even now.

“I cannot fail to mention how poignant it is that the world’s most renowned Cromwellian scholar is about to be ordained as a Catholic priest.

“This man has loved much and is loved much. It was your wife Frances who was your true tutor in the Catholic faith,” said Bishop Peter. “She looks on and is holding you steady this day. Your beloved children are here today – Rachel, Ruth, Naomi and Clare.

“We all stand with you today in the solidarity of love and respect, supporting you in your embrace of the sacred priesthood.

“They all rejoice in bearing witness to the integrity of your life as a husband, as a father, as a friend and to the integrity of your ministerial service as a deacon. We all delight to behold your future sacrificial ministry as a priest.

“As your Bishop I implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation – continue to do all you can to preserve the unity of the spirit by the peace that binds us together.

“The voice of the Lord, as addressed to  St Matthew, now addresses you: ‘follow me, follow me now and for ever, amen’.”

Addressing the congregation, after his ordination, Fr John said: “Most of my debt for being here today, apart from God Himself and the Holy Spirit, goes to the people of the church, and I should say the churches, because my ecumenical life is so rich and important to me.

“God is a God of surprises and the challenge of ordination was a matter of the head not the heart, until the last three years. God has sharp elbows and you can resist but you know that he is digging you in the ribs.

“Thank you to Bishop Peter for his wonderful support from the moment I wrote to him two years ago. His wonderful listening, discerning and helping to find this sense of calling. Fr Alban McCoy has been a wonderful mentor these last 18 months.”

Speaking before the ordination, John said: “I was born into a deeply loving Anglican family.” He grew up in a parish in Hale, Cheshire, where he was confirmed and received his first communion at the age of 16. However, his faith journey was not always smooth. After starting at Oxford University in 1964, he admits, “my faith wavered”. By the time he married his late wife, Frances, in 1968, he was practising his faith, but soon after, he entered a period of “anguished agnosticism”, describing himself as “paradoxically being angry with God for not existing.”

Frances, his wife, remained a quietly faithful Catholic throughout this period. Dcn John often sought solace by speaking with Fr Geoffrey Preston, a Dominican priest who had officiated at their wedding. “I always felt better after our conversations, but I still could not experience the presence of God,” he reflects.

In 1977, Fr Geoffrey died young, and Dcn John attended his Requiem Mass in Leicester during Holy Week. It was here that everything changed. “I found the whole church full of the peace I had experienced when I was with him, and in an instant, I realised that when I was with Fr Geoffrey, I was with God. I had been thinking too much and opening my heart too little.”

From that moment, Dcn John felt God enter his heart, and his faith was restored. Six months later, on December 8, 1977, he was received into full communion with the Catholic Church at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge.

Over the next 15 years, Dcn John became more involved in parish life in Newmarket, while also working as a history lecturer and later as a professor at Cambridge University. His role as a pastoral guide to students, combined with his growing involvement in taking Holy Communion to the housebound, deepened his faith further. “Nothing did more to deepen my faith than this,” he says of his time visiting a care home for those with advanced dementia. It was during this time that he sensed a new calling. “In prayer, it became clear that God was calling me to link these two things – pastoral care of the young and the old.”

In 1992, a conversation with Mgr Tony Rogers solidified this call. Dcn John recalled: “I found myself involuntarily telling him I thought I was called to be a deacon. I was horrified and ashamed of my presumption, but he just said, ‘that is the other reason I came round this evening.’”

After three years of formation, Dcn John was ordained a deacon in 1996. Reflecting on his 28 years of service, he said: “I had no idea what being a deacon would entail, nor how I could find the time for that service as well as being a good husband, father to our four daughters, and a hands-on academic.” Yet, he humbly acknowledges, “It turns out God can do with time what he does with loaves and fishes!”

Over the years, Dcn John has been privileged to be part of significant moments in people’s lives, from baptisms and funerals to marriages, and has provided pastoral care for the housebound, dying, and bereaved. His experience as a teacher also found a place within the Church, as he taught future deacons for 15 years at the seminary.

In 2007, Dcn John faced personal loss when his wife Frances died of cancer. On her gravestone, he placed the words his mother had chosen: “you have showed us the way.” Reflecting on Frances’ life and death, Dcn John said: “Her confidence in God’s love and mercy was a new source of inspiration.” While Bishop Michael Evans encouraged him to consider the priesthood after Frances’ death, Dcn John felt no call at that time. He remained deeply committed to his vocation as a deacon, stating: “I believed and believe it to be a very different and important vocation.”

As he celebrated the silver jubilee of his ordination as a deacon, just after his 75th birthday, Dcn John began to reflect on retirement. “I was just beginning, for the first time, to feel a little stale,” he admits. However, three significant pastoral events occurred in quick succession, all relating to sacraments he could not administer as a deacon. He describes these moments as “three mighty shoves in the ribs”, recognising them as direct calls from God, just like those he had received in 1977 and 1991.

After much prayer, retreats, and study, and with the support of his spiritual director and Bishop Peter, Dcn John embraced this new call to priesthood. “Calling me after the mandatory retirement age of 75 (I am 78) suggests both that God has a sense of humour and that He thinks outside the box,” he said.

Dcn John has held several senior positions in the Diocese of East Anglia, such as Lourdes Pilgrimage Diocesan Director, Chair of the Commission for Evangelisation and Assistant Director for Diaconal Formation, and currently teaches Church History and Pastoral Theology one weekend a month at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh.

Watch a recording of Fr John’s ordination here.

Read Bishop Peter’s full homily