HONG KONG (SE): The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers [MM] announced that Father Elmer Wurth, passed away on October 4 in Kalida, Ohio, the United States of America. He was 92-years-old and had been a priest for 65 years.
In 1980, Father Wurth was among the first four staff members—Father [later bishop and cardinal] John Tong Hon, Father Angelo Lazzarotto of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions [PIME], and Father Peter Barry [MM]—who opened the doors of the Holy Spirit Study Centre.
He was also longtime parish priest at St. Anne’s Parish, Stanley.
During the 8 December 2006 celebration of the jubilarians of the Diocese of Hong Kong, Father Wurth—who was marking his golden jubilee—told the congregation gathered at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, that he had discovered the importance of “telling the story of vocation” to inspire others to take it seriously. He said that our life is our holiness and can be a powerful witness, quoting the founder of his own congregation, Bishop James A. Walsh, as saying that “it is easier to be a saint than to pretend to be one.”
May he rest in peace.
