Former anesthesiologist, father of nine, becomes priest at age 71

Published: 2004-10-22

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CNS) -- At age 71, when most priests are nearing retirement, Father Donald Forsythe is just getting started. The widower, father of nine, grandfather and former chief of anesthesiology at Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, Pa., entered the seminary at age 67. This summer he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Birmingham, Ala., and he now is assistant pastor at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Birmingham. "Nobody can believe that a retired doctor would think of starting a new career again. People can't understand it," he said in a phone interview with The Catholic Witness, newspaper of the Harrisburg Diocese. But he sees his new ministry as the way "to pay back to the Lord because I've had a really blessed life."

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