Nobody's Child (20 page)

At the end of my time with St Christopher’s Inn, I was allowed a short break in England and was again invited to have lunch with Cardinal Hume.

The friars had already decided that I should be sent to Westminster Cathedral after taking my final vows, and become a deacon there. The Cardinal had told them that he would be pleased to accept me as he already knew me.

I sensed then that this holy and humble man, with such a lively sense of fun and serenity, could one day become a good friend, and I marvelled at my great good fortune.

That November, I completed my Master’s Degree in Divinity, at a good level, and on 6 January, the Feast of Epiphany, I made my final vows at Graymoor.

Four days later, I was on my way to London, accompanied by my old friend Father Peter Taran, who had become Vicar General of my order, the second in command. He was with me to attend my ordination, as a deacon at Westminster Cathedral on 19 January 1985. It was performed by the Bishop of Leeds, William Gordon Wheeler, who was the founder of my order in England and had become a kind of uncle to me over the years.

A deacon can do the same things as a priest with the exception of celebrating Mass, hearing confessions and anointing the sick. One of my jobs was to assist the Cardinal at all the big ceremonies in the Cathedral and elsewhere, and walk in front of him, which developed our friendship.

The following January I returned to Graymoor to be ordained a priest by Bishop Eugene Marino. We had become very good friends in Washington and I had asked him whether, if I ever made it, he would come to Graymoor to ordain me.

He flew up from Washington especially to officiate at my ordination on the 18th. Eugene Marino later became Archbishop of Atlanta, Georgia, and the first black archbishop in America. Sadly, he was forced to resign in 1990 after becoming involved in a scandalous affair with a woman.

I was told by the friars that I would spend a further period at Westminster Cathedral and then be reassigned elsewhere.

But Cardinal Hume had other ideas, and on 1 January 1988, when I was due to return to America for reassignment, he asked me if I would become his Secretary for Ecumenical Affairs and the Superior General agreed. I accepted with joy and gratitude and began an eventful and extremely happy 11-year association with him which I still cherish.

I was even more delighted when his successor, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, asked me in the spring of 2000 if I would continue in that role during his tenure as archbishop – a ministry I still hold to this day.

Since the hardback version of this book appeared a wonderful thing has happened. My real mother, Marie, read my story and has made contact. We have met and I was introduced to the stepsister and brother I never knew I had, Lisa who is 39 and George who is 36.

We are still in the process of getting to know one another but to have found my lost family is one of the most joyful experiences of my life. It is still a bit strange for everyone, as until very recently Lisa and George had no idea that I existed. There is so much we all want to learn about one another and we accept that this could take years. But the mere fact that we have met, and are talking, is a minor miracle for me. To be held and kissed by my real mother is a wondrous thing that I never, in my wildest imaginings, believed could happen.

Marie, my mother, now lives alone in the Midlands. Her children live nearby. She told me that it was in
Manchester that I was conceived. She was only sixteen when she met my father, Steven, who was also sixteen, in the autumn of 1956. He had travelled from Oxfordshire to Manchester with his parents, who were visiting family, and met my mother at a local dance. ‘It was love at first sight’, she told me. But their whirlwind romance never stood a chance of ending in any way other than badly. ‘We were so young and so foolish, we just couldn’t help ourselves. But after a few days he was gone and I never heard from him again’, she said. ‘After you were born I looked after you for as long as I could, until, eventually, I was unable to cope. I found it so hard to let go and even after I had handed you over to the Catholic children’s home I went there every day to see you and hold you. Until the day I was told I wasn’t allowed to be with you any more. Your adoptive parents had come to get you. I was permitted to watch the three of you together through an observation window. They were well dressed and looked very respectable. Like very fine people. Little did we know what would unfold.’

After his horrifying start in life, Michael Seed, a friar priest of the Franciscan order, went on to achieve three university degrees and two doctorates, and has served at Westminster Cathedral for 23 years as Secretary for Ecumenical Affairs under the late Cardinal Basil Hume and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor.

Known as the priest to the stars, he is an established and familiar figure in Parliament and a regular visitor to Downing Street, having been on friendly terms with the last six Prime Ministers. He is also equally at home in the Vatican, the City, Buckingham Palace and in the world of show business, and is a leading supporter of many charities, including The Passage, the London centre for the homeless.

His conversion to Catholicism of Anne Widdecombe, John Gummer and the outrageous Alan Clark made him the celebrity priest of the century, according to
The Times
.

In 2004 Pope John Paul II awarded him the highest Vatican award – the gold cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontificia – for his contribution to international ecumenical and inter-faith affairs.

He is also a well known speaker, newspaper columnist and author of several books.