Priest ‘always in your corner’
IF love looked like something, many would say it look like Fr Thomas Keyes.
They would also tell you not only was his ministry personal, but Invercargill city was also blessed and rich from the 78 years of love Fr Keyes bestowed to those within the city.
Fr Keyes, who was born on August 6, 1928, died on May 10, 2023, aged 94, just a few days before the death of his longtime friend, Fr Vince Smith.
Fr Keyes’ love knew no boundaries as it permeated through the confines of the Invercargill Borstal where he ministered to broken and lost teenage boys after his appointment in 1956 as the prison’s parish priest.
His love was tough as well as compassionate as he acknowledged those ignored by society.
Fr Pat McGettigan said Fr Keyes had empathy for those who were on the fringes of society: those afflicted with mental illness, alcoholics, drug addicts and those living alone.
He strongly believed in people taking responsibility for their actions and choices.
Fr Keyes travelled to the United States to learn more about the revolutionary Reality Therapy rehabilitation programme.
A ministry house at 666 Tay St he named Marysville became the epicentre of Fr Keyes’ ministry for decades where he practised Reality Therapy with his borstal charges, aided by friends Vince and Brenda Smith.
Mr Smith became Fr Smith after the death of his wife and continued to work alongside Fr Keyes for many years.
An abundance of energy in his young charges was frequently burnt off on long Saturday bush walks to ensure the young men would be too tired to seek out mischief on their return.
Fr Keyes identified boredom as an enemy to those looking to change the course of their lives.
First Presbyterian Church minister Nyalle Paris believed Fr Keyes sometimes went where angels feared to tread.
‘‘He wasn’t naive . . .
‘‘He was wise about how he gave them [people] help.
‘‘They say prophets aren’t welcome, sort of recognised in their own country or area.
‘‘But Tom’s left a lasting mark, not just on the wider church here, [but] in the lives that he’s touched.’’
Fr Keyes became a spiritual father, role model, big brother, guidance counsellor and housemate, especially for those with nowhere to go.
Everyone was welcome: youth offenders, the broke, homeless and desperate.
Noone missed out — all who came to his home were honoured guests the same way he would have honoured Jesus Christ.
Whatever was needed — beds, jobs, friendship or meals — he would help.
If they needed love and assurance, he gave it without reservation.
He was also known for his Friday fish and chip night at home with his exinmates.
Mass was held within the house for those whom he knew would be rejected by the mainstream church.
Former Invercargill Christian Centre senior pastor Ian Wright said Fr Keyes regularly took the time to minister to Pastor Wright and his family.
Fr Keyes’ practice took a dramatic change during the days of the charismatic renewal in the 1960s which led to him attending a Christchurch bible school, Pastor Wright said.
People who knew him could not get over the transformation that had taken place in his life.
Prayer was the foundation of his relationship with Christ and caring for others.
Denominational boundaries were nonexistent, or deliberately ignored, as he doggedly attended weekly fellowship lunches with the city’s priests, ministers, reverends and pastors.
He refused to allow denominational boundaries to separate those he considered family in the Christian faith.
The prayer warrior would frequently urge the fraternal to pray more.
‘‘Nothing will change unless we pray.’’
Daily trips to Queens Park were the hallmarks of his devoted prayer life where he maintained a Christcentred focus and wonderful contentment.
Some suspect his prolific letter writing bolstered New Zealand Post’s profit margins for years — timely encouragement would frequently be received by post; or letters to Tanzania and Africa would introduce friends to new networks.
Parents of his Marysville boys, benefactors and prisoners all received ministry from Fr Keyes through mail.
Former Invercargill Presbyterian minister Paul Cornish said he was proud to call Fr Keyes a brother in Christ and a spiritual father.
‘‘He sort of carried this atmosphere with him.’’
He spent time encouraging and offering his wisdom and leadership to other people in the ministry and supporting them in what they were doing as well.
‘‘It was very unusual to just feel like that as a Presbyterian, that you had a Catholic father that was a real friend and that he knew about my family; he knew my wife’s name.’’
‘‘He was very honest, very genuine, open, welcoming and extremely hospitable.’’
‘‘He was generous and always thinking of others before himself.’’
Fr Keyes regarded himself as a poor sinner, but one who God was able to work great things through despite Fr Keyes’ battles with depression.
He defined a successful life as one modelled after Mother Teresa and St Francis of Assisi — championing the lost, lonely and desperate.
His wealth was never measured by money, but by those he helped.
A vow of poverty was taken seriously.
He gave what he had, even if that meant selling his gifted car and giving away the money.
Longtime friend Stephen Bond said he saw St Francis’ influence in the life of his friend.
‘‘I thought, I can see where you’re getting so much of your inspiration from, not only from his Heavenly Father but also from a man who was so focused on being Jesus to so many other people.
‘‘Fr Keyes was a man whose trust was always and only in his Lord and Master, and he lived that . . . he depended on staying in touch in prayer with his Lord and his God,’’ Mr Bond said.
‘‘But to me, that’s the essence; that’s the core of the man, that his reliance was ever and only on his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and everything else flowed from that.’’
One of Fr Keyes’ former borstal charges and success stories, film producer and director Brian Jamieson, made a special trip to the city in 2017 to visit the man who he said was ‘‘always in his corner’’.
In 1971 Fr Keyes was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to the rehabilitation of young offenders. — Toni McDonald
❛ They say prophets aren’t welcome, sort of recognised in their own country or area. But Tom’s left a lasting mark, not just on the wider church here, [but] in the lives that he’s touched.