Redemptorist Father Theodore M. “Ted” Heyburn, a well-known pastor of several area parishes, died Nov. 12. He was 77.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Father Heyburn was ordained to the priesthood in 1960. In the Baltimore archdiocese, he served as pastor of now-closed St. James in Baltimore, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Edgewater and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ilchester. He was also a longtime associate pastor of St. Mary in Annapolis.
“He was a very kind and gentle priest,” said Redemptorist Father Gerard Szymkowiak, a friend for 30 years. “He loved his parishioners very much.”
Father Szymkowiak noted that Father Heyburn was known for his outreach to the poor at St. James. In all his assignments, the priest was also highly regarded for his passion for the liturgy.
“He was known as a singing priest,” Father Szymkowiak said. “At every Mass, he kept inviting people to participate. He enlivened the liturgy.”
Anne Maio, who knew Father Heyburn when he was assigned to St. Mary, remembered her friend as a “very charismatic priest.”
“He fostered community,” she said. “He loved being a priest, and it was truly inspiring to the lay people.”
Father Heyburn’s other assignments took him to the Eastern Shore and Ohio. A funeral Mass will be offered Nov. 20 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Mary in Annapolis.