Bishop Barry WOOD, the Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of Durban, died on May 2, 2017, at a hospital in Durban.

Born on 13 June 1942, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, he professed his first vows as an Oblate in 1962. After his priestly ordination in 1968, he worked in various parishes and in formation ministry (Novice Master, Scholasticate Superior). He served as Provincial of the Natal Province from 1992-1998. In 2006, he was ordained as the Auxiliary Bishop of Durban by Wilfrid Cardinal Napier, OFM.

At the end of the recent Oblate Bicentenary, he wrote in the Catholic periodical, The Southern Cross, about his devotion to the Mother of God: “Through my priestly ministry, I have always felt that I have been accompanied by Mary, walking hand in hand with her, hearing her say to me, as she said to the wedding stewards at Cana: ‘Do whatever Jesus tells you!’”

In announcing the bishop’s death to Father General, the Provincial of the Natal Province, Fr. Vusumuzi MAZIBUKO wrote: “We are proud to have had an Oblate Brother like him in the province serving the Church. He will be greatly missed.”