Rev. Thomas Heath, at 84; missionary served in Kenya

The Rev. Thomas Richard Heath, a selfless Dominican priest who penned the legendary Boston College poem ''Proud Refrain" as an undergraduate during the early 1940s, died Jan. 13 in the Aga Khan Hospital of Kisumu, Kenya, a town northwest of Nairobi. He died from injuries sustained in an attack and robbery Jan. 4 at the community religious house where he worked as a missionary. He was 84.

''Father Thomas was a faithful servant of God," the Rev. Benedict Croel, a fellow missionary friar who served with Father Heath, said in a recent Zenit News Service article. He told the Vatican news agency Fides, ''Men and women, religious and laity, looked to him as the wisest of counselors in their spiritual journey. His own Dominican brothers venerated him as an outstanding example of fidelity in their contemplative way of life, and a most joyful and compassionate member of their community."

This is the second tragic slaying of a priest serving in Kenya in recent months. In November, John Francis Hannon, a 65-year-old Irish priest from the Society of African Missions, was murdered by robbers. His body was discovered later at the St. Barnabas Parish complex in Matasia, in the Diocese of Ngong, near Nairobi.

''The way in which [Father Heath] died was just unfathomable. He devoted his life to doing missionary work and was savagely beaten to death, " said Jack Dunn, BC's director of public affairs. ''He was beloved among priests and his tragic and violent death was at odds with the way he lived his life."

Celebrated for his teaching and preaching abilities, Father Heath spent recent years as a mentor to a generation of priests in Kenya studying theology at St. Matthias Mulumba National Seminary in Tindinyo. Before he began his missionary duties in Kenya 13 years ago, Father Heath served 10 years in South Africa and Lesotho, according to the Zenit News Service, which covers the Catholic Church.

A native of Somerville, Father Heath was one of five children. While studying at BC, he cultivated his love of the written word by submitting works of poetry and prose to ''The Stylus," the college's literary magazine. By evoking the stoic power of Gasson Hall, recalling the toll of the tower's bells, and describing the picturesque linden trees in the poem ''Proud Refrain," Father Heath managed to embody the feelings of his male classmates shipping out for World War II combat. It has since become part of BC's tradition.

''He was one of those people who was legendary at Boston College. He penned that poem as an undergraduate student and it is one of the lasting symbols of Boston College that still resonates with students today," Dunn said. ''His popularity transcended generations because of the power of that poem."

In May 1944, Father Heath decided to pursue the priesthood. Following the footsteps of his two brothers, he was ordained a Dominican priest on June 10, 1950.

One of his BC classmates, the Rev. Joseph Nolan of Newton, kept in contact with Father Heath through frequent correspondence. In one letter sent to Nolan, Father Heath talked about being sent to Africa as a missionary.

''He wrote me and said, 'I'm going to live and die here. I'm going to spend the rest of my life here,' " Nolan said in a statement.

Father Heath leaves a brother, the Rev. Mark Heath of Washington, D.C.

A vigil, funeral Mass, and burial were held last week in Kenya. BC is planning its own memorial service, Dunn said.