Fr David Strong SJ, The Australian dictionary of Jesuit biography 1848-2015, Second Edition, 2017:
Stormon, Edward

Educator, writer, scholar, orientalist; born Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, 29 July 1912; died Melbourne, 4 June 1992, aged 79.

Ted Stormon's family lived in a small gold-mining town, Ora Banda, about 40 miles NW of Kalgoorlie, 1912-18. This little place, with its three gold mines, was once very flourishing, then declined gradually, and was abandoned about 1960. Stormon spent 1919-20 in Perth, and obtained some Catholic education during this time at Victoria Square Mercy Convent and St Patrick's CBC, East Perth. He believed that the standard of teaching was not good, but he found the religious instruction and formation very attractive. The second of these years was spent at West Perth, and at the Newcastle St State School. An able and sympathetic teacher helped Stormon find his right academic level.

His secondary education was first at the State School, Meckering, WA, 1922-24, while his religious growth was fostered by the parish priest who drive up in horse and sulky from Northam every fortnight. At the end of 1924 he won a secondary school scholarship, awarded to the first fifty in the Annual State scholarship examination. And so Stormon went to Perth Modern School, 1925-27. It was a scholarship school, and among its more famous graduates were 'Nugget' Coombs, Professor John LaNauze, and later prime minister of Australia, Bob Hawke. He first heard about the Jesuits in a history book, and was excited about what he learnt.

Stormon left Perth Modern after the Intermediate exams to earn some money to help ease the family situation. His mother had died, and his father was in financial difficulties. In 1928 he became a junior clerk in the chief traffic manager's office in the railway department. After a couple of years there, he was sent for experience to various railway stations in the metropolitan area, looking after the ticket-office and goods and livestock accounts. After a few years at this task he became free to resume matriculation studies at about the age of 20. He studied English, history, French and Italian.

In 1933 Stormon attended the University of Western Australia part-time, taking English and Italian. He had also taught himself Latin. Between 1930 and 1933 a growing concern led to the formation of what was vaguely known as the Pian Club, a gathering of young men that was a local version of the Campion Society of Melbourne and Sydney. They discussed the exciting developments in the intellectual and social apostolate associated with the encyclicals of Pope Pius XI and the rise of an articulate Catholic press under the leadership of Frank Sheed. The group contained many future distinguished people such as James Cardinal Knox, Harold Lalor, Kevin Byrne, Langlois Lewis SJ, Stormon's brother Jack, and Noel Ryan's brother, Max.

Early in 1934 Stormon resigned from the railway department, and went to Sydney to visit his family before entering the Society, 3 March 1934, at Loyola College, Watsonia; he was among the first novices received.

Juniorate studies were in English, Latin and Greek at the University of Melbourne, 1936-37, and Stormon published two articles, one of which was 'The Catholic Contribution to English Prose', Australian Catholic Record, 1939. The next two years were taken up with philosophy studies at Watsonia and Pymble, with a continuation of his arts degree, which he completed in 1941, with first class honours in English literature, with the dissertation, 'Towards a new study of Richard Rolle'. In January 1942, he wrote an article for the Australian Catholic Record entitled 'Scotus Redivivus'.

In 1942-43 Stormon was appointed a tutor at the University of Melbourne in the English Department, with a minor research scholarship. At this time he completed a MA degree with first class honours with a thesis on the mystic poet Richard Rolle.

Theology studies at Canisius College, Pymble, 1944-47, followed. Although his published work had been mainly literary, Stormon's dominant interest was in theology. At the end of his course in theology, superiors invited him to undertake an 'Actus Publicus' before an audience and objicients drawn from the main seminaries, diocesan and religious, of NSW, and other clergy. The event was proclaimed successful, executed with Stormon's usual panache.

During these years he published minor articles, 'Eliot through a Medium', Mirabooks, 1944; 'Virgil and the Modern Poet', Meanjin, 1947; 'Literature and the Professional Man', in Transactions of the Catholic Medical Guild of St Luke, Sydney, 1947; and he published a version of his radio talks in the Western Australian Record.

From January to August 1948 Stormon taught at St Louis' School, Claremont, WA, and conducted a weekly radio session called 'The Catholic Answer'; an half-hourly session. He lectured as well, part-time, in English literature at the University of Western Australia.

Tertianship followed, 1948-49, at Paray-le-Monial, France, which Stormon believed was a key year in his life. Besides his experience under a memorable instructor, Père Verny, his interest in French literature and theology grew. French Jesuit companions were strongly appreciative of his excellent ability to enter into French culture. He was long remembered by French Jesuits of his era.

From October 1949 to December 1952 Stormon studied at Oxford University for the D Phil degree in the faculty of English. After a statutory two years' residence at Campion Hall, with material assembled, he went to Chantilly, France, to write out his thesis. He believed that this was a little too ambitious, and needed a further year. The title of his thesis was 'The Symbolism of Spiritual Renewal in The Pearl, the final plays of Shakespeare, and two poems of T S Eliot'. The Australian provincial, with the reason that the province needed him, unexpectedly recalled him to Australia. He was never able to complete his work.

Upon his return, Stormon spent the following year teaching at St Louis School, Perth, Western Australia, and also gave talks on the local radio programme, the 'Catholic Answer'. He did parish supplies and gave retreats to religious.

From 1954-62 Stormon was dean of students at Newman College, at the University of Melbourne, and lectured in anthropology. He continued to write semi-popular works, such as papers for the Newman Society, articles for The Twentieth Century and texts of broadcasts for radio.

In the latter part of this period he became much involved in ecumenical work, and even preached in St Paul's Anglican Cathedral, then a highly unusual event. His other interest with Eastern Catholics developed, for whom he founded the Catholic East Association. He learnt Modern Greek and established personal relations with the Orthodox clergy. The image that Stormon projected of the Catholic at this time was one of understanding, humanity and religious scholarship, something new to the academic and religious scene of those times.

Then followed time as rector of St Thomas More College, University of Western Australia, 1963-71, where he was on the senate of the university and lectured in the Italian Department on Dante, as well as twice weekly in the French Department on medieval and Renaissance French literature. He arranged and wrote a liturgy for the first ecumenical university service in Australia, which became an annual event. He was awarded a return journey to Rome by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura and Alitalia for a centenary essay on Dante.

Other articles at this time included, 'Inadequacies in the Concept of Neutrality,' Melbourne Studies in Education, 1963, and 'Romance and Religion in the Divine Comedy' in Quaderni dell'Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Melbourne, 1966. Stormon's mellow, humane and many-sided scholarship gave the university a new image of the Catholic in Perth society.

He returned to Newman College, 1972-74, before his appointment to the Jesuit Theological College, where he taught theology, wrote and edited academic works and lectured in Italian at the University of Melbourne.

His foremost intellectual interest for quite some years was connected with a rapprochement with the Greek Orthodox Church. Academically, this had involved him in a long study of Cardinal Bessarion and the Filioque controversy at the Council of Florence and after. He devoted two sabbaticals at the Istituto Orientale, Rome, to this subject. He produced one long paper on Bessarion, which was read at the National University. However, he had to interrupt this work to complete a translation of the Tomos Agapis, the correspondence between Rome and Constantinople from the death of Pius XII to the present time, which he had been asked to do by Père Duprey, and by the Archbishop of Melbourne.

He also produced a book, The Salvado Memoirs, a translation, with introduction and notes of an early work on Australia and a mission to the natives, Memorie Storiche dell'Australia, Rome, 1851. The WA University Press in 1977 published this. A further article was published, 'Bessarion before the Council of Florence: a survey of his early writings', in Proceedings of the First Conference of Byzantine Studies in Australia, Canberra, ANU, 1981.

Stormon was an urbane scholar and a kind and thoughtful man, with simple but deep spirituality, reflective about many things, who enjoyed sharing his ideas at great length. His sermons were rich and deeply meaningful. He was well read and a wise observer of human activities.

(Reproduced by permission of Fr David Strong SJ.)