A Race Against Time: Father Joshua Wilbur Awaits a Lifesaving Liver Transplant
Story by Karen A. Avitabile
Father Joshua Wilbur remains optimistic, though he has acknowledged the reality of his situation.
“I’m hopeful for the future but accepting what God has in store,” the Catholic priest says. “I’m very thankful for this feeling, and I am not afraid to die.”
Facing a critical, life-threatening autoimmune liver condition, the 45-year-old Father Wilbur was added to the Yale New Haven Hospital transplant waiting list in March. He is hoping for an immediate living donor.
Because his liver is failing, a transplant is essential. Without this lifesaving procedure, doctors estimate he has one or two years left to live.
“This urgent situation is rapidly deteriorating,” says Father Wilbur, pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Oxford. “It’s going to get worse.”
Back in August 2025, he was rushed to the emergency room, vomiting blood. Doctors told him that if he had waited another 48 hours, he wouldn’t have survived.
“Right now, they are keeping me stable,” Father Wilbur says of his medical team.
To manage his health, the priest undergoes blood transfusions every four to five weeks at Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, sometimes requiring unplanned two-week hospital stays.
He notes that his intermittent health struggles present “unpredictable and challenging” obstacles; nevertheless, he maintains a commitment to celebrating Mass and fulfilling his parochial obligations when his condition allows.
Following the news of his illness last year, the St. Thomas the Apostle Parish community rallied behind Father Wilbur, holding a well-attended rosary service and ensuring he is constantly uplifted by requesting Mass intentions for him and providing heartfelt messages of prayer.
Ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of Hartford in 2018 at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, Father Wilbur has served at Annunciation Parish in Newington, Our Lady of Knock Parish in Farmington and Unionville, and started his tenure as pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in October 2023.
The recently established website frjoshwilbur.com chronicles Father Wilbur’s vocational story and features a photo gallery. Additionally, the website offers insights into his medical journey and acts as a guide for potential living donors.
During a living donor transplant, a surgeon takes a portion of a healthy liver and transplants it into a recipient. Almost immediately after surgery, the livers of both the donor and recipient begin growing back to full functioning organs.
Donors must undergo a thorough medical evaluation to ensure it is safe for them to proceed as living donors. A dedicated team of doctors, surgeons and donor advocates supports every step of the process. Donors do not need to be related to the priest to be considered.
Father Wilbur’s illness has deepened his own understanding of those facing difficulties. “It’s given me a greater sense of empathy for those who are struggling,” he adds.
This profound shift has also shaped the priest’s personal outlook as well. Echoing Pope St. John Paul II, Father Wilbur is framing his own life as an act of total surrender to God’s will.
To contact Father Wilbur, visit frjoshwilbur.com. For more information about the Yale New Haven Health Transplant Program, call 866.925.3897 and tell them you are calling about a living liver donation for Father Joshua Wilbur.