[6] In 1989, he won support of then Archbishop of Hartford, John Francis Whealon, to establish the Archdiocese's Office of AIDS Ministry (OAM), headquartered in the Farrington Building on the Green in Waterbury, the first in the nation set up with a Roman Catholic priest as its full-time director.
Father Graham canvassed Connecticut hospitals administering the sacraments to AIDS patients and offering bereavement counseling to family members.
Through his ministry, Father Graham was able to recruit countless volunteers to help realize the goal of creating and operating the hospice that grew out of the OAM and became The Sts.
The space allowed the plan for the Respite to evolve into a model multi-stage facility, including independent-living apartments, a 24-hour staffed hospice, a clinic for testing and walk-in medical care, a communal dining hall and professional kitchen, offices and staff quarters, a chapel, and assured dignity in death with a church funeral and burial in a cemetery of the Archdiocese of Hartford.
The pastor of an area church donated an unused pulpit and tabernacle, Father Graham found a solid hickory pedestal and marble top for the altar at an architectural refuse company—all were incorporated into the design.
The kneeling angel sculpture which stood sentinel at the tabernacle holding aloft the sanctuary lamp, would much later be reassigned as the monument on Father Graham's own grave.
The Archbishop presented Father Graham with a Sterling silver stalk of wheat, handcrafted in Rome, which was later affixed to the door of the chapel's tabernacle.
Unfortunately, after investing much money to renovate the buildings, a financial dispute with the real estate firm that owned the Rose Hill properties forced the Respite to find other accommodations.
Eventually, the annual budget for the operation of the Respite compound and professional care for its residents exceeded $500,000, all of which Graham had to raise through donations, grants, bequests, etc.
But, as the organization was financially struggling to stay afloat, by the end of 1991 Father Graham abandoned the hotel in favor of operating only the Angelini Residence.
[11] Father Graham died in Baltimore on 3 July 1997 at the age of 41, ultimately of advanced MS deterioration and HIV complications, but after suffering from an infection related to the injection port he had been incorrectly fitted with.
In retrospect, Father Graham is to be remembered as a pioneer in the war against AIDS, answering the call and filling the need for love and compassion towards persons with HIV/AIDS at a time when they were a marginalized segment of society and had little but their own demise to look forward to.