Theodore Foley

{{Short description|Roman Catholic priest}} {{Infobox person |honorific_prefix= Servant of God |name = Theodore of the Mary Immaculate |honorific_suffix= C.P. |image = |imagesize = |caption = |birth_name = Daniel Foley |birth_date = {{birth date|1913|3|3|df=y}} |birth_place = Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|1974|10|9|1913|3|3|df=y}} |death_place = Rome, Italy |occupation = Priest }}

'''Daniel Bible Foley''' (March 3, 1913 – October 9, 1974), also known by his religious name '''Theodore Foley''', was an American-Italian Roman Catholic priest and the superior general of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ from 1964 to 1974. On May 9, 2008, the cause for beatification and canonization of Foley was opened in Rome.<ref>[http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=27924 Another U.S. Priest Saint? – Catholic Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606075959/http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=27924 |date=2011-06-06 }}</ref>

==Life== thumb|Sacred Heart Church, Springfield MA thumb|St. Michael's Monastery

Foley was born in the North End, Springfield, Massachusetts on March 3, 1913, the son of Michael and Helen Bible Foley. He attended Mass at Sacred Heart parish in Springfield. He was educated at Sacred Heart Grammar School, Springfield, Cathedral High School, and later Holy Cross Preparatory Seminary, Dunkirk, New York.<ref name=pha>[https://passionistarchives.org/biography/father-theodore-foley-c-p-st-paul-of-the-cross-province-1913-1974/ "Father Theodore Foley, C.P., St. Paul of the Cross Province (1913-1974)", Passionist Historical Archives]</ref>

He professed his vows on August 15, 1933, at Our Mother of Sorrows Retreat, West Springfield, Massachusetts, and received the religious name Theodore. On April 23, 1940, he was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood, in Baltimore, Maryland, by Archbishop Michael Joseph Curley, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore.<ref name=pha/>

From 1941 to 1942, he was a professor of philosophy for the Passionists. In 1944 he graduated with a Ph.D. in Theology from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.<ref name=nyt>[https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/11/archives/most-rev-theodore-foley-leader-of-passionist-order.html "Most Rev. Theodore Foley, Leader of Passionist Order", ''The New York Times'', October 11, 1974]</ref> From 1944, he taught theology as a member of the Passionist Seminary faculty at St. Michael's Monastery, Union City, New Jersey. As a teacher, Foley was known for his calm patience.

From 1953 to 1956 he was Director of Passionist Seminarians. In 1956 he was appointed Rector of St. Paul's Monastery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.<ref>[http://www.stpaulofthecrossmonastery.com/Foley.html "Fr. Theodore Foley", St Paul of the Cross Monastery]</ref> Foley embraced Pittsburgh. He attended Pirates games and heard Confessions at three Catholic hospitals.<ref name=Rodgers/> thumb|left|St. Paul of the Cross Monastery Church, South Side Slopes, Pittsburgh

In 1958 he was elected General Consultor for the Passionists in Rome. On May 7, 1964, Fr. Foley was elected Superior General of the Passionists throughout the world, a position he held until his death on October 9, 1974.<ref name=pha/> Foley was the first American from the eastern United States to hold this position and guided the Passionists through Vatican II (1962–1965).<ref>[https://www.masslive.com/news/2009/06/late_springfield_priest_rev_th.html Angelo, Holly. "Late Springfield priest Rev. Theodore Foley on path to sainthood", ''The Republican Newsroom'', March 25, 2019]</ref> In 1970, he was re-elected as Superior General. On October 9, 1974, he died in Rome<ref name=nyt/> after contracting an illness on a trip to Asia. Foley is buried at St. Paul of the Cross Monastery Church in Pittsburgh.<ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Tom |title=St. Paul Cross Monastery Reopens |url=https://sopghreporter.com/2020/10/14/st-paul-cross-monastery-reopens/ |newspaper=The Pittsburgh Reporter |date=October 14, 2020 |access-date=January 17, 2024}}</ref>

== Canonization Process == After a review of documentation forwarded to Rome, in 2007 Pope Benedict XVI declared Foley a "Servant of God."<ref name=Rodgers>[http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2010/09/30/Pittsburgh-priest-in-early-stages-of-sainthood-process/stories/201009300329 Rodgers, Ann. "Pittsburgh priest in early stages of sainthood process", ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', September 30, 2010]</ref> On June 23, 2009, Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell was on hand at the Sacred Heart Church to bless a memorial in honor of Fr. Foley.

Foley is the only person ever to be a candidate for sainthood in western Massachusetts.

==Notes== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090305212021/http://www.theodorefoley.org/ Father Theodore Foley]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Theodore}} Category:1913 births Category:1974 deaths Category:Clergy from Springfield, Massachusetts Category:Passionists Category:American Servants of God Category:20th-century venerated Christians Category:Catholics from Massachusetts Category:20th-century American Roman Catholic priests