Reverend Thomas F. Dailey, O.S.F.S. Names John Cardinal Foley Chair of Homiletics And Social Communications At Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary
Today’s Announcement
Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is pleased to announce that the Reverend Thomas F. Dailey, O.S.F.S., will formally become full-time holder of the Cardinal Foley Chair of Homiletics and Social Communications effective July 1, 2017. Father Dailey, currently a Professor of Theology and director of the Salesian Center for Faith and Culture at DeSales University, has assisted with the work of the Foley Chair since 2013.
“The Church’s many advancements in the realm of social communications were spearheaded by Cardinal Foley,” says Father Dailey. “He was a visionary who understood the power of the media and who saw the necessity of the Church’s active involvement in this realm.”
As holder of the Chair, Father Dailey will promote theological understanding and pastoral education with regard to communication technology as applied to evangelization. He will also support the Seminary’s program of priestly formation in the realm of homiletics and communications by instructing seminarians in those course areas and offering thematic programs for priests, religious and laity involved in various ministries of the local Church. Father Dailey will also engage in dialogue with journalists and other media professionals to further the goals and objectives of the chair.
“The work of the Cardinal Foley Chair,” says Father Dailey, “will highlight the necessity for seminarians and others to become heralds of the Gospel. Whether from the pulpit or via social media, sharing the Good News is our Christian mission, so we’ve got to be cognizant of the multiple dimensions of communicating in a digital world.”
In the context of the Seminary’s four pillars of priestly formation, the Cardinal Foley Chair’s responsibilities are primarily intellectual. In addition to teaching, Fr. Dailey will undertake research, lecturing, and publication consistent with this endowed faculty position. Additionally, he will contribute to the human, spiritual, and pastoral formation of students through presentations, workshops, and mentoring.
Administratively, the Cardinal Foley Chair currently supports three programming initiatives: a public forum to mark the beginning of the academic year each August; an annual lecture series connected to the feast of Saint Francis de Sales, patron of Catholic journalists and writers, each January; and, an annual symposium in celebration of the World Day of Social Communications each May. Additionally, the Cardinal Foley Chair will assist with the management of social communications at the Seminary, offer recommendations concerning the Communication curricula for all Seminary academic offerings, work with the Rector to advance the mission and public image Seminary, and represent the Seminary in professional organizations related to Homiletics and Communications.
Background Information on the John Cardinal Foley Chair in Homiletics and Social Communications
Established in 2011, the John Cardinal Foley Chair in Homiletics and Social Communications recognizes Cardinal Foley’s outstanding priestly service to the Catholic Church and distinguished accomplishments as a professional communicator. For additional information on the establishment of the Chair, please visit: https://archphila.org/press%20releases/pr001871.php.
Expressing esteem for one of its most-distinguished alumni, and aiming to perpetuate his high standards of communicating the Gospel message, the Seminary initiated programs and activities related to the Chair in 2013. For additional information on the Chair’s inauguration, please visit: www.scs.edu/sites/default/files/files/Foley%20Chair%20Media%20Advisory%2010-3-13.pdf.
Biographical Information on Reverend Thomas F. Dailey, O.S.F.S.
Father Thomas F. Dailey, O.S.F.S., joined the faculty of DeSales University in 1988 and is a tenured Professor of Theology. In 2000, he founded the university’s Salesian Center for Faith and Culture, which he continues to direct. In 2008, he was appointed the first Father Louis Brisson Chair in Salesian Spirituality, and is currently the senior ranking faculty member at the university. He has also taught at Immaculata University, the Washington Theological Union, and the National Institute for Clergy Formation.
He holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.) from the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome), where he completed his dissertation centered on the Book of Job. He has lectured internationally on topics regarding biblical theology, Salesian spirituality, and higher education in the Catholic tradition. He has written, edited, and/or translated eight books and articles in twenty-six professional journals worldwide. His most recent work is Live Today Well: St. Francis de Sales’s Simple Approach to Holiness (Sophia Institute Press, 2015). He is also a regular contributor to the official blog of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Seminarian Casual.
Father Dailey currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley and the Board of Trustees of Holy Ghost Preparatory School (Bensalem, PA). He is a member of the editorial board of the Indian Journal of Spirituality (Bangalore) and serves as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Catholic Higher Education.
In 2013, Father Dailey was elected to the Academy of Catholic Theology. The recipient of several awards, he has been nominated twice for inclusion in Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals, selected four times for inclusion in the list of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, and was presented with the 2008 Liberty Bell Award by the Bar Association of Lehigh County.
Father Dailey entered the religious congregation of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (O.S.F.S.) in 1980. He was ordained to the diaconate at Saint Peter’s Basilica (Rome) in 1986, and was ordained to the priesthood at Saint. Anthony of Padua Church (Wilmington, DE) in 1987.
Biographical Information on Cardinal John Patrick Foley
John Patrick Foley was born to John and Regina Foley on November 11, 1935 at Fitzgerald-Mercy Hospital in Darby, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Holy Spirit Parish in Sharon Hill (Delaware County).
He attended Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School from 1949 to 1953 and obtained a Bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Saint Joseph’s College in 1957. He entered Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary that year and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on May 19, 1962.
He was assigned to further studies earning a Master’s Degree in Journalism from Columbia University. He also received a Licentiate degree in Philosophy from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas and earned his Doctorate in Philosophy from the same institution after completing the required coursework in only one year. During his time in Rome, he also served as Assistant Editor and Vatican correspondent for the archdiocesan newspaper, The Catholic Standard and Times.
Upon his return to the Archdiocese in 1966, then-Father Foley was appointed Assistant Pastor of Saint John the Evangelist Parish in Philadelphia, while serving on the faculty of Cardinal Dougherty High School. From 1967 to 1984, he also served on the faculty of Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary teaching philosophy and acting as a spiritual director for men aspiring to the Priesthood.
From 1966 until 1974, he was also co-producer and co-host of the Philadelphia Catholic Hour on local radio station WFIL and served as Editor-in-Chief of The Catholic Standard & Times from 1970 to 1984.
In 1976, he was named an honorary Prelate of His Holiness by Pope Paul VI, receiving the title of Monsignor. From 1979 to 1984, he served as Vice Chairman of the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission.
In 1984, he was named an Archbishop by the late Pope John Paul II and appointed President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He faithfully fulfilled this role for 23 years and spearheaded numerous evangelization efforts through the worldwide media. His consecration as an Archbishop took place at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul on May 8, 1984. Cardinal John Krol served as the principal consecrator with Bishops Martin Lohmuller and Thomas Welsh serving as co-consecrators.
For 25 years, beginning in 1984, then-Archbishop Foley provided commentary for American television viewers of the Christmas Midnight Mass from Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. His last appearance on NBC-TV’s national broadcast of this Mass was in December 2009.
On June 17, 2007 Pope Benedict XVI named him Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, which lends spiritual and financial support to the Catholic Church in the Holy Land and helps maintain Christian shrines in that region.
Pope Benedict XVI elevated then-Archbishop John P. Foley to the Cardinalate at a Consistory in Saint Peter’s Basilica on November 24, 2007 and named him Cardinal-Deacon of the Church of San Sebastiano al Palatino in Rome. He was the seventh priest ordained for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to be elevated to the College of Cardinals. Cardinal Foley died on December 11, 2011, and is buried in the crypt of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.
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Editor’s Note: Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary will host the second annual John Cardinal Foley Symposium and dinner on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. The public forum features a panel of communications professionals in discussion about the message of Pope Francis on “Communicating Hope and Trust in Our Time.” Tickets for the symposium dinner are $40 per person or $400 for a table of 10. As seating is limited, tickets should be purchased as soon as possible by contacting Cathy Peacock at 610-785-6530 or email [email protected]. For more information, please visit: http://www.scs.edu/node/2143.
The next Cardinal Foley Lecture on January 29, 2018 will feature special guest, Bishop Robert Barron. For more information, please visit: http://www.scs.edu/about-saint-charles/foley-chair-social-communications/cardinal-foley-lecture-series
For a complete listing of activities and programs related to the Cardinal Foley Chair, visit the Seminary’s web site at www.scs.edu/john-cardinal-foley-chair.
With more than 180 years of rich tradition, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary provides priestly formation and theological instruction for students through the United States, including 10 partner dioceses and 5 religious communities or associations. The Seminary is comprised of the College Seminary and the Theological Seminary (for priestly formation), the School of Diaconal Formation (for permanent deacons), and the School of Theological Studies (for religious and lay men and women).
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