BIOGRAPHY
Early Years
Born and raised in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, of a devout Irish-Catholic family, Theodore Foley (Daniel was his baptismal name) was the first child of Michael and Ellen Bible Foley. Three years after he was born, the couple welcomed another child — a daughter, Marie.
Throughout his childhood and early years, Daniel Foley was encouraged by his family and relatives to grow in his faith and develop socially and intellectually. He grew up in a diverse settled neighborhood in Springfield, then a thriving industrial city in America’s northeast. He went to Sacred Heart parochial school in Springfield. Well-liked by neighbors and classmates he was nourished by the rich devotional life and ordered piety found in Sacred Heart Parish in the Diocese of Springfield. Entrance to Passionists contacts with Passionist priests who preached a mission at Sacred Heart and weekend retreats at the recently built Passionist Retreat House in West Springfield fostered a desire in young Daniel Foley to serve the church as a priest. He entered the Passionists in 1927 at the age of fourteen. His choice of the Passionists, he said later, was influenced also by St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin, whose biography he read at the time.
Professed as a Passionist on August 15, 1933, and given the name Theodore, he found genuine happiness in his years of religious formation. The Passionists, less than 100 years in America after their foundation from Italy, were growing in the new immigrant country; between 1900 and 1930 the community became a strong force in the American church as young recruits, sons of Irish, German, Polish, Slovak and Italian immigrants, came to the community from parishes where Passionist missionaries had preached.
Theodore Foley welcomed the life of prayer, study and simple human activities he found as a Passionist student; the Passionist life-style appealed to his natural love of order and balance. At the same time, he mixed easily with the various personalities and nationalities he found in his community.
In 1921, American Passionists made a dramatic move beyond their own country by sending missionaries into the troubled mountainous province of Hunan in China. Within a decade, thirty Passionists were relating their adventures to their American countrymen through “The Sign” Magazine, begun in conjunction with the missionary venture to China. As a Passionist, Theodore Foley proudly joined in this effort to bring the church to the “ends of the earth.”
A classmate from his days as a Passionist student, Fr. Nicholas Gill, recalls that Theodore “instantly stood out as a gracious, cheerful, friendly person willing to help you in any way. His obedience was as perfect as any religious I’ve seen in my years in the order. But he did things in such a quiet way that you could miss it if you didn’t see him day in and day out. We all had the greatest respect and love for him.”
Teacher and Spiritual Guide
Ordained a priest in 1940, Fr. Theodore was sent to Catholic University of America by his superiors who recognized his intelligence and his spiritual gifts. Obtaining a doctorate in theology, Theodore spent eight years as a beloved teacher and director of Passionist seminarians.
Fr. Flavian Dougherty,CP., a student of Father Theodore and later provincial superior of the eastern province of the Passionists, recalled:
“How will any of us who were privileged to be his students forget the picture of that pudgy face before us; the blackboard as backdrop, completely full with the outline of the matter to be treated; his habit a bit chalky from his early morning labors; his ever-present smile; his indefatigable patience with each and every one; his absolute security in that role, so that no over-bright, aggressive student or any under-developed, hopeless case could threaten or disturb him.”
To his students Father Theodore was not a scholar, but a teacher and spiritual guide who brought them closer to God, the source of all truth. His was a theology of “genuflecting and adoring,” a theology for deepening faith and strengthening union with God, a contemplative style of theologizing, which was congenial to his own mind and personality. He himself preferred resting and delighting in truth rather than searching and questioning what still was unresolved. His mind, rather than inquiring and far ranging, was simple and intense.
Committed to the solid tradition of St. Thomas and to the Neo- Scholastic theology current in his time, Fr. Theodore was challenged by the theological upheaval that came later with Vatican II, when theological positions he firmly held were questioned or reinterpreted. His own personality and theological training led him to approach new ideas slowly.
Esteemed by members of his province as a teacher and spiritual director Father Theodore became superior of the large Passionist community of St. Paul of the Cross, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1957. In 1958, he was elected general consultor of the worldwide Passionist community with headquarters in Rome. In 1964, he was elected Superior General of the Passionists, a position he held until his death in 1974.
The Challenging 1960s and 1970s
Fr. Theodore Foley led his community in demanding times. The Passionists were growing as a worldwide community when he arrived in Rome in 1958. Numbering 3,500 members , the community spread recently to Japan, New Guinea, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and the Philippines. A surge of vocations in Communist-dominated Poland brought about a new province there.
During Fr. Theodore’s term as consultor the congregation spread to New Zealand and South Africa, to Ecuador and El Salvador, Paraguay and South Korea. Later, as Superior General, he would see the Passionists enter Panama and Honduras, Switzerland and Kenya. He encouraged the growth of his community in Asia, South America and Africa. He was the first superior general to visit Africa. In 1968 the Passionist community reached its peak membership of 4,152 religious.
Much of Father Theodore’s time as consultor and superior general was spent visiting far-away houses and members, presiding at provincial chapters, settling questions and difficulties that arose among the religious, and representing the interests of the congregation in Rome. The task required long hours of travel, correspondence and patient listening, which engaged him for 16 years.
The years were not ordinary years. He arrived in Rome when the community was dealing with the aftermath of World War II. The 1960s and 70s were times of great turbulence when social unrest shook the western world. After the relatively complacent 1950s, a decade of youth protests, political confrontations, assassinations, anti-establishment and anti-war demonstrations erupted in the large cities of the western world and elsewhere. A mood of uncertainty increased in the 1960s; traditional values came into question, and church membership began declining rapidly in western society.
Implementing the Vatican Council II
The Second Vatican Council, called by Pope John XXIII, raised the promise of new energy and hope. But as Cardinal Newman observed after studying the early councils of the church, “It is rare for a council not to be followed by great confusion.”
Few expected the Cardinal’s insight to be borne out so clearly. The council changed centuries-old patterns of prayer and the church’s relationship to other Christian communities and to the world. It called for new ways of ministry and exercising authority. It was a path to take, Pope Paul VI said, but not a straight, clearly marked path. The church faced “a crisis of modernity” that would not be settled quickly. As the council’s closed, the difficult task of implementing its vision and programs fell especially to bishops and superiors of religious communities worldwide.
As Superior General of the Passionists after 1965, Fr. Theodore worked to implement Vatican II in his community. Through general and provincial chapters, he led his religious in the delicate and painstaking process of “aggiornamento,” but from country to country his own community was increasingly divided by the dramatic changes of the 1960s and the challenges of Vatican II.
Like Catholics everywhere, Passionists saw the council differently. Some called for radical restructuring; others looked for a revival of traditional ways. The questions that marked the sessions of Vatican II took on new intensity as they were debated in local chapters and community meetings of Passionists all over the world.
Fr. Theodore was called on constantly by one religious or another, by one province or another, to interpret, legislate, correct, explain, or intervene as superior general. Communities of women and others beyond the Passionists sought his wisdom and advice. He was pulled from above as well as below as various Roman congregations grappled to settle questions and implement the teachings of Vatican II in the years following the council. “These are days when we are asked to do many things all at once by the different Roman congregations and I wish I could project myself into time about ten years, and be able to look back on all these simultaneous projects as a fact accomplished. However, I suppose that this is part of God’s purification in our lives and we have to accept it and do our best for the future of the congregation and the future of the church,” he wrote to Fr. James Patrick White, then provincial of the western province of American Passionists.
For someone of his measured peaceful temperament, who preferred a quiet pace and avoided confrontation and questioning, who loved the past and found contentment in the religious life he led, the changes following Vatican II had to be difficult. Yet, “he was convinced that change was necessary,” says Fr. Paul Boyle, later superior general of the Passionists, “and much of his time was spent reassuring those who found change difficult, and in moderating the excesses of people who wanted radical change to take place.”
“Try to stay calm and not be upset by what is going on around the world,” he wrote in a typical letter to a religious disturbed by the times. “It’s a time of great upheaval and discussion and the failure at times to arrive at any concrete solution is very disheartening. However, we have to pass through this.” He also felt the dramatic loss of members in his own community. Numbering 3,500 members when he arrived in Rome in 1958, the Passionists reached a peak membership of 4,152 in 1968. Then, its numbers declined drastically to 3, 238 by 1974, the time of his death.
“He suffered very much in the time after the Council, even though he never showed it, because he feared for the unity of the congregation,” writes Padre Pancrazio Scanzano, then provincial of an Italian Passionist province. “And when the special general chapter (1970) and the first synod of the congregation (1972) and especially our international congress at Brussels (1973) resulted in the understanding he had suffered for and desired so much, he rejoiced with joyful recognition to our Holy Founder and with esteem for all his brethren.”
A Bridge Over Troubled Waters
The times needed a bridge person, and that was what he was. He was not a visionary foretelling the future and pointing the way to it. Like the popes who presided during Vatican II, he chose to remain in the background and, at the same time, be a symbol of unity to others. He was a bridge person, at home in a global world, respectful of all, bringing people together. He was a learner. His quiet, sure presence, his nonpartisan, non-controlling manner helped the Passionists, and through them the church they served, to stay on the path of the council in difficult times. He had a steady hope nourished in constant prayer and faith in God.
Father Theodore offered the kind of leadership and holiness the church still needs to continue on the path of Vatican II today.
His Death
In a small “agenda” for 1974, Father Theodore sketched the last days of his life. From January to March he visited the Passionists and the people in their missions in Australia, New Guinea, the Philippines, Japan and Korea, making sure he met as many people he could, even in the smallest mission stations. Back in Rome for Easter, he was in bed “ with the flu.” Traveling again in April to Germany and Holland for Passionist chapter meetings, “the flu” seemed to linger. In May and June he traveled to the United States for a chapter meeting, but also to help his sister move from their home in Springfield’s north end to a smaller house in West Springfield. Signs that he was not well continued. In July he was in Ireland and Belgium for meetings of his community, still troubled with symptoms of an illness physicians could not diagnose. On July 17th he returned to Rome “very sick” he writes. The next few months he is “weak,” “sick,” “in clinica.” His entries become fewer until October 9th. After Mass concelebrated in his hospital room, he died at 11:05 PM at the Hospital of the Little Company of Mary in Rome. His last words were “Jesus, Mary and Joseph.”
His death was attributed to endocarditis and heart failure, probably caused by an unknown bacteria he was exposed to months earlier. Companions of Father Theodore Foley in his last days say they saw the mystery of the Passion of Jesus at work in this exemplary Passionist religious, who served the church and his community so diligently and loved them till the end.
At the news of his death, an outpouring of tributes and letters of condolence came from everywhere, recognizing a man who brought hope to many. After funeral rites at the Church of Saints John and Paul in Rome, his body was brought to St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, for a Mass of Christian Burial. His body now rests in St Paul of the Cross Monastery Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Fr. Flavian Dougherty, the Passionist Provincial of Theodore’s native province, said at his funeral:
“When systems are changing and unprecedented events are taking place, then it is necessary to have a man so strong that he can be a peacemaker, so secure that he can be confronted with the most troublesome events and people and yet be gentle, so trusting that he can be non-directive and still effect change. Above all, so prayerful that he can use the power of God instead of his own.”
The cause for beatification of Father Theodore Foley, C.P. (1913-1974) opened officially on May 9, 2008 in Rome, just two years after the North American Passionist Province of St. Paul of the Cross and affiliate members met in a provincial chapter. The chapter endorsed a proposal requesting that Father Theodore, a member of St. Paul of the Cross province and former superior general of the community, be considered as a candidate for canonization.
Appreciation for him has steadily grown over time, for Father Theodore exemplifies the quiet, steady loyal holiness still needed today– a holiness rooted firmly in the past and reaching to the future with Christian hope.