Archbishop John P. Foley was born on November 11, 1935, in Fitzgerald-Mercy
Hospital, Darby, PA, the only child of John Edward and Regina (Vogt) Foley of
Sharon Hill, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia.
He graduated from Holy Spirit School, Sharon Hill; St. Joseph's Preparatory
School and St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, where he was elected
president of the student body in 1956 and obtained a bachelor's degree summa
cum laude in history in 1957. He entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary,
Overbrook, Philadelphia and received a bachelor's degree in philosophy there in
1958.
He was ordained a priest on May 19, 1962, by Archbishop (later Cardinal) John
J. Krol in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia. His first
priestly assignment was as assistant pastor at Sacred Heart Church, Manoa,
Havertown, Philadelphia. In 1963, he was named assistant editor of The
Catholic Standard and Times and was assigned to graduate study in Rome, where
he also served as Rome correspondent of the newspaper from 1963 until 1965
during the second and third sessions of the Second Vatican Council.
He received his licentiate degree in Philosophy in 1964 and his doctorate cum
laude in 1965 from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) with a
dissertation on "Natural Law, Natural Right and the Warren
Court". In 1966, he received the degree of Master of Science in
Journalism magna cum laude from Columbia University in New York, where he was
president of the student body of the Journalism School and representative on
the University Council.
In 1966, he was appointed assistant pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church,
Philadelphia's center-city parish, and a member of the faculty of Cardinal
Dougherty High School, with residence in St. Bernard Church, also in
Philadelphia.
In 1967, he was once again named assistant editor of The Catholic Standard and
Times and, at the same time, professor of philosophy at St. Charles Borromeo
Seminary.
From 1966 until 1974, he was also co-producer and co-host of the Philadelphia
Catholic Hour on local radio station WFIL. He was also co-producer on the 20
program television series "The Making of a Priest" for Group W
television in the United States, and was active in other radio and television
productions.
In 1970, he was named editor of the Catholic Standard and Times, a post he held
until 1984. In 1976, he was named an honorary prelate of His Holiness
with the title of Monsignor.
In addition he served as a member of the board of governors of the 41st
International Eucharistic Congress (1976) and of the regional board of
directors of the National Conference of Christians and Jews
(1968-1983). He was a member of the board of directors (1977-1984) and
vice president of the Catholic Press Association of the United States and
Canada (1981-1984), an organization which he also served as chairman of its
liaison committee with NC News Service (now Catholic News Service). He was also
vice chairman of the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission (1979-1984).
He served as news secretary for the meetings of the National Conference of
Catholic Bishops in the United States from 1969 until 1984 and as
English-language press liaison for the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland
and the United States in 1979 and for the International Synod of Bishops held
in Rome in 1980.
On April 9, 1984, he was named by Pope John Paul II as president of the
Pontifical Commission (now Pontifical Council) for Social Communications at the
Vatican, with the title of Titular Archbishop of Neapolis in
Proconsulari.
He was ordained an Archbishop by Cardinal Krol in the Cathedral Basilica of SS.
Peter and Paul in Philadelphia on May 8 1984; he is the only person to be
ordained both to the priesthood and the episcopate by Cardinal Krol. He began
his work in Rome in June 1984, and was given the additional responsibility of
president of the council of administration of the Vatican Television Center
from August 1984 until December 1989. His responsibilities also include
the Vatican Film Library.
He was also a member of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America from 1984
until 1989 and he was a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture.
On June 27, 2007, Archbishop Foley
was named by Pope Benedict XVI Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the
Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
He holds honorary degrees from St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia (1985),
the Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales (1990), Catholic University of
America, Washington D.C., (1996) and Assumption College, Worcester, MA. (1997),
Regis University, Denver, Co. (1998) John Cabot University, Rome, 1998,
University of Portland (Oregon), 2007.
He has received the St. Francis de Sales Award of the Catholic Press
Association (1984), the Journalism Alumni Award of Columbia University, New
York (1985), the Sourin Award of the Catholic Philopatrian Literary Institute
of Philadelphia (1990), the President's Medal of Holy Family College,
Philadelphia (1996), the Barry Award of the American Catholic Historical
Society of Philadelphia (1997), and the Shield of Loyola Award of St. Joseph's
University (1997).
He was made Knight Commander with Grand Cross, Order of the Northern Star,
Kingdom of Sweden (1991), Knight Commander with Star of the Equestrian Order of
the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (1991), and Commander with Grand Cross in the
Order of Bernardo O'Higgins of the Republic of Chile (1996), Commander with
Grand Cross in the Order of Libertador General San Martin of the Republic of
Argentina (2003), Chaplain with Grand Cross, Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
Gran Magistero dell'O.E.S.S.G.(c)
00120 - Città del Vaticano
Tel. 39 - 06 - 6877347
Fax 39 - 06 - 6877632
