PHILADELPHIA — Cardinal John Foley, who for 25 years was the voice for American viewers of the Vatican’s Christmas midnight Mass and who led an ancient Catholic order in the Holy Land, died Sunday. He was 76.
Foley died at the Villa St. Joseph in suburban Darby, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said. The cause of death was not given.
In 1984, Foley was appointed to lead the Pontifical Council of Social Communications, which spearheaded Vatican initiatives under the media-savvy Pope John Paul II to get out the church’s message through the media.
In a world of prelates who were often ill at ease when speaking with journalists or who used convoluted phrases to express a concept, Foley’s down-to-earth, straightforward manner of engaging with the public was a refreshing departure.
A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, described Foley as being a man “truly of great spiritual level.”
In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI named Foley the Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. The order supports schools and health institutions and serves basic needs for the poorest people of all faiths in the region.
“I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Cardinal John Foley,” said Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput. “Cardinal Foley was a man of great apostolic energy. Anyone who met him was immediately aware of his intense love for the church and his zeal for communicating the Gospel. By the sheer force of his personality, he drew people to the faith and to himself.”
Foley was born in Darby. From there, he went to St. Joseph’s College, graduating in 1957, and then to seminary. He was ordained in 1962. He also earned a master’s degree in journalism at Columbia University.
Foley was admired for his media expertise. He served as the assistant editor and Vatican correspondent for Philadelphia’s archdiocesan newspaper, The Catholic Standard & Times, and was its editor-in-chief from 1970 to 1984. He also co-produced and co-hosted the Philadelphia Catholic Hour on WFIL radio.
Other Deaths
Jerry Robinson, 89, the cartoonist widely credited with creating the Joker, the iconic arch villain in the Batman comics franchise, died Wednesday in New York, according to DC Comics.
Robinson was hired as a teenager by Batman co-creator Bob Kane in 1939, when superhero comic books were in their infancy. Many historians credit Robinson with drawing the initial image of the Joker, who was introduced in 1940’s Batman No. 1, and with co-creating Batman’s sidekick, Robin.
Ron Fletcher, 90, a former dancer and choreographer who helped popularize the Pilates exercise system when he opened the first West Coast studio in 1972, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure. He died at his home in Stonewall, Texas, said the director of Fletcher Pilates, which trains instructors in the exercise methods Fletcher developed based on the teachings of Joseph and Clara Pilates.
Denver Post wire services
