1885 – 1975 (July 16)
John J. A. Daley, son of John Daley and Mary Dunn, was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on May 6, 1885. He was baptized there in Saint Mary’s Church on May 10, 1885 and received his early education at the parish’s parochial school. He entered the Order as a novice on July 3, 1904 and pronounced his simple vows on July 4, 1905. He was solemnly professed on July 6, 1908 and was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Edmond Predergast in the Philadelphia Cathedral on May 27, 1911.
Father Daley spent his entire priesthood engaged in the parochial apostolate. In 1912 he was assigned as assistant in our parish of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, Bronx, New York, and the following year at Saint Laurence in Lawrence, Massachusetts. In 1915 he became a member of the Province’s Mission Band with residence in various communities of the Province over the following 11 years. From 1926 to 1941 he served Saint Patrick's Parish in San Diego as pastor and prior. From 1941 to 1947 he served as pastor and prior of Saint Augustine's in Troy, and from 1947 to 1953 as pastor and prior at Saint Augustine's, Lawrence. In this latter year, he was assigned as pastor and prior of Saint Laurence O’Toole Parish in Lawrence, until 1965 when he was replaced as prior but continued as pastor. He remained there until his retirement to Merrimack College, North Andover, Mass., in 1968.
Father Daley died on July 16, 1975 at the age of 90. The Funeral Liturgy was celebrated at the Chapel of Christ the Teacher at Merrimack College, following which Father Daley was buried in the community cemetery in Lawrence, Mass.
Father Daley had been a pioneer in the establishment of the Province on the West Coast and as pastor, oversaw the building of Saint Patrick’s Church in San Diego.
