Church To Honor Local Cardinal Who Served Two Popes In The Vatican
By Mark Abrams
PHILADELPHIA (CBS)--Saint Charles Seminary in Lower Merion is recognizing the contributions of a beloved cleric from Philadelphia who served two Popes in the Vatican.
Cardinal John Foley served as the English-language voice of the Vatican for Pope John Paul the Second, and later, his successor, Pope Benedict the Sixteenth, before returning to retire in Philadelphia in 2009.
Father Thomas Dailey has been selected for the inaugural appointment to the John Cardinal Foley Chair of Homeletics and Social Communications at the seminary.
"Everyone in the English-speaking world knows of him as the 'Voice of Christmas.' "
Cardinal Foley provided the commentary and translation of Christmas Midnight Mass from the Vatican for 25 years.
Dailey says Foley set a new tone for delivering the church's message.
"That voice became a presence and it's that idea of the church's presence in every form of media that was really his legacy."
Dailey says he'll be training the next generation of priests to properly use the new media to help spread the Gospel.
