PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Archdiocese says Cardinal John Foley, a priest who rose to lead an ancient Catholic order in the Holy Land and for 25 years provided commentary for American television viewers of the Vatican's Christmas Midnight Mass, has died.
Foley died Sunday at the Villa St. Joseph in Darby, a suburb of Philadelphia. The cause of death was not disclosed. He was 76.
Graduated by St. Joseph's in 1957, he entered seminary the same year and was ordained a priest by the archdiocese in 1962.
The recipient of a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, Foley co-hosted a local radio program and was editor-in-chief of The Catholic Standard & Times from 1970 to 1984.
From 1984 to 2009, Foley provided commentary for the Christmas Midnight Mass in Rome.
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