Joseph W. Devlin, 85, religion professor

Msgr. Joseph W. Devlin, 85, a retired professor of religion at La Salle University who worked to improve relations between Catholics and members of other faiths, died Wednesday, April 1, of cardiac arrest at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden.

At the time of his death, Msgr. Devlin was a resident of Oaklyn, Camden County.

Born in Pennsauken, he graduated from St. Joseph's University and Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.

He was ordained in Philadelphia on May 26, 1956.

Msgr. Devlin received a master's degree in Jewish studies from Seton Hall University, and a master's degree in religion in America from Princeton University. He also earned a doctorate in canon law from Lateran University in Rome.

He served as parochial vicar at St. Joseph Church, Somers Point; St. Paul Parish, Stone Harbor; St. Francis de Sales Parish, Barrington; and Queen of Heaven Parish, Cherry Hill, all in New Jersey.

As a young priest, he accompanied American clerics to the Second Vatican Council, and participated in the preliminary discussions on Nostra Aetate, the 1965 declaration redefining the relationship of the Catholic Church with non-Christian religions.

"Let Christians - while witnessing to their own faith and way of life - acknowledge, preserve, and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Christians, together with their social life and culture," the text reads in part.

A respected scholar and theologian, Msgr. Devlin was often asked to participate in state and local Holocaust and Kristallnacht observances. He lectured widely on the findings of Vatican II.

Alan Respler, executive director for many years of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said Msgr. Devlin played an important role "in advancing interfaith relations throughout his career with non-Catholics and the Jewish community in particular."

Msgr. Devlin taught at Rutgers University before joining La Salle's religion department in 1973. Over the years, he taught biomedical ethics, religion in America, world religions, political and social ethics, psychology, and religion and culture, before retiring in 2012.

"Taking a class taught by Dr. Devlin was a challenging but rewarding experience," said Michael Boyle, a 1999 graduate and member of the political science department at La Salle. "He demanded a lot from his students in terms of reading and writing, but he also loved to push them to engage in debate over controversial political and ethical issues.

"He was a real character in the classroom - rigorous, feisty, intelligent, but also generous to his students," Boyle said. "He showed a real delight in ideas and in people that was inspirational."

Msgr. Devlin is survived by cousins.

Funeral services were Wednesday, April 8.