Rev. James L. Galligan, priest for over 60 years, dies at 89

THE REV. JAMES Laurence Galligan, an Augustinian friar who served the St. Rita of Cascia Parish, in South Philadelphia, as pastor in the 1970s, and returned there in 1997 to work at the St. Rita Shrine, died Dec. 3 at the age of 89.

Father Jim, as he was called by his brethren in the Augustinian Order, also served parishes in New York and Massachusetts. From 1986 to 1997, he worked with Cambodian refugees in Lawrence and Lowell, Mass.

"Father Jim followed Jesus in the Augustinian spirit by his dedicated service to God's people and life in the community," the order said in a statement.

"He sought to serve the church and the community with love and dedication wherever he was stationed."

Father Jim was born in Philadelphia to James L. Galligan and the former Margaret Haas. He was baptized on Aug. 13, 1922, at St. Francis de Sales Church in Philadelphia.

He attended St. Laurence School, in Upper Darby, moved on to Upper Darby High School and West Catholic High, graduating in 1940.

He went as a postulate to the Augustinian Academy on Staten Island, N.Y., and was received into the order as a novice on Sept. 10, 1944. He went to the Good Counsel Novitiate, New Hamburg, N.Y., and professed first vows on Sept. 10, 1944.

Father Jim graduated from Villanova in 1947 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy.

He professed final vows on Sept. 10, 1947, and went to the Augustinian College, in Washington, D.C., for theological studies.

He was ordained at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., on June 6, 1950, by Bishop John McNamara.

Father Jim was assigned to several parishes in New York and Massachusetts before coming to St. Rita of Cascia Parish in 1975 as pastor. He left there in 1980, and continued to serve in parishes in New York and Massachusetts for the next 17 years.

In 1997, he returned to St. Rita's to work at the St. Rita's Shrine at 1166 S. Broad St. In 2007, he was assigned to St. Thomas Monastery in Villanova.

Services: Funeral Mass was celebrated Dec. 9 at the Church of St. Thomas of Villanova. Burial was in the Augustinian plot at Calvary Cemetery in Conshohocken.

Contributions in his name may be made to the Care of Sick and Elderly Augustinians Fund, c/o Provincial Offices, 214 Ashwood Road, Box 340, Villanova, PA 19085-0340.