Monsignor Thomas J. Daley

Reverend Monsignor Thomas J. Daley, 93, retired priest and former Rector of the Cathedral of St. Paul, died on Sunday, April 3.

He was born in Fitchburg, son of James and Delia (Mulroy) Daley and graduated from Fitchburg High School, the College of the Holy Cross, the Seminary of Philosophy in Montreal and the Sulpician Seminary in Washington D.C. and was ordained a Priest in St. Michael’s Cathedral on June 11, 1938 by Most Reverend Thomas M. O’Leary.

Reverend Monsignor was first assigned to the Knights of Columbus Camp for Boys in Hawley in 1938, then to Blessed Sacrament Church in Westfield in the same year. He then came to the Worcester area and was first assigned to St. Peter’s Church in 1941, St. Margaret Mary’s Church in 1949 and St. Stephen’s Church in 1955 all in Worcester before becoming Pastor of St. Columba’s Church in Paxton in 1960. He was then assigned as Rector to the Cathedral of St. Paul in 1961. He was elevated to Domestic Prelacy by Pope Paul VI in 1964. He later went on to become Pastor of St. Stephen’s Church in Worcester in 1970 and retired in 1982 as Pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in Barre.

The funeral Mass for Reverend Monsignor Daley will be held Wednesday, April 6, at 10 a.m. in the Cathedral of St. Paul, 15 Chatham St. Most Reverend Robert J. McManus will be Principal Celebrant. Burial will be in St. Bernard’s Cemetery, Fitchburg. Calling Hours are Tuesday, April 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. with a Wake Service at 7 p.m. in the Cathedral of St. Paul. Callahan and Fay Brothers Funeral Home, 61 Myrtle St.