Father Joseph J. Koury
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Father Joseph J. Koury, JCD, who died Sunday, June 27, 2021, at age 76.
Father Koury was born in Central Falls, Rhode Island, in 1945, to Marian Yousef Khoury and Elias J. Koury, both originally from Syria.
He became a member of the New England Province of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1968 and was ordained a priest in 1977.
With a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and a Master of Divinity degree from the Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., Father Koury taught canon law courses at both the Weston School of Theology and Boston College.
During this time, he also earned his doctorate in canon law from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Father Koury began serving as a judge in the Diocese of Portland’s Tribunal in 1983, work he performed for three decades along with his other responsibilities.
In 1992, he began serving as campus minister at St. Joseph’s College of Maine in Standish, and in 1994, he was incardinated by the Diocese of Portland.
One year later, Father Koury was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Wisdom Parish in Orono, becoming coordinator of campus ministry at the University of Maine at Orono at the same time. In 1997, he added pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Orono to his responsibilities.
In 2005, Father Koury was appointed administrator of St. Franics of Assisi Parish in Belfast, where he served until being named administrator of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Windham and St. Joseph Parish in Bridgton in 2008. One year later, he also became administrator of St. Anne Parish in Gorham and St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Westbrook.
He retired from active parish ministry in 2015.
A Mass of Christian Burial for Father Koury will be celebrated Monday, July 19, at 2:00 pm at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 919 Roosevelt Trail in Windham. Bishop Robert Deeley will be the celebrant. Fr. James Donlon of the Diocese of Albany will be the homilist. There will not be a wake. Burial will take place in the family plot in Rhode Island.
