Please pray for the repose of the soul of Reverend Thomas F. Farley, 80, a priest of the Diocese of Portland, who died on Saturday, April 5, 2014, in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where he has been living for several months (near his sister).

Father Tom was born on October 4, 1933, in Peabody, MA, the son of Thomas F. and Katherine E. (Ireland) Farley.  After completing high school,he attended college seminary but pursued a career as a teacher of English and Latin, working in Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey.  Later in life, he began a new career, working as a paralegal, specifically as a real estate title abstractor, for law firms in Massachusetts and Maine.  In 1996, he was hired as the business administrator of St. Joseph Parish in Ellsworth and was active as the parish coordinator of both RENEW and RCIA.  Concurrently, he earned a Masters Degree in Pastoral Studies from Loyola University of New Orleans in the spring of 1999.

Prior to becoming a priest, he was involved in many lay ministries, including with Haley House (a Catholic Worker House in Boston), which operated a soup kitchen, clothes distribution center, and housing for the homeless, and later with Emmaus Center, a homeless shelter in Ellsworth, and with the Down East AIDS network. 

In the fall of 1999, Tom entered Blessed John XXIII National Seminary; completing his seminary formation, he was ordained to the priesthood by the Most Reverend Joseph J. Gerry, O.S.B., 10th Bishop of Portland, on May 18, 2002, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Ellsworth.

Father Farley’s pastoral assignments included:

  • Hospital Chaplain @ St. Joseph Hospital & Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor (June 2002)
  • Hospital Chaplain @ Maine Medical Center, Portland (July-August 2002)
  • Parochial Vicar @ Sacred Heart, St. Louis & St. Philip Parishes, Auburn (September 2002-July 2003)
  • Pastor @ St. Patrick’s Parish, Lewiston (August 2003-June 2006) He also assisted with funerals at Ss. Peter & Paul Parish, Lewiston.
  • Parochial Vicar @ St. John Parish and St. Mary Parish, Bangor; St. Joseph Parish, Brewer; St. Ann Parish, Bradley; and St. Ann Parish, Indian Island (July 2006-June 2007)
  • Parochial Vicar

     

    • St. Ann Parish, Bradley; St. Ann Parish, Indian Island; Holy Family Parish, Old Town; St. Mary Parish and Our Lady of Wisdom Parish, Orono (July 2007-December 2008
    • Parish of the Resurrection of the Lord, Old Town (a merger of the above parishes, where he served from January 2009-August 2010, at which time he retired

Fr. Farley also served at the Chaplain to the Knights of Columbus Councils:  Andy Valley Council #8742 (Auburn), V. Rev. Richard E. Harvey Council #6728 (Brewer), and 4th Degree Council #364 (Old Town).

Please pray for the consolation of his family and friends.  He is survived by his brother, James Farley, and his sister, Mary Ann Rand.  He was predeceased by his parents and his sister, Jane.

“And may Tom’s soul, and the soul of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.”