Msgr. Thomas J. Hilferty dies at age 80
By Lou Baldwin
Special to The CS&T
PHILADELPHIA — Msgr. Thomas J. Hilferty, 80, pastor emeritus of Queen of Peace Parish, Ardsley, died June 4 at St. Madeleine Sophie rectory, where he was in residence.
“He celebrated Mass in the morning, came upstairs and passed away,” said Father Robert H. Mulligan, pastor of St. Madeleine. “He wouldn’t slow down because he loved his priesthood, he believed in his mission and serving people. In a word, he was a ‘grandfather.’ We called him the resident sage and the seat of wisdom. The people loved him.”
Msgr. Hilferty, who was the son of the late Hugh L. and Johanna (McFaun) Hilferty, was born in Philadelphia. He attended Holy Spirit School, Atlantic City, N.J.; St. Alice School, Upper Darby, and West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Boys before entering St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. He was ordained May 10, 1952, by then-Archbishop John F. O’Hara at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul. His first assignments were as parochial vicar at All Saints Chapel; St. Margaret Parish, Narberth, and St. Mary Magdalen De Pazzi Parish. He served with distinction as a U.S. Navy Chaplain from 1957 to 1977, rising to the rank of captain and earning the Legion of Merit.
He was named pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish in 1977, and while pastor also served as director of the Office for Black Catholics (1978-89). He was appointed regional vicar for Philadelphia-South in 1989 and pastor of Queen of Peace Parish in 1992. Named pastor emeritus in 1998, he then served as a senior priest at St. Agnes Parish in West Chester, where he remained until 2003 when he took up residence at St. Madeleine.
As a retired military officer, he could have lived very comfortably on his pension but chose instead to use his money to help the parishes where he served. “He had very few material possessions. He would never take a gift and he gave everything away. He transcended religion. He was just a good man,” Father Mulligan said.
“He was tops,” said Queen of Peace parishioner Mike Tillger. “Most people didn’t realize the things he did. If the parish needed something and there was no money, he would write a check himself. If a family couldn’t pay tuition, he would pay it. He couldn’t do enough for people — but everything was done quietly.”
“We go back 65 years,” said Msgr. William J.J. O’Donnell, a seminary classmate of Msgr. Hilferty. “We were very young. He entered after the second year of high school and needed a dispensation to be ordained because he wasn’t yet 24.”
Msgr. O’Donnell especially remembers Msgr. Hilferty’s concern for other priests. When he was pastor at St. Francis de Sales Parish, there was an open invitation to Sunday dinner for priests who did not have a weekend cook. He mentored priests and loved being with priests. He vacationed with them and golfed with them, “but not well,” Msgr. O’Donnell recalled. He accepted the changes in the Church and loved every parish he was in. Just a week before he died, priest friends urged him to leave parish ministry. “His response was, ‘They need me at St. Madeleine,’” Msgr. O‘Donnell said.
Cardinal Rigali celebrated Msgr. Hilferty’s funeral Mass at Queen of Peace on June 10. Msgr. O’Donnell was the homilist.
Msgr. Hilferty is survived by nieces, nephews and cousins. He was predeceased by six brothers. Interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon.
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.
Compiled by
Angela Arrington
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