Born John Farrell on February 2, 1917 in Rochester, New York, he was the son of Bernard and Marian Yawman Farrell. Before he entered the Passionists he spent four years at St. Andrew’s Seminary, Rochester, New York. He professed his vows on August 15, 1938 and was ordained on May 5, 1945. He received his Ph.D. in theology from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. in 1948. He was a professor of dogmatic theology and moral theology for twenty years in the Passionist Monastic Seminary. Father Farrell was a well-known member of The Catholic Theological Society of America from its earliest years. He published in scholarly and popular journals. His Ph.D. thesis was “Orestes Brownson’s Approach to the Power of God” which was published by The Catholic University Press in 1950. He published an article in Theological Studies entitled “The Immortality of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and presented a paper at the annual meeting of The Catholic Theological Society of America entitled “The Descent of Christ into Hell.” From 1962 until 1966 he was a regular contributing editor of “Signpost” in Sign Magazine . He also taught at St. Pius X diocesan seminary, Dalton, Pennsylvania. From 1968 until 1971 he was rector of St. Ann’s, Scranton, Pennsylvania. As time went on he did not look with excitement towards the new developments in theology during the last part of the twentieth century. He was a member of the West Springfield, Massachusetts community when he died at Mercy Hospital from cancer.
Birth Date:
February 2, 1917
Profession Date:
August 15, 1938
Ordination Date:
May 5, 1945
Death Date:
July 1, 1979
Religious Name:
Bertin of the Sorrowful Mother Farrell