Father James Follard, C.P., St. Paul of the Cross Province (1909-1994)

Born Tom Follard on March 8, 1909 in Brooklyn, New York, he was the son of John Follard and Mary McCaffery. He went to Brooklyn Prep for several years of high school. He had to leave and work for a while stocking and shipping supplies at the Brooklyn Navy Yard due to poverty in his family. He was a clerk. He went to Holy Cross Seminary, Dunkirk, New York, professed his vows on August 15, 1929 and was directed by Father Clement Lee, C.P. His religious name was James. Studies were at Scranton, Pennsylvania and Union City, New Jersey. He was ordained there on May 30, 1936 by Bishop Cuthbert O’Gara, C.P. In 1937 he was a preacher of parish missions and renewals. He became a military chaplain in the Navy in 1943 and during World War II. served in Guam where a street is named after him. He assisted actress Eva Gabor in her program to entertain troops during the Korean War. He left the Navy in 1959 as a Commander. From 1959 on he preached specialized retreats throughout the United States. Ill, he moved to St. Rose Parish, Santa Rosa California. He died at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph, West Hartford, Connecticut after living for some time at the West Hartford monastery.