Father Sidney Turner, C.P., St. Paul of the Cross Province (1899-1971)

Born November 24, 1899 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he went to public elementary schools from 1906 until 1913. From 1913 until 1917 he went to Boston College High School in Boston, Massachusetts. On October 9, 1919 he professed his religious vows in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From 1919 until 1926 he studied in various monasteries and was ordained on February 27, 1926. From 1926 until 1929 he studied at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. and received a JUD in Canon Law. He was a professor of canon law to Passionist seminarians from 1929 until 1932 after which he studied at the Gregorian University, Rome from 1932 until 1933. From 1933 until 1935 he was canonist and secretary to Bishop Cuthbert O’Gara, C.P. in Yuanling, China and from 1935 until 1936 held the same position to Bishop Paul Nussbaum, C.P. in the diocese of Marquette, Michigan. He was back in the classroom from 1936 until 1942 in the Passionist seminary teaching canon law. From 1942 until 1945 he was “de familia” and from 1945 until 1964 he was a military chaplain in the Air Force. He then was a hospital chaplain from 1964 until 1970 at Pollack Hospital. Stationed at Union City, New Jersey from 1970 until 1971, he died of a heart attack in April. His thesis was “The Vow of Poverty” and he published a variety of scholarly articles. A frequent companion when he was in the military was his dog Neffie.