Deceased: 2008-06-17
Diocese: WASHINGTON
Seminary Graduation Year: 1962
Msgr. James Joy, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Washington and resident of Carroll Manor Nursing Home in Washington, died June 17. He was 71 years old. A native Washingtonian, the priest was born on Jan. 16, 1937 and attended St. Augustine’s School in Washington before entering St. Charles College in Catonsville.
He studied at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore before completing his seminary studies at the North American College in Rome. Following his ordination on Dec. 20, 1961 at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Msgr. Joy was assigned to serve as associate pastor of Holy Name parish in Washington in 1962.
In 1976 Msgr. Joy was appointed pastor of St Gabriel’s Parish in Washington, and in 1984 he was named a monsignor by Pope John Paul II. In 1985 he entered the military chaplaincy and served in the Army until retirement in 1995.
Msgr. is a former member and two-term chairman of the D.C. Citizens Traffic Board and was listed in Who’s Who of Black Americans. He was also a member of the D.C. National Guard and the Catholic Historical Society of Washington.
Msgr. Joy is survived by 11 siblings and their families. The Vigil Mass was offered June 20 at St. Augustine’s, his childhood parish in Washington. The Funeral Mass was celebrated there on June 21, followed by burial at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Springs.
