John Cardinal Foley Chair of Homiletics & Social Communications
• Phone: (610) 785-6267
• E-mail: tdailey@scs.edu
Fr. Dailey joined the Seminary faculty full-time in 2017-18 as the inaugural John Cardinal Foley Chair of Homiletics & Social Communications. The Cardinal Foley Chair supports the work of the Church in the realm of Gospel communications by educating seminarians and other students, informing staff in parishes and (arch)dioceses, and dialoguing with journalists and media professionals. Prior to his appointment at the seminary, Fr. Dailey served on the faculty of DeSales University (Center Valley, PA) for 29 years. There he was a tenured professor of Theology, the inaugural Fr. Louis Brisson Chair in Salesian Spirituality, and the founding director of the Salesian Center for Faith & Culture. He earned a doctoral degree in sacred theology (S.T.D.) from the Pontifical Gregorian University (Rome), where he completed his dissertation on the biblical Book of Job. He has lectured internationally on topics in biblical theology, Salesian spirituality, and Catholic higher education. He has written, edited or translated nine books and more than sixty articles/chapters in a variety of scholarly and pastoral publications worldwide. He is a featured commentator (columns & podcasts) on CatholicPhilly.com. He has also contributed blog posts and authored white papers as a Research Fellow for the Catholic Leadership Institute (Malvern, PA). He is a member of the editorial board of the Indian Journal of Spirituality (Bangalore) and serves as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Catholic Higher Education. He is featured among the members at CatholicSpeakers.com and has appeared on radio and television in both regional and national markets. He also served on the Communications Committee for the World Meeting of Families and the visit of Pope Francis to the USA in 2015. In 2013 Fr. Dailey was elected to the Academy of Catholic Theology, and in 2018 he became a member of the Catholic Association of Teachers of Homiletics. Among other awards, he was presented with the 2008 Liberty Bell Award by the Bar Association of Lehigh County (PA), has been nominated twice for inclusion in Who’s Who Among Executives and Professionals, and has been selected four times for inclusion in the list of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. Fr. Dailey first professed vows in the religious congregation of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (O.S.F.S.) in 1980, was ordained to the diaconate in St. Peter’s Basilica (Rome) in 1986, and was ordained to the priesthood in St. Anthony of Padua Church (Wilmington, DE) in 1987.
EDUCATION
S.T.D. - Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy (1993)
S.T.L. - Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy (1988)
S.T.B. - Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, Italy (1986)
B.A. - Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales, Center Valley, PA (1981)
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2017 - present The John Cardinal Foley Chair of Homiletics & Social Communications, and Professor of Theology
2018 - present Presenter in Center for Church Management at Villanova University
2018 - present Research Fellow & Spiritual Advisor at the Catholic Leadership Institute
1988-2017 - Fr. Brisson Chair & Founding Director, Salesian Center for Faith & Culture at DeSales University
PUBLICATIONS
Behold This Heart: St. Francis de Sales and Devotion to the Sacred Heart, author, Sophia Institute Press 2021
Love is The Perfection of the Mind, editor and contributor, DeSales University 2017
Live Today Well: St. Francis de Sales’ Simple Approach to Holiness, author , Sophia Institute Press 2015
Sermons on the Eucharist, editor, Salesian Center for Faith & Culture 2005
With Mind and Heart Renewed, editor, University Press of America 2001
Praying with Francis de Sales, author, St. Mary’s Press 1997
The Repentant Job: A Ricoeurian Icon for Biblical Theology, author, University Press of America 1994
St. Francis de Sales as Preacher a Study, translator, Indian Institute of Spirituality 1992
PRESENTATIONS
"Salesian Spirituality for Today's Clergy" - workshops for the Clergy of the Diocese of Manchester, NH (2022)
"The Craft of Preaching" - workshops for Priests of the Diocese of Harrisburg, PA (2021)
"Encountering Jesus in an Online World" - Convocation of Catholic Leaders in Diocese of Camden, NJ (2019)
"The Church at 30,000 Feet: Pope Francis's Press Conferences" - international conference at Villanova University (2018)
"Salesian Simplicity: A Little Virtue Goes a Long Way" - conference on Ethics & Culture at University of Notre Dame (2010)
"The Adventure of Phenomenology with John Paul II" - inaugural Edith Stein Lecture at Immaculata University (2005)
"The Religious Character of Our National Pastime" - Cooperstown Conference on Baseball and American Culture (2002)
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Academy of Catholic Theology
Catholic Association of Teachers of Homiletics
Catholic Speakers Organization
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Honors & Awards
Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement honoree (2020)
Liberty Bell Award from the Bar Association of Lehigh County on the 50th anniversary of Law Day (2008)
21st Century Award for Achievement, International Biographical Centre (2003)
Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers (1996, 2000, 2002, 2007)
Honorary Life Membership, Knights of Columbus (1991)