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. In January 2024, he also assumed direction of The Catholic Preaching Institute at the Seminary. He has given more than 350 presentations throughout the US and internationally on topics in Salesian Spirituality, Social Communications, Catholic Education, and Biblical Theology. He offers workshops in the Sophia Institute for Teachers and directs an annual webinar for the Church Management Institute at Villanova University. He has written, edited or translated ten books and more than sixty-five contributions to a variety of scholarly and pastoral publications worldwide. He 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 television, radio, and podcast programs 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. Fr. Dailey was elected to the Academy of Catholic Theology in 2013 and became a member of the Catholic Association of Teachers of Homiletics in 2018. Among other awards, he 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. 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.
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
"Eucharist: The Actual Presence of Jesus in a Digital World" - Benedictine College Symposium on Transforming Culture (2023)
"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)
"Digital Discipleship: Encounters with Jesus in an Online World" - workshop for the convocation of Catholic Leaders, Diocese of Camden (2019)
"The Church at 30,000 Feet: Pope Francis's Press Conferences" - international conference at Villanova University (2018)
"Preaching as Praying: Complementary Methodologies from St. Francis de Sales" - presentation at convocation of Priests, Diocese of Allentown (2017)
"From Upper Room to Board Room: Leadership in Today's Church" - conference for national Board of Directors & Advisory Board of Catholic Leadership Institute (2017)
"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)
