Father Edward J. Fahey Jr., a priest of the Diocese of Wilmington, died unexpectedly Sept. 20. He was 63.
Father Fahey was a native of Neptune, N.J., who graduated from public schools there and earned a degree in business administration from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania.
He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Trenton, N.J., in 1989 and served in two parishes there as an associate pastor before transferring to the Diocese of Wilmington.
Father Fahey told The Dialog in 2006 that he came to Wilmington looking for a slower pace than he had found in Trenton. This diocese, he said, offered a diversity of ministries and cultures, and it was welcoming for priests from other locations, he explained.
He was an associate pastor at St. Elizabeth Parish in Wilmington from 1996-2000, when he moved to St. Luke-St. Andrew’s-St. John Neumann in Ocean City, Md., where he stayed until 2007. He was incardinated into the Diocese of Wilmington in 2003. While in Ocean City, he initiated a food drive for the Joseph House in Salisbury, Md., and Diakonia in Ocean City. In 2007, he was assigned to St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Hockessin until 2009.
Beginning in his college years and into his time in seminary, Father Fahey was a lifeguard in his hometown, Avon-by-the-Sea, N.J., which allowed him to combine his love and knowledge of the ocean with his penchant for physical fitness, he told The Dialog. He was also a beach captain for two summers. In Ocean City, he was an honorary chaplain for the lifeguards.
He was also involved in the pro-life movement and was a chaplain for four different Knights of Columbus councils, according to “Catholic Priests of the Diocese of Wilmington,” a book by the late Father Thomas J. Peterman.
Father Fahey spent more than a decade as a chaplain at various healthcare facilities in northern New Castle County while residing at St. Helena Parish in Bellefonte. He also assisted at St. Helena’s and neighboring parishes.
Visitation will be held Friday, Oct. 4 at 10:30 a.m. at Saint Helena Church, 602 Philadelphia Pike, Wilmington. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:30 a.m. at Saint Helena Church.
Interment will immediately follow at All Saints Cemetery, 6001 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington.
