Monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

Joseph A. Farrell (April 29, 1873 – June 13, 1960) was an

Irish-American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest. He held various positions in the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New York (state), State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York ...

, and was instrumental in the construction of several new parishes in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. He became a priest in 1900, and Staten Island's dean of clergy in 1933, and a monsignor in 1935. On Staten Island, he was an early principal of St. Peter's Boys High School. In 1961,

Monsignor Farrell High School Monsignor Farrell High School is a Catholic high school for boys, located in the Oakwood section of Staten Island, New York, United States. Opened in 1961, the school is named in honor of Monsignor Joseph Farrell, a Catholic priest, as well a ...

was dedicated and named in his honor. The

Archbishop of New York The Archbishop of New York is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province encomp ...

at the time,

Francis Cardinal Spellman Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of New York from 1939 until his death in 1967. From 1932 to 1939, Spellman served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of ...

, had written a congratulatory note to Farrell in 1959 on the 60th anniversary of Farrell's ordination, stating that "next high school on Staten Island will bear your honored name."

References

1873 births 1960 deaths American Roman Catholic priests Schoolteachers from New York (state) American people of Irish descent Religious leaders from Staten Island People of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York {{US-RC-clergy-stub