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Father Patrick F. Carley was born in County Tipperary, Ireland in 1945. His birthday is October 4, the Feast of St. Francis, so he was named Patrick Francis by his devout parents, Margaret and Luke, both now deceased. He is the oldest of five siblings- 4 boys, one girl- all living. He was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers in primary and secondary schools. He was ordained on June 7, 1969 at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Thurles, his hometown, after 6 years of education in Philosophy, Theology and Scripture. Since arriving in the U.S., he has earned a Masters Degree in Social Work (1987) and a Law Degree from the University of Utah (1992).
Father Carley arrived in Utah in 1969 and has served in many parishes in the Salt Lake Diocese. His first parish was St. Vincent’s, then St. Ambrose. He has also served at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Lourdes. His longest stint was at St. Mary’s in Park City. During this time he and his parishioners sponsored a brother and sister from Vietnam, Vo and Ying Houang. Father remains close to the family to this day. He has been at St. Joseph’s since 2000.
Father Carley's first love is athletics- especially Hurling (an Irish game) and Soccer. He won state championships in his younger days. From this background he was very keen to develop a sports field for the kids of St. Joseph the Worker. It is now a valuable gem of the parish.
Since 2007, he has worked tirelessly to raise funds to build a much-needed new Church Worship and Welcome Center for St. Joseph’s. While more money still needs to be raised, ground-breaking on the beautiful, award-winning new church is expected to take place in December 2009.
Father Pat now holds US citizenship but he has never lost his Irish identity or his strong love of Ireland. He returns there every summer for vacation and has sponsored many tours there. He has discovered that his fascination with Ireland is shared by many Americans, especially those of Irish ancestry. In response, he helped found the Hibernian Society of Utah 30 years ago. This group promotes the culture and history of Ireland and hosts ceilis, festivals, lectures and reading, the Siamsa and the ever-popular Salt Lake City Saint Patrick’s Day parade.
June 7, 2009 marked 40 years of the Sacred Priesthood for the Reverend Patrick Carley. He has made an extraordinary impact on the lives of so many people. St. Joseph the Worker parishioners feel blessed to have Father Carley as their pastor.
Pictured on the left- Father Carley and his loyal pet Sally. She passed away in 2009. Fathers constant companion since he rescued her many years ago.
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