Thomas Joseph Riley

Thomas Joseph Riley (November 30, 1900 – August 17, 1977) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts from 1959 to 1976.

Biography

Early life Thomas Riley was born on November 30, 1900, in Waltham, Massachusetts, to Thomas and Agatha (née Loughry) Riley. Following his graduation from Boston College in 1922, he studied at St. John's Seminary in Boston. After his ordination, the archdiocese in 1929 assigned Riley as a curate at St. Joseph's Parish in Boston. He traveled to Belgium in 1931 to attend the Catholic University of Louvain in Leuven, where he earned a Doctor of Philosophy in 1933.

After returning to Massachusetts, Riley was appointed to the faculty of St. John's Seminary, where he taught philosophy and moral theology. He was named vice-rector of St. John's in 1944 and rector in 1951. In 1958, the archdiocese assigned Riley as pastor of St. Peter's Parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Auxiliary Bishop of Boston On November 4, 1959, Riley was appointed auxiliary bishop of Boston and titular bishop of Regiae by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on December 21, 1959, from Cardinal Richard Cushing at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, with Bishops Eric Francis MacKenzie and Jeremiah Francis Minihan serving as co-consecrators. In addition to his episcopal duties, he continued to serve as pastor of St. Peter's Parish.

Riley was the author of a weekly column in the archdiocesan newspaper, The Pilot, that was called "Theology for the Everyman". He was also a member of the Massachusetts Obscene Literature Control Commission.

Retirement and death After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, he retired as auxiliary bishop of Boston on June 28, 1976. He died on August 17, 1977, at his brother's cottage in Kennebunk, Maine, at age 76.