Father Andrew Greeley

Father Andrew Greeley, a Chicago archdiocesan priest who was a well-known novelist, journalist and sociologist, died May 29 at his home in Chicago’s John Hancock Center. He was 85.

Father Greeley was perhaps most widely recognized for the more than 60 novels he wrote, some considered scandalous with their portraits of sinful clerics.

He also wrote more than 70 works of nonfiction, often on the sociology of religion, including 2004’s “Priests: A Calling in Crisis.” The title notwithstanding, the research he presented in that book found that priests are among the happiest men in the United States—a conclusion that mirrored his own experience.

“Andy loved being a priest, and he spoke very positively about the priesthood,” said Father Greg Sakowicz, who was pastor of St. Mary of the Woods parish in Chicago for many of the years Father Greeley celebrated weekend Masses there.

Chicago Cardinal Francis E. George described Father Greeley as “an often-controversial priest, with deep convictions and a ready wit.”

“He dedicated his life to research, writing and speaking,” the cardinal said in a statement. “In his last years, the words he could still respond to were prayers, especially the Eucharist. We should keep him in our prayers now.”

In 1986, Father Greeley established a $1 million Catholic Inner-City School Fund, providing scholarships and financial support to schools in the Chicago archdiocese with student populations that are more than 50 percent minority.

In 1984, he contributed a $1 million endowment to establish a chair in Roman Catholic Studies at the University of Chicago. He also funded an annual lecture series, “The Church in Society,” at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, from which he received his licentiate in sacred theology in 1954.

Ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1954, Father Greeley served as an assistant pastor from 1954 to 1963, while pursuing postgraduate studies in sociology at the University of Chicago.

In later years, he taught sociology both at the University of Chicago and the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Father Greeley was released from archdiocesan duties to pursue his academic interests in 1965, and he remained a priest in good standing.

He published his first novel, “The Magic Cup,” in 1975, although his most popular books may have been “The Cardinal Sins” (1981) and “Thy Brother’s Wife” (1982).

He maintained a relationship with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago from 1982 until he stopped working following a 2008 accident in which his coat caught on the door of a taxicab in Rosemont, leading to a fall that caused a traumatic brain injury.

Cardinal George was the principal celebrant of the June 5 Funeral Mass at Christ the King Church in Chicago. Interment was private. —CNS