Msgr. Joseph Carroll

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A Memorial Mass for Msgr. Joseph Carroll, a native New Yorker whose work with the homeless in San Diego became a national model, will be celebrated Saturday, April 23, at 1 p.m. at SS. John and Paul Church in Larchmont.
Msgr. Carroll died July 10, 2021, in San Diego. He was 80.

The Bronx-raised priest attended St. Joseph’s Grammar School and Cardinal Hayes High School before moving to San Diego in 1963 and finding his calling to the priesthood. He studied at The Catholic University of American, Washington, D.C., and was ordained on June 28, 1974.

Known as Father Joe, Msgr. Carroll served as a parish priest in San Diego before being appointed director of St. Vincent de Paul where his work with the homeless became a model for others throughout the country and resulted in the construction of St. Vincent de Paul’s Villages, which later became Father Joe’s Villages. He became known as “The Hustler Priest” after seeking money to assist the homeless on television.

Msgr. Carroll shared his story with Kathryn Cloward who wrote his memoir, “Father Joe: Life Stories of a Hustler Priest,” which was released last year.

He was a Life Scout with the Boy Scouts of America and received numerous honors for serving his neighbors, including the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and Foundation’s Citizen Service Before Self award.

His siblings, Jack, Jim, Kathleen Ivankay, Tommy, Pat Romito, Peggy Visconti and Eileen, survive him.

A Funeral Mass was celebrated July 20, 2021 at St. Rita’s Catholic Church in San Diego, with Bishop Robert McElroy as celebrant.

Msgr. Joseph Carroll