Francis X. Murphy

For other people named Francis Murphy, see Francis Murphy (disambiguation).

Francis Xavier Murphy
Church	Catholic Church
Orders
Ordination	June 23, 1940
Personal details
Born	Francis Xavier Murphy (1914-06-16)June 16, 1914 Bronx, New York, United States
Died	April 12, 2002(2002-04-12) (aged 87) Annapolis, Maryland, United States
Buried	Redemptorist Cemetery, St. Mary's Catholic Church, Annapolis, Maryland
Nationality	American
Denomination	Roman Catholic

Francis Xavier Murphy (June 16, 1914 – April 11, 2002) was a Redemptorist chaplain and theology professor. He is most known for his articles about the Second Vatican Council, published under the pseudonym Xavier Rynne.

Early life

Born in The Bronx, New York City, on June 16 1914, Murphy was the first of Denis (1889–1932) and Anna Elizabeth "Nano" (née Rynne) (1894–1967) Murphy's three children. Murphy's parents eloped together, leaving their native Ireland, emigrated to the US and married in the Bronx upon their arrival in the States.

Murphy was baptized in The Church of St. Angela Merici on Morris Avenue in the Bronx, July 6, 1914.

Family influences

Murphy's father was a New York police officer who directed his son's early education. He chose to send young Murphy to the school of the Immaculate Conception. The German-American parish had a reputation for being academically challenging.

Murphy said his mother's interest in New York politics "...stimulated his interest in Vatican intrigue". His mother was the maitresse d'hotel at the Bronx Concourse Plaza Hotel and came to know the politicians who frequented the place. For years it was considered the best location in the Bronx for social, business and fraternal events.

Religious calling

Murphy was confirmed at the age of eight at Immaculate Conception Church (where he attended elementary school) by then Archbishop Patrick Hayes of New York. Murphy said after his Confirmation, he began to hear "the first whisperings of the call of God".

Religious training

Murphy graduated from the Redemptorists' Mercyhurst North East preparatory seminary at North East, Pennsylvania in May 1934, and then entered the Redemptorist novitiate at St. Mary's College, Ilchester, Maryland, and completed his theological training at Mount St. Alphonsus Seminary in Esopus, New York.

Murphy made his first profession as a Redemptorist in August 1935. On the eve of his first pro­fession, he wrote in a journal about how courage was the true test of a cleri­c. "To be a success as a Religious," he wrote, "one must have 'courage': not the precipitate quality of throwing oneself into hazard without a moment's delay, but the persistent ability to face the facts and perform one's duty from day to day, no matter what the cost. And that is the genius of sanctity!" Murphy made his final profession in September 1938.

Priesthood

He was ordained at Esopus on June 23, 1940. Sent for further studies, Murphy first earned both a master's degree and, then in 1945, a Ph.D. in Medieval History from the Catholic University of America writing Rufinus of Aquileia (345-411): His Life and Works.

Subsequently, he was assigned as a US Navy chaplain at Annapolis, Maryland. Murphy was stationed at St. Mary’s Parish in Annapolis until 1947, when he returned to Esopus to teach and organize the library.

In the summer of 1948 he was sent to Sant’Alfonso in Rome to assist in the task of collecting and microfilming Redemptorist records in European libraries, and became a correspondent for the National Catholic Welfare Conference News Service.

In 1959, Murphy became a professor of moral theology at Pontifical Lateran University in Rome for 17 years.

Military service

Murphy served as chaplain at the Naval Academy from 1944 to 1947 and with the Army from 1951 to 1958. He earned the Bronze Star for "meritorious operations against an armed enemy in Korea."

Second Vatican Council

As a journalist, Murphy attended the Second Vatican Council which met at the Vatican from 1962-1965. Under the pseudonym Xavier Rynne, combining his middle name and his mother's maiden name, he revealed the inner workings of Vatican II to The New Yorker. He is credited with setting the tone for the popular view of the council, depicting it as "conservative" versus "liberal".

The Baltimore Province of the Redemptorists positively reviewed Murphy's Second Vatican Council reporting, saying "Keenly appreciating Pope John XXIII's declared intention in calling the Council, 'to open a window' and 'let in fresh air,' Father Murphy not only reported on the Church's view of the modern world, but in doing so, let the modern world see the workings of the Church".

Later life

During the 1970s Murphy served as a visiting professor at Princeton University and later was connected with Johns Hopkins University. From 1977 through 1981 he served as rector of Holy Redeemer College in Washington, D.C..

He wrote more than 20 books in his lifetime, under his pseudonym and his own name.

Death and burial

Murphy died April 12, 2002 at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland, of complications from cancer surgery. He was 87. He was buried at the Redemptorist Cemetery at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Annapolis.

Bibliography

• John XXIII: The Story of the Pope (1959)
• Letters from Vatican City : Vatican Council II, first session : background and debates (1963)
• The second session; the debates and decrees of Vatican Council II, September 29 to December 4, 1963 (1964)
• The third session; the debates and decrees of Vatican Council II, September 14 to November 21, 1964 (1965)
• The fourth session; the debates and decrees of Vatican Council II, September 14 to December 8, 1965 (1966)
• The Pilgrim Pope (1979)