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Br. Joseph Joly, OAR,
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He was in the navy back in 1952, but he also was reading the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, a sure sign that Joseph Joly wasn’t destined to be a sailor forever. While on shore leave in New York City, he decided to ask the first priest he saw for Guideposts (an inspirational magazine). The priest turned out to be Fr. Robert Krajicek, OAR, who not only promised to get him Guideposts, but started a correspondence that would eventually lead to Br. Joe’s admission to the Augustinian Recollects. He told Fr. Kraijicek that he had learned carpentry back in his home town of Lowell, Massachusetts, and wanted to use his skills as a religious brother; and since his first profession of vows on August 28, 1959, Br. Joe has been a carpenter and a whole lot more. To prepare for his future work he received additional training in refrigeration, air conditioning, and electrical appliances. Later, he was certified as an electrical contractor. During his many years in religious life, Br. Joe carried out extensive maintenance, repairs, and building projects at St. Augustine Monastery in Kansas City, Kansas; Tagaste Monastery in Suffern, New York; St. Cloud Monastery in West Orange, New Jersey; and St. Augustine Priory in Oxnard, California.
Br. Joe is as much an artist as a maintenance man, working with stained glass, inlaid wood, and mosaics to give expression to an artistic vision and passion that he has always put at the service of his religious family. His affable and easy-going personality is joined to a most generous and energetic spirit, making him always willing to pitch in with community projects as well as to lend a hand to a friar in need. He is as much at home creating a Tiffany-style lamp for a Guild raffle as he is handling a major flood in the monastery basement or making picnic tables for Tagaste or St. Augustine Priory. Br. Joe has a gift for making every mechanical task look simple, and delights in finding creative solutions to problems that would cause others to throw up their hands in frustration. An avid walker, he can be seen rain or shine (or sometimes even blizzard!) “on the road” around Suffern, where he has been stationed for the last twenty years. On August 28, 2009, the feast of St. Augustine, Br. Joe celebrated his Golden Jubilee of religious profession and renewed his vows in the presence of family, acquaintances, and fellow religious at Tagaste Monastery. The Augustinian Recollect community joins Br. Joe’s family and many friends in thanking God for the gift of his religious vocation and the 50 years of service he has given to the Order and the Church.
Fr. John Gruben, OAR
