June 26, 1952
Father Francis Joyce
Father Joyce was born in Syracuse, NY in 1878 and completed his higher education at the University of Ottawa, Canada; St. Charles College, Ellicott City, MD; and St. Bernard’s Seminary, Rochester, NY. He was ordained for the Diocese of Wichita in the Cathedral of Rochester on June 6, 1903. As an assistant he was assigned to the Pro-Cathedral and briefly as pastor in Bushton and Claflin. He entered the army as a chaplain in 1905 and served in the Philippines, Mexico, and in Europe during World War I. He retired from the army on April 20, 1922 because of disabilities (gas poison of the lungs and heart) received while on duty. Following his retirement he lived briefly in Mexico and then with his sister, Mrs. Clara Kane, in Syracuse, NY for 30 years. His funeral Mass was celebrated in St. John the Evangelist Church in Syracuse, NY.