Father Joseph Jones, C.P., who served as pastor at St. Peter Parish in Greenville from 1988 to 1998, died March 16, 2023 at the Immaculate Conception Monastery in Jamaica, New York, where he had lived the last few years.
He was born Sept. 22, 1935 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, according to Passionchristi.org, a website for the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ, the order Father Jones belonged to. He took his first profession in 1958 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and final vows in 1961 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was ordained to the priesthood April 30, 1965 in Union City, New Jersey.
His service in North Carolina came through an agreement with the Passionist Community and Bishop Joseph Gossman. He was part of a group of five Passionist priests who arrived in Greenville to serve the Catholic Community.
According to the website for St. Peter Parish: “The 1990s saw tremendous growth … a multimillion dollar building program was begun by Father Joseph Jones, C.P. It resulted in a new church, parish hall, parking facilities, new gymnasium and two extensions on the school.”
Father Jones’ most recent service took place at St. Ann’s Monastery and Shrine Basilica in Scranton, Pennsylvania. During his life of service, he was rector there and, according to St. Ann’s, also served in these ministries during his life as a priest: retreats, vocations, missions and AIDS ministry. He worked in other roles, such as a prison chaplain and supervisor of missions abroad to places such as Haiti, Honduras and the West Indies.