Local

Fr. Ley retires

Catholic Herald Staff Report

Fr. Richard J. Ley is retiring. FILE

LR_Ley-Reverend-Richard-J-(230).jpg

After years of service to the diocese,
Father Richard J. Ley is retiring.

Father Richard J. Ley
was born Sept. 11, 1944, in Norfolk. He attended high school in Portsmouth,
and entered St. Mary Seminary in Kentucky, graduating in 1967. He received his
theology formation at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., and was
ordained by Bishop John J. Russell for the Diocese of Richmond in 1971.

Father Ley served as parochial vicar at St. Leo the Great Church
in Fairfax (1971-74) and then he was named vice chancellor and vocations
director for the newly formed Diocese of Arlington.

Father Ley served in a number of positions in the diocese,
including as defender of the bond, and later judge for the tribunal. He was a
member of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission beginning in 1974, and became its
chairman in 1979. He also served as a diocesan consultor. Father Ley earned a
bachelor’s degree in canon law from The Catholic University of America in
Washington in 1979.

He was pastor of St. John the Apostle Church in Leesburg
(1982-87), St. John the Beloved Church in McLean (1987-94) and St. Louis Church
in Alexandria (1994-97). He was on the board of consultors (1997-2000) and
served as pastor of St. Ambrose Church in Annandale (2000-06). He served in the
Diocese of Baker, Ore., (2006-08) before becoming parochial vicar of Our Lady
of Lourdes Church in Arlington (2008-10). He has been parochial vicar of St.
John Bosco Church in Woodstock with special care of Our Lady of the Shenandoah
Mission in Basye since 2010. He plans to retire in Florida.

Related Articles