Name John Foley | Role Composer | |
John Foley, S.J., (born 1939) is an American Jesuit priest who is a composer of Catholic liturgical music and a professor of liturgy. Among his better-known compositions are One Bread, One Body (1978), Earthen Vessels (1975), Come to the Water (1978), The Cry of the Poor (1978), For You Are My God (1970), and the album As a River of Light (1989).
Much of Foley's early work on liturgical music was as a member of a group called the St. Louis Jesuits, composed of fellow Jesuit seminarians, with whom he released several albums. Other members of the St. Louis Jesuits were Dan Schutte, Bob Dufford, Roc O'Connor, and Tim Manion. He has also released several solo collections of liturgical music. Both the solo and the group efforts were released through publishers OCP (formerly Oregon Catholic Press), National Association of Liturgical Resources and GIA Publications.
Foley went on to earn a doctorate in liturgical theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. In 1993 he returned to Saint Louis University where he founded the Stroble Center for Liturgy, of which he has served as director since its founding.
Contemporary Catholic culture
Foley is one of many musicians who compose contemporary Catholic liturgical music. This music has enjoyed widespread success throughout the English speaking world.