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American Roman Catholic priest (–)

Father Joe Carroll (April 12, &#; July 11, ) was an American Roman Catholic priest who led a nonprofit in San Diego, "Father Joe's Villages and St.

Vincent de Paul Center"^[3] that assists poor, impoverished, and homeless individuals.^[4]

Biography

Father Joe Carroll grew up in the Bronx, with his parents and seven brothers and sisters, and was an altar boy and Boy Scout.^[5] As a child, Carroll lived across from St.

Joseph Church.^[6] Carroll got his first job in a butcher shop at the age of 8, and would go on to sell Christmas trees and do laundry machine repairs to supplement income for his parents and siblings.^[2] As a Boy Scout, he achieved the rank of Life Scout.^[5] Carroll moved to California in his 20s.^[4] Initially enrolled at St.

John's Seminary, in Ventura County; he was expelled for running the seminary's bookstore in a way which earned the bookstore profit after adding non-book merchandise to the bookstore.^[2] He completed his studies at the University of San Diego in ^[7] and was ordained to the priesthood.^[4] While enrolled at the University of San Diego, he attended seminary school in Washington, D.C.^[1] That same year Carroll began to collect nativity sets, which at one point the collection reached sets.^[8]

Carroll was assigned to a parish church, St.

Rita, in Valencia Park.^[4] Given the choices by Bishop Leo Thomas Maher of transferring to a parish church in Needles, California, or becoming involved in St. Vincent de Paul, Carroll chose the latter.^[1] From to , Carroll led St. Vincent de Paul Village.^[4] In , Carroll appeared in a commercial seeking donations for St.

Vincent de Paul which aired during the National League Championship Series, which gained him national notoriety.^[1] Carroll was featured in a 60 Minutes story in , and a Reader's Digest story in ^[9] Carroll's efforts to assist the homeless, drew criticism from the Wall Street Journal, and praise in the form of a World Habitat Award.^[2][10] In the s, his organization made bobble-head dolls of him as a fundraising reward for donors.^[11] In , Carroll retired.^[1]

After retiring from day-to-day operations of his organization, he continued to be active in fund-raising activities.^[12] In , Carroll was honored for his efforts during an event in Washington, D.C., on National Medal of Honor Day.^[13] By , Carroll had to have both his feet amputated due to complications with diabetes;^[8] that same year he began to use a wheelchair to get around.^[14] In , Carroll was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from San Diego State University.^[15] Due to the effects of his diabetes by Carroll had lost vision in his right eye.^[16] He celebrated his 80th birthday on April 12, , with the release of his memoir, "Father Joe Life Stories of a Hustler Priest".^[1] In July , Carroll died due to diabetes while receiving hospice care at his East Village home.^[17] A celebration of life was held for Carroll at the San Diego Convention Center in August ^[18]

Father Joe's Villages

In , Bishop Charles F.

Buddy, then-bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego, dedicated a chapel on F Street in downtown San Diego to serve the poor.^[19] The chapel would merge with a thrift store and became the St. Vincent de Paul Center in the Gaslamp Quarter.^[19] In , Carroll took over the organization, and it moved to the East Village.^[19] In , the organization opened the Joan Kroc Center which provided childcare, housing, job training, meals, and a medical clinic; this was followed by two other centers in , and ^[20] In the organization became a separate organization independent of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego.^[19] In , Carroll retired from leading the organization;^[19] that year the organization employed people, and had a budget of $40 million.^[4] In , the organization was renamed for Carroll;^[19] Carroll disagreed with the name change.^[1] As of ^[update], it is the largest service provider for homeless individuals in the City of San Diego.^[19]

References

Further reading

• Cloward, Kathryn (). Father Joe: Life Stories of a Hustler Priest.

  Kandon Unlimited, Inc. ISBN&#;.