MONSIGNOR JAMES A. MOLONEY
James A. Moloney was born on June 18th 1930 in Detroit on June 18, 1930. He is the son of Edith and Peter J. Moloney. His father was a test pilot for Ford Motor Co and later went into the retail lumber business in Detroit. His mother was a school teacher and taught for many years at Epiphany school in Detroit.
He has four brothers, Peter, Paul, Perry and Lawrence. Peter studied to be a Jesuit priest for eleven years. Lawrence, a graduate of Sacred Heart Seminary, served in the Archdiocese for 10 years.
Msgr. Moloney attended St. Mary of Redford Elementary and High school. In 1948 he entered Sacred Heart Seminary and graduated from there in 1952. He attended St. John’s Provincial Seminary and finished his studies there in 1956 and was ordained to the priesthood on June 2nd 1956 by Cardinal Edward Mooney at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral on June 2nd of that year.
His first parish assignment was as associate pastor at St. Joan of Arc parish, St. Clair Shores, where he served for five years. In 1961 he was appointed associate director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and the Association of the Holy Childhood. In 1963 he was appointed Archdiocesan Director of these Pontifical Organizations.
From 1963 to 1978 Msgr. Moloney visited 58 mission countries to help him become closely aware of the conditions in the missions.
In 1965 he was appointed to the National Board of Directors of the National Office of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. In 1975 he became the National Secretary of the Society and in 1983 was appointed National Vice- President of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, a position that he currently holds. In 1996 he was appointed to chair the Budget and Finance Committee of the National Office of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. He has been a member of the executive board of the National Catholic Mission Association and a consultor to the National Office of the Association of the Holy Childhood.
In 1970 he was given the degree of Master of Arts in Religious Education by the University of Detroit.
In the Archdiocese he has served as the Archdiocesan Director of the Lay Missionary Programs: Papal Volunteers for Latin America and the Extension Lay Volunteers; he was the first Archdiocesan Director for the Campaign for Human Development; he has served two terms on the Priests’ Senate and has acted as spiritual director of a number of lay organizations in the Archdiocese, including the First Friday Club of Detroit. For thirty years he played right wing on the priests hockey team.