AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY | Founder of the Stigmatine Congregation

Rev. Joseph Charles Henchey, CSS, STD was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, USA, not far from Boston, on June 2, 1930. He entered the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata on January 6, 1946, and was ordained a Stigmatine Priest in Rome, Italy, on July 1, 1956.

Father Henchey received a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Angelicum, in Rome, in 1973. He served in Rome teaching at the Pontifical University for over 20 years, and also as General Councilor of the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata [1970-1976 and 1988-1990].

In 1996, the North American Episcopal Conference appointed Father Henchey to the Pontifical North American College in Rome, as an Assistant Spiritual Director. Father Henchey held this position until 2002, when he was then appointed to the same position at Blessed Pope John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, MA, for second career men, desiring to spend their last years as priests.

In the fall of 2006, he was appointed to Mundelein Seminary, nearby Chicago, IL, as the occupant of the Paluch Chair of Theology. He held this position until 2009, when he was appointed as Professor of Theology and a Formation Director to the St. Joseph Seminary [Dunwoodie] in Yonkers, NY, a position that he held until March 2014. He also served as a weekend presider at the Stigmatine Parish Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in White Plains, NY, from 2009 to 2012.

In the fall of 2015, Father Henchey returned to Mundelein Seminary, as Adjunct Spiritual Director, where he retired on 2019.

He also traveled widely giving retreats, courses, and lectures to priests, religious and the laity.

For all of his Stigmatine life, Father Henchey was a student of St. Gaspar Bertoni, the founder of the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata, and, in his honor, in 2003 he created this website [www.st-bertoni.com].

Fr. Henchey was called back to our Father’s home on April 7, 2021, at age 90, but the huge collection of writings and works he developed during his life will remain forever.

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Some Highlights on Fr. Henchey’s Life

Priestly Ordination [Rome, July 1, 1956]

Blessing over his parents, Mr. William and Mrs. Elizabeth Cashman Henchey

First Solemn Mass [Woburn, MA, July 22, 1956]

Blessing over his Mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Cashman Henchey

Fr. Henchey’s Doctoral Thesis at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome [1973]

Fr. Henchey and Pope John Paul II [1985 (estimated year)]

Priestly Golden Jubilee Celebrations [Woburn & Weston, MA, March 26 & 27, 2006]

At the Stigmatine property in Waltham, just before the celebration at St. Anthony's, Woburn, MA	Celebration at St. Anthony's, Woburn, MA	Reception at the Stigmatine property in Waltham, MA	Reception at the Stigmatine property in Waltham, MA
Celebration at Blessed Pope John XVIII National Seminary in Weston, MA	Celebration at Blessed Pope John XVIII National Seminary in Weston, MA	Reception at Blessed Pope John XVIII National Seminary in Weston, MA	Reception at Blessed Pope John XVIII National Seminary in Weston, MA