Bishop William Regis Fey,

OFMCap The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

(November 6, 1942 – January 19, 2021) was an American

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

prelate.

Biography

Fey was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, United States, on November 6, 1942. He made his first

vows A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise, a promise solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a weddi ...

in the

Capuchin order The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM) ...

on July 14, 1963, and the perpetual vows on July 14, 1966. Fey was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on October 19, 1968. His superiors at the St. Augustine Province of the Capuchins sent him to

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

where he earned his DPhil. Oxeniensis in Philosophy. Fey taught at St. Fidelis Seminary College in Herman, Pennsylvania an
Borromeo College
in Wickliffe, Ohio before going to Papua New Guinea to teach Philosophy in a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

there. He left for two years to teach Philosophy in

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

, and then returned to Papua New Guinea. Fey was appointed bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimbe The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimbe is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Rabaul. It was erected in 2003. Coat of arms The new coat of arms of the Diocese was adopted in 2016. The proposal of coat of arms created Marek Sobola, a heraldi ...

, in Kimbe, Papua New Guinea, on June 8, 2010, and was ordained bishop on October 10 of that year. He made an Ad Limina visit to

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

in Rome in June 2012. He was working towards building a

catechetical Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christian ...

training center in his diocese, and he had been requested by the provincial government in New Britain to work with them on establishing a teacher's college. He and Cardinal Sean O'Malley, OFMCap, Archbishop of Boston, Massachusetts and Bishop Donald Francis Lippert, OFMCap, all began their religious lives with the St Augustine Province of Capuchins based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Fey died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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, on January 19, 2021, at the age of 78, amidst the

COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Pennsylvania in March 2020. , the Pennsylvania Department of Health has confirmed 1,464,264 cumulative cases and 29,814 deaths in the state. , Pennsylvania has administered 6 ...

.Biskupi z Ugandy i Papui-Nowej Gwinei ofiarami COVID-19

References

1942 births 2021 deaths Religious leaders from Pittsburgh Alumni of the University of Oxford Capuchin bishops American Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Papua New Guinea Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Pennsylvania Roman Catholic bishops of Kimbe {{RC-clergy-stub