Joseph Lee Hooker is an American pop,

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, and inspirational music

singer and songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition, although this role has transmuted th ...

. Born near

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, Hooker has achieved his largest successes with

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 ...

-themed music, including ''Singing the Rosary'' and ''Our Priests''. His latest album, ''Heaven's On Its Way'', was released in March 2011.

Personal life

Hooker was born in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

and raised in

Linwood, Pennsylvania Linwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,281 at the 2010 census. Geography Linwood is located in southern Delaware County at (39.825945, -75.422808). It occupies the easter ...

, a Philadelphia suburb. He wrote mainly secular pop and rock-n-roll music with positive, patriotic, inspirational or environmentalist messages until the early 1980s, when he felt God calling him to focus his music more directly on spiritual themes. For a time, he put his secular music aside to devote his time to "Singing the Rosary", a fully sung and orchestrated version of the holy rosary. The first of its kind, "Singing the Rosary" was given to Pope John Paul II in 1991. Eventually his faith, and his self-admitted need for conversion, led him to

Medjugorje Medjugorje ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Međugorje, Међугорје, ) is a town located in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, about southwest of Mostar and east of the border with Croatia. The town is part of the Čitluk municipality ...

, in present-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, where on Easter Sunday of 1990, he met his wife, Bridget, an American also on a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

. The two were married soon after, and his wife often accompanies him on his albums as a producer, backup vocalist and co-composer. Hooker is known in Pennsylvania's Delaware Valley for his advocacy and untiring environmentalist efforts as president of We Are the People, Inc., an environmental advocacy group that he founded to fight pollution in his neighboring town of Marcus Hook. Hooker is a photographer and the copyright holder of two photographs, "The Good Shepherd" and "The White Cross", both taken in Medjugorje that have attained worldwide attention. These photos depict what many claim is a "miracle" or a "divine manifestation" in the clouds. Hooker and Hylak's first son, Luke John, died as a child from liver cancer; this tragedy has profoundly influenced Hooker's later music and spirituality. The family now resides in

West Grove, Pennsylvania West Grove is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,775 at the 2020 census. History The village of West Grove derived its name from the Friends Meeting House on Harmony Road built in 1787 several miles w ...

, where they own a multilingual web design and

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

music publishing company, Come Alive Communications, Inc.

Career

Our Priests

Perhaps Hooker's greatest acclaim came in 2009 with ''Our Priests'', a short album whose eponymous lead single garnered awards from Roman Catholic societies worldwide. This first track voices support for the countless Catholic priests who live selfless lives of devotion to the Church while a relative few fuel the institution's scandal.

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 ...

bestowed an

Apostolic Blessing The apostolic blessing or papal blessing is a blessing imparted by the pope, either directly or by delegation through others. Bishops are empowered to grant it three times a year and any priest can do so for the dying. The apostolic blessing is not ...

on the work in February 2010.

Discography

*''Hello World'' (1985) *''Singing the Rosary'' (1988) *''Mighty God of Medjugorje'' (1991) *''Say Yes to Jesus'' (1992) *''God Calling'' (1993) *''Say Yes to Life'' (1996) *''Apostles of the Last Days'' (1997) *''Millennium Celebration'' & Philadelphia version (1999) *''Our Priests'' (2009) *''Heaven's On Its Way'' (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooker, Joseph Lee Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American performers of Christian music American male singer-songwriters Christian music songwriters Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania Musicians from Chester County, Pennsylvania American male pop singers Catholics from Pennsylvania