Father Malachy Corley

Father Malachy Corley, 99, priest and monk of the Cistercian (Trappist) Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia died peacefully in the monastery infirmary on Friday May 4th at 3:00 A.M. The burial service at the celebration of the Mass of Christian Burial will be Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. at the monastery church. Born on July 10, 1912, James Henry Lamar Corley (Fr. Malachy) grew up in rural Missouri in a small town named Indian Creek, located in northeast Missouri (Monroe County). “Mark Twain country” as Fr. Malachy would describe it. His father, Joseph Bernard (d. 1943) was a medical doctor (general practitioner) and his mother, Sarah Christine McLeod-Corley (d. 1954) was a teacher. Father Malachy was the fifth of six children. The siblings, all deceased, are sisters Blanche, Oleta, and Irma, and Mary Helen, and brother Joseph Bernard Jr. Fr. Malachy was baptized at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Indian Creek. After his father retired in 1919, the family moved to Webster Groves, Missouri. Father Malachy attended Our Holy Redeemer School in Webster Groves until eighth grade. He graduated from Webster Groves High School He attended St. Louis University from 1931 to 1934, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy. In 1942, he was inducted into the United States Army. Soon after arrival in the Philippines in July 1945, the war came to an end. Father Malachy told of serving under Strom Thurmond who would become governor of South Carolina and then senator. Father Malachy was discharged on February 6, 1946. On June 22, 1949, Father Malachy, 37 years old, entered Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Monastery where his childhood friend, Father Joachim Tierney, was also a monk and one of the 20 founders of the monastery in 1944. Father Malachy professed solemn vows on August 15, 1954 and was ordained a priest on June 5, 1955. He served the community as mechanic and prior. In his later years, he welcomed visitors to the monastery at the monastery welcome center and was confessor to retreatants. Donations may be sent in Father Malachy’s memory to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, 2625 Highway 212, SW, Conyers, GA 30094. Scot Ward Funeral Services, 699 American Legion Road, Conyers, GA 30012, 770-483-7216.

Father Malachy Corley

July 10, 1912 - May 4, 2012