For immediate release
Contact: Jocelyn Thomas
Jthomas@hnp.org
NEW YORK — March 26, 2019 – Fr. Alexander Di Lella, 89, a professed Franciscan friar for 68 years and a priest for 63, died on March 23 at St. Catherine of Siena Nursing Home.
A wake is scheduled for 9 to 10 a.m. on March 27 at St. Bonaventure Church at 174 Ramsey Street in Paterson, N.J., the town where Fr. Di Lella grew up. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated there at 10 a.m. by Provincial Minister Fr. Kevin Mullen, OFM. Fr. Di Lella will be buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Totowa, N.J.
Early Years
Fr. Di Lella was born on Aug. 14, 1929, in Paterson to Alessandro and Adelaide (née Grimaldi) Di Lella. After attending St. Bonaventure School, he enrolled in St. Joseph Seraphic Seminary in Callicoon, N.Y., graduating in 1947.
He was received into the Order of Friars Minor on Aug. 12, 1949, by Fr. Thomas Plassmann, OFM, in Paterson, where he professed his first vows a year later. Fr. Di Lella professed his final vows as a Franciscan on Sept. 17, 1953 at Holy Name College in Washington, D.C. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Franciscan Monastery for the Holy Land Church by Archbishop Amleto Cicogani on Sept. 8, 1955.
Ministry
Fr. Di Lella spent more than half a century in academia. His first assignment was to teach English at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, N.Y., where he worked from 1956 to 1958. When the Province found itself in need of an Old Testament instructor, Fr. Di Lella volunteered to undergo the years of study required to gain the necessary credentials. He began at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned his Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1959 and his Doctor of Philosophy in Semitic languages – concentrating in Hebrew – 1962. His dissertation was a text-critical historical study of the Hebrew fragments of Sirach.
Fr. Di Lella then earned a prestigious fellowship to the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, where he worked in archeological excavation and research from 1962 to 1963. He used this experience to transition into his studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, where he earned his Licentiate of Sacred Scripture in 1964.
Upon his return to the States, Fr. Di Lella resumed teaching, providing instruction in Greek and the Old Testament at Holy Name College in Washington, D.C., from 1964 to 1967. In 1965, he returned to Catholic University of America, where he taught a variety of subjects – including Semitic languages and biblical studies – until his retirement in 2005. He also taught as an adjunct professor of Old Testament at Washington Theological Union from 1969 to 1972. From 2005 to 2010, he served as professor emeritus at Catholic University before he moved to St. Anthony Friary in St. Petersburg, Fla. In 2016, he was assigned to Holy Name Friary in Ringwood, N.J., where he lived until moving to St. Catherine of Siena Nursing Home earlier this month.
A well-respected biblical scholar, Fr. Di Lella was part of the committee that updated the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the most widely read modern English translation, in 1989. Together with 14 of the nation’s top Jewish, Protestant and Catholic Bible experts, Fr. Di Lella reviewed several hundred recommended changes to the Bible’s text in an effort to make the Bible more accurate in a language understandable to average readers. He provided expertise in the books of Daniel, Proverbs, Tobit and Sirach.
Fr. Di Lella had familiarity in multiple languages, including French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Aramaic, Syriac, Greek, Latin and Ugaritic. He was an active member of the Catholic Biblical Association and the Society of Biblical Literature, and edited multiple biblical publications. He published several books, produced several critical translations of the Bible, and wrote multiple scholarly articles and reviews.
Fr. Di Lella is survived by a brother, Fr. Mario Di Lella, OFM, of St. Anthony Friary in St. Petersburg.
Memorial donations may be sent to Franciscan Friars – Holy Name Province, 144 West 32nd Street, New York, NY 10001-3202.
About Holy Name Province
Holy Name Province is the largest of seven entities in the United States belonging to the Order of Friars Minor. With ministries in 12 states along the East Coast, its nearly 300 Catholic priests and brothers serve in colleges, parishes, urban ministry centers and a wide variety of social justice ministries, as well as in overseas missions.
The Franciscan Order, founded in 1209 by St. Francis of Assisi, commemorated its 800th anniversary in 2009. Today, St. Francis, whose feast day is Oct. 4, remains one of the most widely known saints, revered for his affection for nature and care for creation.
Information about Holy Name Province can be found at www.hnp.org. News about the friars and their ministries can be found on the Facebook page of the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province.
Interview and photo requests should be directed to Jocelyn Thomas, HNP director of communications, at 646-473-0265 ext. 321 or jthomas@hnp.org.