Rev. Joseph Carolin

The Rev. Joseph C. Carolin, 79, of Chambersburg, passed away on Saturday, April 11, 2020 in the Chambersburg Hospital. Born on November 15, 1940, in Conshohocken, PA, he was a son of Joseph and Mary Keller Carolin. An only child, he grew up in Lemoyne and graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School. After earning his B.A. from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada in 1962, he continued his studies at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, MD and was ordained on April 30, 1966 as a priest for the Diocese of Harrisburg, PA. In 1974 he earned the Masters Degree in Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh, and the Ph.D. in 1980. He also studied Bowen Family Theory at Georgetown University. Later, he did post-graduate work at Oxford, Harvard and Louvain University in Belgium.

Father Carolin’s ministry began at Catholic Social Services in Harrisburg, where he served from 1969 to 1978, and was Associate Pastor at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Harrisburg from 1976 to 1978. In 1978, he came to the South Mountain Restoration Center in South Mountain, PA, as Director of the Facility Chaplaincy Program; he retired as Director in 2003, but continued to serve as the Catholic Chaplain until his death. He was active in many community service organizations, including the area’s Long Term Care Chaplains, Pennsylvania Council of Interchurch Cooperation Chaplaincy Committee, Diocese of Harrisburg Health Care Chaplains, Waynesboro Hospital Ethics Committee, Abraxas Leadership Program, and PA State Chaplaincy Interfaith Advisory Council.

Father Carolin was active in the Bowen Center for the Study of the Family, in Washington, DC and a proponent of Dr. Murray Bowen’s theory of family therapy. During the period from 1998 through 2014, he convened a series of conferences on Bowen Theory and Spirituality. He was a valued member of the Bowen Center community and the insights he gained from the theory informed his work and ministry.

To many people who knew and loved him, he was "Father Joe." His support for “the least of these” was unending, and at the South Mountain Restoration Center he instituted innovative programs, such as the in-house televised masses each Sunday and a summer Bible School for residents.

His family would like it known that Father Joe was always a friend—a funny, kind, intelligent, insightful and generous friend. In informal settings, the collar that set him apart from others was off. Amid family and friends, he was usually clad in denim, and ready to exchange jokes and barbs, sometimes throwing his head back in uninhibited laughter before (in recent years) falling asleep on the sofa or chair he occupied. His example taught others how to be better people. In the words of a close friend, “Father Joe was just all about love.” Although his passing leaves an unfillable void, the love he shared will always be there.

Private interment, under the direction of the Thomas L. Geisel Funeral Home, Chambersburg, will take place in St. Anthony's Parish Cemetery at Mt. St. Mary University, Emmittsburg, MD. A Mass of Christian Burial will be planned at a future date.