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Yes ... I've been off the forum here, but decided to come back in to post this, but Stubborn already got to it.

To the very end, he kept offering daily Mass and then drove on his own to Wheeling, WV and back ... refusing multiple offers (people, including myself, practically insisted) from people to drive him.  If he had a fault, Father was incredibly Stubborn.

His only limitation had been that even for Sunday Mass, he couldn't walk back and forth in front of the Communion rail, so he had the faithful come up just 2 at a time, which caused Holy Communion on Sunday to take a very long time.

I have a booklet here about his life, with many pictures that I can scan in and perhaps post here.

Ordained for the Diocese of Scranton, he was with then-Father McKenna on Connecticut, but eventually made his way to Wheeling, VA.  Then a lady passed away and left him the current property in Akron OH.

He left the property to SSPX.  I was on his Board of Trustees for a time, but when he asked me to sign off on leaving the property to SSPX, I politely and respectfully declined, being fairly confident that they would just sell the property anyway, so it was pointless.  I imagine they'll consolidate his chapel with St. Peregrine in Richfield OH (about 25 minutes away), and likely sell it, or at least a large part of it, as well as the cash accounts, to build a priory up by St. Peregrine.

Father was so dedicated that outside of the times he had been hospitalized, I doubt you would need more than the fingers of your two hands to count the number of daily Masses he missed in the 37 years I've known him, often offering Mass even when he was ill.

During the Friday of Lent he continued to do the Stations of the Cross every Friday, even though you could tell that he was struggling mightily.



I heard that he received Last Rites yesterday evening, but since there are no SSPX priests in town (fly in on weekends), and same for SSPV ... only the CMRI priest in Akron may have been around, unless he had some other contacts.  It'll be interesting since Father Carley easily did the 9 First Fridays 100 times during his life, and so the promise of that is to not die without the Sacraments of the Church.  So this would be further confirmation regarding the validity of whatever priest administered the Last Rites.  I'm trying to find out now.

Of course, he passes away on the Feast of St. Joseph, the Patron Saint of the dying ... so what a consolation.

To the very end, he kept offering daily Mass and then drove on his own to Wheeling, WV and back ... refusing multiple offers (people, including myself, practically insisted) from people to drive him.  If he had a fault, Father was incredibly Stubborn.

There's that word that someone in another thread didn't like my describing as a positive trait.  "Stubborn" in the service of truth and goodness is not a bad thing.

I was privileged to meet Father Carley one time, back in the 1990s, when I was traveling and assisted at the TLM he offered at the volunteer fire station in Cross Lanes WV (near Charleston).  Good priest.

Requiescat in pace.