Father Joseph William Bayne, Jr., OFM Conv., 66, a Franciscan Friar Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province, died on Friday, June 23, in Chicago.
Born in Baltimore on March 15, 1957, he was a son of the late Joseph William Bayne, Sr. and Jean (nee Gorman) Bayne. He is survived by his mother and younger brother, George.
Father Joe, as he known by so many, was a graduate of Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, where he first encountered the Franciscan community he would join after graduation in 1975. Completing his Novitiate in Ellicott City, Md., he professed Simple Vows on August 15, 1976. He completed his undergraduate degree at St. Hyacinth College and Seminary in Granby, Mass., earning a BA in Philosophy in 1980. After professing Solemn Vows on August 15, 1981, he studied at St. Anthony-on-Hudson in Rensselaer, N.Y., where he earned his M.Div. degree before being ordained to the priesthood on March 25, 1985.
From 1985-1989, Father Bayne began his priestly ministry in the Diocese of Harrisburg, where he served as parochial vicar of St. Stephen Parish and then St. Stanislaus Parish, both in Shamokin.
In 1989, Father Bayne began a 29-year ministry at The Franciscan Center, a transitional housing program for runaway and homeless young men from Western New York. For thirteen of his years in Buffalo, he served as Chaplain of Erie County Emergency Services and the Buffalo Fire Department.
In 2018, Father Bayne was reassigned to Chicopee, Mass., where he served briefly as Pastor of St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Parish and Chaplain of the city fire department, before accepting the responsibility of becoming the Associate Director of Formation at the Conventual Franciscans’ Postulancy house in Chicago.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated July 3 at the Church of the Annunciation in Baltimore, followed by internment in St. Stanislaus Cemetery. A Memorial Mass was celebrated in Buffalo on July 15 at St. Joseph Cathedral.
Donations can be made in Father Bayne’s memory to the Franciscan Education Burse, 12300 Folly Quarter Rd., Ellicott City, MD 21042.
