Joseph F. Girzone
| The Reverend Joseph F. Girzone |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
Joseph Francis Girzone May 15, 1930 Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Died | November 29, 2015 (aged 85) Albany, New York, U.S. |
| Residence | Altamont, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Writer, Catholic priest |
| Parent(s) | Peter & Margaret Girzone |
Joseph Francis Girzone (May 15, 1930 – November 29, 2015), sometimes known as the "Joshua Priest", was an American Catholic priest and writer, most notably as the author of the Joshua series of novels.
Girzone was born in Albany, New York, to Peter, a butcher, and Margaret Girzone, the oldest of their twelve children. It was a struggling family, which experienced the shame of eviction during his childhood.
Girzone entered the Carmelite Order as a young man and was ordained as a priest in 1955. A few years later he chose to leave the order in favor of life as a secular priest and was accepted by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. He then served at various parishes of the diocese, in the course of which he became active in advocating for the elderly. He was a driving force in the formation of the Office for the Aging of Montgomery County.
In 1981, however, Girzone was diagnosed with a heart condition which was judged to be fatal, leading him to retire from active ministry. He accepted the forfeiture of any pension or medical benefits from the diocese as part of an agreement for his early retirement.
Following his retirement, Girzone embarked on a second career as a full-time writer and speaker. He published his first novel, Joshua, in 1983, which was the first of a whole series of books which had the premise of Jesus Christ returning to earth and living as an itinerant carpenter. After being rejected by all the publishing houses he had approached, he founded his own publishing company, Richelieu Court Publications, to release the novel. He carried boxes of the book in his trunk of his car, making modest sales at different locales.
The story, written in a simple language, of a carpenter and Christ-like figure who arrives in a small town and transforms peoples' lives with random acts of kindness and messages of peace struck a chord in readers and was brought to the attention of an editor at Macmillan Publishers. This major publisher bought the rights to the novel and a paperback version was released in August 1987, and with its national distribution and marketing might, published five more titles in the "Joshua" series. The books reached an unexpected level of popularity. After Girzone's initial success, he was offered a contract by Image Books, a Catholic-oriented imprint of Doubleday.
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