Fr. Victor Kriley

Fr. Victor Kriley, OFM Cap., died on March 7, 2026, at the Embassy of Saxonburg under the care of Bridges Hospice Care in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. He was 88.

Born on May 2, 1937, to John and Marie (Gillespie) Kriley, he was baptized Albert at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Herman, Pennsylvania. One of twelve children, he grew up in the parish, attending the elementary school and later St. Fidelis High School Seminary. In 1957 he entered the Capuchin Order, taking the name Victor, and made his first vows as a Capuchin friar on July 14, 1958. He completed philosophy studies in Herman before beginning theological studies at Capuchin College in Washington, DC. He was ordained to the priesthood on February 8, 1964.

Just weeks after ordination, Fr. Victor was sent as a missionary to Papua New Guinea, where he served for twenty years. His assignments included Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd Cathedral in Mendi, as well as parishes in Kagua, Ialibu, Margarima, Tari, and a second period in Mendi. He learned Tok Pisin and immersed himself in the many cultures of the Southern Highlands. Fellow Capuchin Fr. Roger White, who succeeded him as pastor of St. Clare Parish in Ialibu, remembered how Fr. Victor encouraged family prayer, recognized local leadership, and helped establish regular gatherings for Scripture, discussion, prayer, and song in both the church and family homes. These gatherings enriched the faith of many in the Imbongu area.

In 1986 Fr. Victor returned to the United States. He served two years at his home parish in Herman before moving to York, Pennsylvania, where he ministered as parochial vicar at St. Joseph the Worker Parish for most of his remaining active years and served as chaplain at York General Hospital. In 2002 he became chaplain at Sacred Heart Hospital in Cumberland, Maryland. He returned to western Pennsylvania in 2005, living first in Herman and then for five years at the Capuchin Motherhouse, St. Augustine Friary, in Pittsburgh. Due to declining health, he moved to the Embassy of Saxonburg Extended Care Nursing Home in December 2012, where he remained until his death. Throughout his fourteen years there, he was lovingly supported by his devoted brother John, his sisters, and his Capuchin brothers.

Fr. Victor was preceded in death by his parents, Marie and John, his sisters Helen Grence, Aline Goodrich, and Eva Mae Kriley, and his brothers Leonard, Floyd, and Adrian. He is survived by his sisters Mary Carbin, Pearl Kocher, Sr. Frances Marie Kriley, CDP, and Rita Snyder, his brother John, as well as many nieces, nephews, their children, and cousins. He gave 68 years of Capuchin vowed religious life and 62 years of priestly service to the Church.