Rev. David M. Friel

EV. DAVID M. FRIEL, MDiv, MA, STL is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, ordained in May 2011. He is currently a doctoral candidate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He studied philosophy & theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary (Overbrook), where he also served as organist, cantor, and liturgical Master of Ceremonies. While there, he studied organ under Dr. Theodore Kiefer and began composing music. His music has been published by CanticaNOVA Publications, and his Mass in Honor of St. John Neumann is available online through the Creative Commons.

Upon ordination, Father Friel served for five years as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philadelphia. During that time, he also served several communities of Catholic young adults, coached CYO basketball and volleyball, and was assigned to assist the archdiocesan vocations office.

Father Friel is a member of the Church Music Association of America and the Society for Catholic Liturgy. Among his research interests are aesthetics, sacred music (particularly sequences), liturgical history, imperial coronation rites, and twentieth-century liturgical reform. His master’s thesis centered on the Proprium Missae (the chanted propers of the Mass), while, in his licentiate thesis, he studied the origins and theology of the term progressiva sollemnitas (the principle of “progressive solemnity”). For his doctoral dissertation, he is researching the liturgical theology of the feast of Christ the King.

Born in Bethlehem, PA, Father Friel grew up in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish. He enjoys backpacking, visiting national parks, running, reading, and sports of all kinds. Father Friel currently lives in Washington, DC and serves a number of area parishes on Sundays and feast days.

Click here to contact Fr. David Friel via email.

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