Fr. Joseph M. Langford died two days ago in Tijuana, Mexico. Father Langford was 59, and it is reported he died suddenly of a heart attack.
Ordained in Rome in 1978 for the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, he began volunteering at the Missionaries of Charity shelter in Rome. As you know, the Missionaries of Charity are the religious order founded by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Fr. Langford approached Mother Teresa about his concern that at the time there was no branch of her order for priests. Later he and she founded the Missionaries of Charity Fathers.
I was somewhat familiar with the Missionaries of Charity in Rome in 1977-78, the years I was living there. Although I never volunteered there, many of my classmates did and they spoke of a seminarian who was there. I suspect he was Fr. Langford.
Small world. God bless him. May his soul rest in peace.
