Conventual Franciscan Father Joseph William Bayne, Jr., 66, died June 23 in Chicago.

Father Joe, as he was known, was born in Baltimore and attended Archbishop Curley High School there before joining the Franciscan community in 1975. He professed simple vows in 1976 and solemn vows in 1981 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1985.

He served in parishes in Pennsylvania before beginning a 29-year ministry in Buffalo, New York, at the Franciscan Center, a transitional housing program for runaway and homeless young men from western New York. While there, he served for 13 years as Chaplain of Erie County Emergency Services and the Buffalo Fire Department.

In 2018, Father Joseph was assigned briefly to a parish in Massachusetts before becoming the associate director of formation at the Conventual Franciscans’ postulancy house in Chicago.

He is survived by his mother, Jean Bayne, and his brother, George Bayne.