Francis X. Murphy
Francis Xavier Murphy, CSsR (June 16, 1914 – April 11, 2002) was a Redemptorist chaplain and theology professor. He is best known for his articles about the Second Vatican Council, first published in The New Yorker magazine under the pseudonym Xavier Rynne. "He was very open-minded and felt that the church ought not keep secrets and (should) be open. With (his articles on) Vatican II, he gave the inside view," said Redemptorist priest Rev. Denis J. Sweeney. Early life Born in The Bronx, New York City, on June 16, 1914, Murphy was the first of Denis (1889–1932) and Anna Elizabeth "Nano" (née Rynne) (1894–1967) Murphy's three children. Murphy's parents eloped together, leaving their native Ireland, emigrated to the US and married in the Bronx upon their arrival in the States. Murphy was baptized in The Church of St. Angela Merici on Morris Avenue in the Bronx, July 6, 1914. Family influences Murphy's father was a New York police officer who directed his son's early education. He chose to send young Murphy to the school of the Immaculate Conception. The German-American parish had a reputation for being academically challenging. Murphy said his mother's interest in New York politics "...stimulated his interest