About Father Thomas E. Hayden
Raised in Winthrop, Massachusetts, Fr. Thomas E. Hayden was the son of the late Joseph S. Hayden and Mary Masterson Hayden. He is predeceased by the late Dorothy Ann Hayden, JoAnne Hayden Murphy, Patricia Hayden, and M. Loeman Hayden. He leaves behind his brother and sister-in-law, Dr. Joseph S. and Betty Lou Hayden of Corinth, TX, and sister Elaine Hayden Farrand of Hillsborough, NJ along with nieces and nephews; Claire Murphy, Ellen Hayden, Anne (Hayden) Bishop, Christopher Hayden, Tricia (Farrand) Kordalski, Paul Farrand, Christine Farrand, Juliane (Farrand) Bahram, Thomas Murphy, Gregory Murphy, Mary (Murphy) Campbell, and 16 great nieces and nephews. In addition, he leaves behind many close friends in the Liberian and Society of African Missions communities who were just as much family to him as his family of origin. He will be missed dearly and deeply.
Fr. Ted was a graduate of Boston College High School, and Catholic University. In 1976, he earned his Ph.D in Anthropology and African Studies from Howard University, where his research on the marriage traditions of the Grand Cess Kru, an ethnic group in Liberia, is still used today. Fr. Ted’s constant pursuit of research and education reflected his strong value of continuous learning as a way to understand, and better serve the cultures and traditions of the African people with whom he worked so closely. This spirit permeated all aspects of his life. Working first in Liberia and Nigeria with Catholic Relief Services from 1959-1963, he sought ways to get food into schools. As a ‘simple’ parish priest in the Diocese of Cape Palmas from 1963-1969, he developed a deeper pastoral sense and love for the Liberian people. From 1969-1983, he was called to serve Africans from the U.S. in various roles, including Vice President, Academic Dean and Professor of Anthropology at the Maryknoll School of Theology and Provincial Superior of the American Provence of SMA . He understood very well the social justice needs in Africa and was a founding father, and Executive Director, of the African Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) in Washington D.C., which continues today to advocate for Africa.
While in Washington D.C., Fr. Ted testified before U.S. Congressional committees about human rights abuses in Liberia. As a result of his testimony in 1986, the U.S. Congress suspended military assistance to Liberia. The Liberian government then declared him as a “persona non grata” so he needed to continue his work outside of Liberia. From 1990-1994, he served in Kenya, where he was a member of the teaching faculty, as well as the Board of Trustees of the Catholic University of America in Nairobi. In 1995, he was able to return to his true passion, serving the people of Liberia. For the subsequent 18 years, he served in various roles in Monrovia and Cape Palmas, including as the Pastor of St. Anthony’s Parish in Barraken from 2004-2010, where he helped parishioners with their spiritual lives, housing, food and education.
The final years of Fr. Ted's life were not spent in retirement but rather being with Liberians in one of the poorest areas, offering words of encouragement and guidance to those who came to visit him in his simple home in one of the places where he first ministered as a missionary priest.
Never forgetting his love for the Liberian people and for all Africans, he worked hard to ensure that the SMA Province provided as much assistance to Liberia as possible but also understood the need for SMA to move outside the borders of Liberia so was instrumental in the Society of African Missions expanding its reach to East Africa.
Fr. Ted will want to be remembered not for all the leadership positions that he held and degrees he earned, but for all those whom he helped improve their future with the hope that they, in turn, would do the same for others. Fr. Ted was a man of action and over many years, helped countless numbers of African students get an education, both in Liberia and in the U.S. To do this, Fr. Ted established and managed a scholarship fund for Liberians of all faiths. To continue his legacy and work, a scholarship fund in his name has been established by family members and the very Liberians whom he helped educate years ago.