Murphy, Edward F.

Salem priest, Edward Murphy (1892-1975) was also known as a novel-writer. One particularly popular book was "The Scarlet Lily."

Edward Murphy was born in 1892 into a large Irish Catholic family in South Salem. He attended St. Mary's Parish School and church.

He went on to Catholic University where he earned a doctorate in philosophy.

In 1932, he was assigned a dual role at an African-American parish and college in New Orleans. Xavier College had just opened. Murphy began

staging musical revues and operas to raise money and awareness for the school and to provide a showcase for the many talented Xavier

students.

Murphy wrote "The Scarlet Lily" which was one of the "first Catholic best-seller". He continued to write more successful novels, though he

stayed with his missionary work within the African-American community throughout his long career.

Murphy published an autobiography "Yankee Priest: An Autobiographical Journey with certain detours, from Salem to New Orleans" in 1952.

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