Msgr. Joseph F. Sharpe; Former Oxnard Pastor

Msgr. Joseph F. Sharpe, pastor emeritus of Santa Clara Church in Oxnard, died Tuesday, All Souls Day. He was 85.

Born April 16, 1914, in Denver, he was the sixth of eight children. He attended schools in Denver and later Regis University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1937.

He was a student and a teaching assistant at St. Louis University’s school of journalism before entering St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo to study for the priesthood.

He was ordained April 27, 1943, by Archbishop John J. Cantwell and later was selected as assistant pastor of Holy Name Church in Los Angeles.

Subsequent assignments included: assistant pastor at the Transfiguration Church, Los Angeles; the U.S. Navy Chaplains’ Corps; Visitation Church, Los Angeles; and St. Agnes Church, Los Angeles.

Sharpe studied at the Catholic University of America in Washington, where he earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in educational psychology.

He served as principal of the Catholic Girls’ High School in Los Angeles and Pius X High School in Downey.

In 1960, he was appointed the superintendent of high schools and colleges for the Los Angeles Archdiocese.

On Dec. 8, 1961, he was given the title monsignor by Pope John XXIII.

Sharpe became the pastor of Santa Clara Church in Oxnard in 1964. He retired on Aug. 15, 1973.

He moved to Orange County and served as the administrator of St. John the Baptist Church in Costa Mesa and St. Vianney Chapel on Balboa Island.

Sharpe was a member of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and the Knights of Malta.

He is survived by his brother, the Rev. John O’Malley Sharpe; and his sister, Sister Patrick Marie, both of St. Louis.

The funeral Mass is scheduled at 11 a.m. today in St. Vincent Church at Adams and Figueroa in Los Angeles. His brother will officiate. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.