Fr. Patrick Sweeney was born in Philadelphia, PA on July 29,1944, at St. Agnes Hospital to Edward and Margaret Sweeney. His father was in the Navy at that time and he lived with his grandmothers for the first three years of his life. After his father left the service, the family moved to a house in South Philadelphia in St. Gabriel’s Parish. He and his brothers and sisters, Edward, Margaret, Daniel, Joseph and Maryann, all attended St. Gabriel Catholic School and Bishop John Neumann High School.
Fr. Sweeney entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 1962, was ordained a deacon in 1971, and was assigned to Visitation BVM in Trooper for his diaconate year. On May 20, 1972, Fr. Sweeney was ordained to the priesthood by John Cardinal Krol. His first assignment as a newly ordained was at St. Thomas Aquinas in Croydon, PA.          
Subsequent assignments included St. Eleanor, St. Matthew in Conshohocken, St. Eugene in Clifton Heights, Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Anne in Philadelphia, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Bensalem. That’s right—Father’s assignment here as pastor in 2003 marks his second time at St. Eleanor, though he lived on Main Street back in the 70’s.
Fr. Sweeney owes his vocation to his Catholic School education, his family and friends, and to many priests along the way. He enjoys traveling with his priest friends when he has a chance, and also visiting his siblings and nieces and nephews.
Fr. Sweeney says, “It has been a great life and there is a better one yet to come.

Fr. Christopher R. Cooke grew up in Richboro, Pennsylvania, in St. Vincent DePaul Parish, the older son of Randall and Mary Lou Cooke. He has one brother, Matthew,. He attended Wrightstown Elementary School, Council Rock High School, and graduated from the University of Delaware in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical engineering. Following his college graduation, he was employed as a chemical process engineer.
Fr. Cooke entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in August of 2000. Fr. Cooke’s uncle, Msgr. Philip J. Cribben, and his parents’ lifelong witness to their faith, were two of the greatest influences in his response to God’s call to the priesthood.
Fr. Cooke was ordained a transitional deacon in May of 2005 and served his diaconate year at St. Katharine of Siena Parish in Wayne. He was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Rigali on May 20, 2006, and has been here at St. Eleanor since June of that year.
Fr. Cooke enjoys hiking, biking and water- and snow-skiing for recreation.

Msgr. John Galyo was born in Philadelphia, PA on September 23,1927, to John and Mary Galyo.  He and his brothers and sisters, Elizabeth, George, Margaret, Joseph and Mary were raised in St. John Nepomucene Parish and attended Edgar Allen Poe Grade School, Edwin H. Vare Junior High School and Southeast Catholic High School.
Monsignor Galyo entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in June of 1945 and was ordained a deacon in 1953. On May 8, 1954, he was ordained to the priesthood by John Cardinal O’Hara. His first assignment as a newly ordained was at Immaculate Conception in Marcus Hook.
Subsequent assignments included King of Peace in Philadelphia, Our Lady of Charity in Brookhaven, St. John the Evangelist and St. Bartholomew in Philadelphia. Msgr. Galyo was assigned as the prison chaplain at the State Correctional Institute at Graterford. Like Fr. Sweeney, this is his second time living at St. Eleanor! After his prison assignment he went to Sacred Heart in Phoenixville, Holy Trinity in Pottstown and Holy Trinity in Phoenixville before retiring and joining us here in September of 2002.
Monsignor Galyo’s vocation was rooted in the example and encouragement of his pastor and a seminarian from his parish, his parents who were devout Catholics, and some of his priest teachers at Southeast Catholic. Monsignor says he “had doubts during my seminarian days, but once I was ordained, I NEVER looked back. It has been a great 53 years. DEO GRATIAS!”

Deacon Al Derivan is originally from Yonkers, N.Y. In 1961 he married the former Mary Collins.  They have four daughters and seven grandchildren. Deacon Al is a medical doctor with post graduate training in pediatrics, psychiatry and ethics. He is retired, but teaches part time at Thomas Jefferson University, School of Medicine. He is also a Navy veteran having served several years in submarines. In 1988 Deacon Al was ordained a Permanent Deacon for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He was initially assigned as a deacon at St. Thomas of Villanova Parish in Villanova and then at St. Andrew’s in Newtown; he came to St. Eleanor’s in 2006. Deacon Al attended a Catholic grade school, high school and college. His calling to the Permanent Deaconate came while he was taking graduate courses in Scripture at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Deacon Al enjoys his family and spends as much time as possible with his grandchildren. He enjoys watching football, reading and teaching.