Bishop David E. Foley, retired bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham, Ala., died April 17 at the St. John Vianney Residence for Priests in Birmingham. He was 88.

News reports said he had been battling cancer.

His funeral Mass was celebrated April 23 by Mobile Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Birmingham. Burial followed in the cathedral’s courtyard.

Bishop Foley served 11 years as bishop of Birmingham. He submitted his resignation in 2005 at age 75 as required by canon law. He was then chosen by the diocesan consultors to serve for two and a half years as administrator of the diocese prior to the installation of Bishop Baker.

The bishop’s retirement was in name only: He never stopped being a priest. He would spend Christmas and Thanksgiving at prisons, would celebrate Mass at any parish when needed and would regularly help with confirmations.

Father Foley was ordained a priest of the Washington Archdiocese on May 26, 1956.

Over the next three decades, he held a series of parish posts, including pastorates from 1970 to 1986, and served on various archdiocesan committees. He was made archdiocesan secretary for clergy in February 1986, shortly before he was named auxiliary bishop of Richmond, Virginia.

For many years, Bishop Foley was a regular guest on the “Pillars of Faith” program broadcast on the Eternal Word Television Network, or EWTN, based in the Birmingham Diocese.