Champlin was born on May 11, 1930 in Hammondsport, New York, the son of Francis Malburn and Katherine Masson Champlin and stepson of Charles Haynes. He was educated in his hometown public schools before graduating from Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts. After studying at Yale and Notre Dame Universities, he began his journey to the priesthood at seminaries in Rochester, New York. He was ordained Thursday, February 2, 1956 and enjoyed a full and varied priestly ministry for over 50 years. A prolific writer, he has written 50 books with over 20 million copies of his publications in print. For many years, he authored a weekly column on liturgy and worship, appeared in a dozen videos, and made numerous television appearances. He also frequented local radio with inspirational insights, always concluding with, “You may have tried everything else, why not try God?”Champlin’s first assignment was The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, New York. He subsequently served as pastor at Holy Family in Fulton, New York and St. Joseph in Camillus, New York, and returned to the Cathedral where he retired after serving as Rector from 1995-2005. At the time of his death, he was the sacramental priest at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Warners, New York. In addition to his pastoral ministry, Champlin served as the Associate Director in the Liturgy Secretariat for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC. He spent a year at the North American College in Rome, Italy and was the Diocesan Director of Parish Life and Worship. Ten years ago, Champlin founded the Guardian Angel Society, a non-profit effort to assist children from economically-challenged homes with their education. The Society has raised close to $2 million and helped 150 youngsters reach their academic potential and have a better chance at life.

Champlin traveled more than two million miles here and abroad, lecturing on liturgical and pastoral matters as well as conducting retreats for priests and parish missions.

Champlin died January 17, 2008, from a rare form of cancer. Having been diagnosed with Waldenstrom's, a bone marrow disease, in 2002, his health had been slowly deteriorating. He was aged 77 at the time of his death. Father Joe's death caused a shock in the Diocese and beyond, with news stories coming out almost instantaneously. He died at about 2100 UTC on January 17 at University Hospital. Champlin had arranged to donate his body to Upstate Medical Center to help others through medical research to find cures for disease. Upon return of Champlin's cremains from Upstate Medical Center, they were interred on March 19, 2009 in the crypt of the Syracuse Cathedral.