Joseph W. Kemme, O.S.A.

1915 – 1978 (October 4)

Joseph Walter Kemme was born in Philadelphia on March 20, 1915, to Joseph Kemme and Mary Bultermann. Educated in the local Incarnation Parochial School, he entered Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, as a postulant in 1929. Upon graduation in 1933, receiving the General Excellence Award, he entered our novitiate at New Hamburg, New York and professed simple vows on September 10, 1934. He continued his studies at Villanova College, received his AB in 1938, and received his theological training at Augustinian College, Washington, DC. He was ordained in the National Shrine there on June 10, 1941 by Bishop John McNamara.

Upon completion of his theological studies, and after receiving an MS in Mathematics from Catholic University, Father "Pete", as his friends knew him, began a 23 year career at Villanova as professor of Mathematics, Director of Intramurals, Dorm Proctor, Chaplain, and for the last nine years, from 1956 to 1965, as Vice-President for Student Affairs. In October, 1965 he was assigned as prior of the Augustinian Community at Merrimack College, Andover, MA., again as prior and professor of math. In 1968 he held these same positions at Biscayne College, Miami, FL, and in 1971 he returned to Merrimack where served as professor of mathematics until his untimely death.

Father Kemme died from a massive stroke on October 3, 1978 at Saint John’s Hospital, Lowell. The Mass of the Resurrection was celebrated at Merrimack on Saturday, October 7, 1978. Father Kemme is buried in the Augustinian plot at Saint Mary's cemetery, Lawrence, MA.

William P. Kelly, O.S.A.

1891 – 1971 (February 24)

William Patrick Kelly, son of Richard Kelly and Bridget Hill, was born October 18, 1891 in Albany, New York. He began his studies for the Order in 1905 at Saint Rita's Hall, Villanova, Pa., and in September, 1908, was accepted into the novitiate there. He made his profession of simple vows on September 18,  1909, and solemn vows on September 18, 1912. He received his Masters degree from Villanova in 1913 and was ordained to the priesthood on May 22, 1915 at the Philadelphia Cathedral by Archbishop Edmond Prendergast.

Father Kelly's first assignment, in 1915, was to Saint Augustine's Church, Troy, NY, as an assistant pastor. Three years later he joined the faculty of Saint Rita High School, Chicago, IL, where he taught for eight years. In June, 1926, he was appointed sub-prior at Saint Augustine's High School, San Diego, CA. He later served as rector of the school and  prior of the community until 1938, when he returned to Saint Augustine Parish, Troy. Father “Pete”, as he was known to fellow Augustinians, was assigned to Saint Mary's Church in Lawrence, Mass. in 1938 and served there for the next 33 years, establishing a wide reputation as confessor and spiritual director. In 1952 he became director and treasurer of the area Catholic Charities Center. He also served as spiritual advisor to the Catholic Daughters of America, Court of Saint Joan of Arc, and other societies.

Father Kelly died on February 24, 1971 at Bon Secours Hospital, and is buried in the Augustinian section of Saint Mary's Cemetery, Lawrence, MA. 

Thomas J. Kelly, O.S.A.

1906 – 1987 (May 20)

Thomas Joseph Kelly was born on November 15, 1906 in Philadelphia, PA, one of three sons and one daughter of John Kelly and Margaret McElliott. He was baptized at Our Mother of Sorrows Church, Philadelphia, where he attended the parochial grammar school and West Catholic High School. Upon graduating in 1924, he worked for three years for the Ford Agency in Ardmore, PA. In September 1927, at the age of 20, he applied to and was admitted to the Novitiate of Our Mother of Good Counsel, New Hamburg, NY, where he professed simple vows on September 9, 1928. Three years later at the collegiate seminary at Saint Mary's Hall, Villanova, PA, he professed solemn vows. He graduated from Villanova University with an A.B. degree in philosophy in 1932, and began his theological studies at Augustinian College, Washington, DC. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 11, 1935 at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Washington by Bishop James Ryan.

Father Kelly's first assignment was to Saint Rita's High School in Chicago, IL, where for six years he taught religion, history, and various business courses. In 1943, Father Kelly was assigned to Saint Augustine's Church in Troy, NY, as parochial assistant and instructor in the C.C.D. program. In 1954 he was assigned as an assistant at Sacred Heart Chapel in Lewisburg, PA, which the Province had agreed to staff. As assistant his duties included serving as chaplain at the Federal Prison located in Lewisburg as well as working with the Newman Club at Bucknell University. In 1952 Father Kelly was assigned to Our Mother of Consolation, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA, as parochial assistant. It was at Chestnut Hill that he began to work with the sick and aged in the hospitals and nursing homes of the parish, a work that he later stated was his primary apostolate and greatest joy. From 1957 to 1964 he continued his work in our parishes of Saint Paul, Mechanicville, N.Y., Our Mother of Good Counsel, Bryn Mawr, PA, Assumption, Lawrence, MA, and Saint Genevieve in Flourtown, PA.

In 1965 Father Kelly returned to Our Mother of Consolation in Chestnut Hill. In 1968 he was transferred to Saint Joseph Church in Greenwich, NY, and from there he often helped out at our parishes of the Immaculate Conception, Hoosick Falls and Saint James the Minor in Carthage, N.Y. In 1969 he requested to return to Chestnut Hill where he stated the happiest years of his priestly life had been spent caring for the dying and the aged. His request was granted and he remained at Chestnut Hill until his retirement to Saint Thomas of Villanova Monastery, Villanova, in 1971. Even in retirement, Father Tim, as he was affectionately called, never hesitated to accept temporary assignments to replace priests who were ill or on vacation. His cheerful optimism was contagious. In 1985 he celebrated fifty years as a priest. Two years later, at the age of 80 he died quite suddenly on May 20, 1987. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated by Father Joseph A. Duffey, O.S.A., prior provincial, on May 22 at the Church of Saint Thomas of Villanova on the university campus. Father John Hennessey, O.S.A., preached the homily. Father Kelly is buried in the Augustinian plot at Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, PA. 

Lawrence W. Kelly, O.S.A.

1814 – 1908 (June 7)

William Kelly, the son of Patrick Kelly and Margarent Brien, was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, about the year 1814. As a young man he was very active in the Catholic emancipation movement in Ireland. After immigrating to the United States. he applied to the Order and was vested at Villanova, Pennsylvania, on April 16, 1849, with the name, Brother Lawrence. 

In 1849 he was assigned to Saint Augustine Parish, Philadelphia. Together with Brothers Kieran and Sylvester, he left the community to join the Trappists, but returned in 1853. He was solemnly professed on June 2, 1859.

Brother Lawrence was assigned to Saint Mary's Parish in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on April 26, 1871, and served there for more than 37 years as sexton, cemetery caretaker, grave digger and carpenter. Standing 6 feet 2 inches tall, he was a striking figure and, perhaps precisely because of his bearing, was called upon to serve, informally, as the disciplinarian of the boys in the parochial school whom the sisters referred to him.

Brother Lawrence died on June 7, 1908 at the age of 94 after an illness of two weeks. He is buried in Saint Mary's Cemetery in Lawrence.
 

John Kelly, O.S.A.

1842 – 1873 (March 12)

John Kelly, son of John Kelly and Mary Kennehan, was born on December 13, 1842, in Templetuohy, Ireland. Before immigrating to the United States he had been a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary.

 On January 20, 1870, he entered the novitiate at Villanova, Pennsylvania, and professed simple vows on January 21, 1871. In June, 1872, due to poor health, he was permitted to return to Ireland to regain his strength. He died there, in Templemore, on March 12, 1873, at the age of 31, of consumption and was buried in his family’s hometown of Templemore. Fr. Middleton described John Kelly on his arrival at Villanova as “tall, spare in form, and of soldierly bearing.”

Prior Provincial Thomas Galberry had a stone erected to mark John Kelly's grave.

John J. Kelly, O.S.A.

1915 – 2006 (August 25)

John Joseph Kelly was born on November 26, 1915, in DuBois, Pennsylvania, the son of Dennis Kelly and Mary Reilly. He was baptized on December 5, 1915 at St. Catherine’s Parish, DuBois, and attended elementary school at Jenks Hill Public School and St. Catherine’s Grade School. He continued his education at St. Catherine’s High School and then, in 1933, entered Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, New York as a postulant. He was accepted into the novitiate at New Hamburg, New York on Sept. 8, 1934, and professed simple vows on Sept. 10, 1935. He then studied at Villanova College, graduating with a BA in June, 1939. He professed solemn vows on March 10, 1939. He pursued theological studies at Augustinian College from 1939 to 1943, and obtained a MA from The Catholic University. He was ordained to the priesthood in Trinity College Chapel, Washington, DC, on May 28, 1942.

From 1943 to 1949, Fr. Kelly served in Cuba at our parishes of San Agustin and Santa Rita, and at the Universidad de Santo Tomas de Villanueva. In 1948 he completed his Doctorado de Filosofia y Letras at the Universidad de Havana. In 1949 he served for one year at the newly founded Merrimack College, North Andover, MA, and then in 1950 returned to the Universidad de Santo Tomas de Villanueva, Marianao, Cuba, where he was named Vice President and then, in 1951, President of the University. Having been forced to leave Cuba by the Communist government in 1959, from then until 1962 he served at St. Augustine Parish, Lawrence, MA, and taught at St. Augustine High School, San Diego, CA and St. Nicholas of Tolentine High School, Bronx, NY.
In 1962, Prior General Luciano Rubio asked Fr. Kelly to serve at Iglesia San Agustin, Santiago, Chile. He was there from 1962 to 1964 and served for several months each of those years helping the Midwest Province in the Peruvian missions. In 1964, Fr. Kelly returned to the United States and served in the California Province at St. Patrick’s Parish and St. Augustine’s High School in San Diego, and Our Mother of Good Counsel Parish, Hollywood. In 1976, Fr. Kelly requested assignment to the missions in Peru and he worked there until 1985, when, at the age of 70 and because of failing health, he returned to the United States and served at Biscayne College/Saint Thomas University while a member of the community of Casa San Lorenzo.

In Miami Fr. Kelly ministered to the large Hispanic, especially expatriate Cuban, population, to fostering the work of the university in its development of its Spanish-speaking campus, to serve the alumni of the Universidad de Santo Tomas de Villanueva, and to encourage many religious groups, especially the Spanish-speaking Augustinian Seculars of the area. During this period, on several occasions, Fr. Kelly attempted to return full-time to the missions in Peru, but each time his physical health could not keep up with his missionary zeal. He represented the Province in Peru for the opening of the cause for canonization his close friend, John McKniff, O.S.A. in 2000. Besides writing a brief biography of Fr. McKniff, Fr. Kelly wrote a biography of Fr. Lorenzo Spirale, OSA, God’s Street Sweeper, and other publications about the Peruvian missions, Adventure in Faith: The Story of the Chulucanas Prelature, and Morropon Mission Letters. He also wrote a brief history of the Universidad de Santo Tomas de Villanueva.

In his last years Fr. Kelly suffered from deteriorating health, but continued to be as active as he could in ministry and in community at Casa San Lorenzo. He died around 3pm on Friday, August 25, 2006, a few months shy of his 91st birthday.

A Memorial Mass was celebrated at the Saint Thomas Monastery Chapel, Villanova University on August 31, 2006. On August 30, a Prayer Service, Viewing and Visitation was held at the Chapel of Saint Thomas University, Miami, and the Funeral Liturgy took place place on August 31, 2006 at Saint Augustine Catholic Church, Coral Gables, FL. Fr. Kelly is buried at Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery in the Miami area, near his confrere and friend, Fr. John McKniff, O.S.A.

James M. Kelly, O.S.A.

1885 – 1947 (June 29)

James Michael Kelly was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, on April 29, 1885 to Patrick Kelly and Hannah Hurley. He entered the novitiate at Villanova, Pennsylvania, on October 14, 1917, and professed simple vows on the same date in 1918. By virtue of a dispensation from the Congregation of Religious, he made his solemn profession on May 24, 1919, and was ordained to the priesthood in Saint Charles' Seminary at Overbrook, PA in June 8, 1919 by Archbishop Denis Dougherty.

Father Kelly served first at Saint Mary's Parish in Lawrence, MA, In 1926 he was transferred to Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Parish, Atlantic City, New Jersey, and in 1932 he returned to Lawrence as assistant at Saint Laurence Parish, where he ministered until his death on Sunday, June 29, 1947. Father Kelly had celebrated Masses that morning and was preparing to have dinner when he died suddenly of a heart ailment. He was 62 years old.

Prior Provincial Mortimer Sullivan, O.S.A. celebrated the Requiem Mass at Saitn Laurence Church. Father George Walker, O.S.A. preached. Archbishop Richard Cushing of Boston presided. Father Kelly is buried in Saint Mary's Cemetery in Lawrence.
 

Francis X. Kelly, O.S.A.

1922 – 1994 (April 19)

Francis Xavier Kelly was born on December 19, 1922, to Charles B. Kelly and Nellie G McDonough. He was baptized on December 27, 1922, in St. Mary's Church in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where he attended the parish school. In 1941, he graduated from Phoenixville Public High School, and became a post graduate postulant at Augustinian Academy on Staten Island, New York. On September 9, 1943, he was received into the novitiate of Our Mother of Good Counsel, New Hamburg, N.Y., and on September 10, 1944, made his simple profession of vows. Three years later, he was solemnly professed. In 1948, he received a B.A. from Villanova College, and then studied theology at Augustinian College, Washington, D.C., until 1952, the year he earned an M.A. in Speech and Drama from Catholic University in Washington. On June 5, 1951, he was ordained to the priesthood by John M. McNamara, Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore, Md., in the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.

From the summer of 1952 to July of 1959, Father Kelly taught English at Archbishop Carroll High School, Washington, and, as Director of Dramatics, produced several plays. During those years he was also professor of homiletics at Augustinian College in Washington. In 1959, Father Kelly became director of the Augustinian Seminary Guild to support the Augustinian Formation Program. In 1965, he additionally was appointed Director of the Third Order. On November 1, 1967, he was chosen as one of three members of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova, to establish a mission in Peru. The first parish founded was San Jose Obrero in Chulucanas. In 1968, due to illness, Father Kelly was compelled to return to the United States and was assigned as an assistant in the parish of St. Nicholas of Tolentine, Bronx, New York. From 1970 to 1986, he served in St. Genevieve Parish, Flourtown, Pa., where, in 1979, he was appointed Prior and Treasurer of the community. In September 1986, he was assigned as Prior and Treasurer to Our Mother of Good Counsel Parish, Bryn Mawr, Pa.

On March 9, 1994, after illness forced Father Kelly to retire, he moved to the Heath Care Unit at St. Thomas Monastery, Villanova. On April 19, 1994, he passed away at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Bryn Mawr, Pa. On April 22, 1944, a Mass of the Resurrection was celebrated at the Villanova Campus Church, and the next day, interment took place at Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, Pa.

Over the years Father Kelly preached Retreats, Days of Recollection and Parish Renewal Programs. He was a spontaneous humorist. His ability to dissolve tension or to reduce any difficult situation to the ridiculous, was his forte. Above all, he was an esteemed counselor. At the Funeral Mass, the homilist, Father Richard Appicci, O.S.A., summarized Father Kelly's life in this way, "As an Augustinian he covered a lot of ground... as a priest, teacher, fund raiser, retreat director, pastor, counselor, missionary and just plain Kelly. Whatever he did he accomplished with his Phoenixville wisdom, humor, common sense, and the Christ-like faith he shared with everyone. These were the gifts that gained him life time friends." 

G. Martin Keller, O.S.A.

1940 – 1992 (November 28)

George Martin Keller was born on June 21, 1940 to George Keller and Helen Wolf in Springfield, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. He was baptized there on July 14 in the church of Saint Francis of Assisi. He received his grammar school education in the parish schools of Saint Anne, Wildwood, New Jersey, and Saint Francis of Assisi, Springfield. He graduated in 1954, and for two years attended Archbishop Prendergast High School, Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. He transferred to Augustinian Academy on Staten Island, New York, as a postulant, where he completed his high school education, graduating in 1958. That same year he was received as a novice at Our Mother of Good Counsel Novitiate, and professed simple vows on September 10, 1959. He received, in 1963, an A.B. degree from Villanova University and began his theological studies at Augustinian College, Washington, DC. During the summer months he took graduate courses in English at the Catholic University. On November 19, 1966, at the church of Saint Denis in Havertown, Pennsylvania, he was ordained to the priesthood. He completed theological studies in 1967, receiving a master's degree in theology from Augustinian College.

Father Keller's first assignment was to Malvern Preparatory School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, where for an academic year he taught English and theology. In 1968 he was assigned to Saint Laurence O'Toole Church in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where he served two years as associate pastor and the coordinator of the hospital and rest home ministries. In 1972 he was transferred to Saint Augustine Church, Casselberry, Florida, as associate pastor. In a short time he became involved in campus ministry at Rollins College, Winter Park, Emory Riddle University, Daytona Beach and Florida Southern College, all in the diocese of Orlando. In 1974 he renewed post-graduate studies in communications and clinical psychology at the University of Central Florida, and in 1984 he was awarded a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Nova University in Fort Lauderdale.

Father Keller joined the staff of the House of Affirmation in Whitinsville, Massachusetts, and from 1987 to 1989 was its director. He continued post doctoral studies at the Boston Institute for Psychotherapies and from 1984 to 1989 he was religious superior at: Austin Community, Lawrence, Massachusetts. In 1990 he was named director of the Catholic Pastoral Center located in Sarasota, Florida. Father also served as an expert on the marriage tribunal and the permanent diaconate program in the diocese of Venice, Florida. In 1992 he joined the staff of Our Lady Queen of Peace Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. At the time of his death he was a member of the Augustinian Community of Saint Augustine in Casselberry, Florida.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on December 2, 1992 in the church of Saint Thomas of Villanova, Villanova, Pennsylvania. Father John Flynn, O.S.A., delivered the homily. Interment was the following day in the family plot at Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
 

Patrick H. Kehoe, O.S.A.

1887 – 1958 (August 30)

Patrick Henry Kehoe was born on August 20, 1887, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to John J. Kehoe and Bridget Kane. He was baptized there on August 28, 1887 at St. Francis Xavier Church. Patrick received his elementary education at St. Agatha School, Philadelphia, and graduated from Roman Catholic High School, also in Philadelphia, in 1905. He then continued at Roman Catholic for a year of post-graduate studies. He entered the Augustinian formation program on September 10, 1906 at St. Rita Hall, Villanova, Pennsylvania, and was received into the novitiate on February 2, 1907. He professed simple vows on February 2, 1908, and was sent to Santa Monica International College, Rome, Italy for theological studies. He was ordained a priest in Rome on July 25, 1913.
Father Kehoe returned to the United States in 1914 and was appointed that year as rector of the Augustinian minor seminary program at Saint Rita Hall, Villanova. He was Director of Novices and Professed at Villanova from 1918 to 1922. In 1920 he earned an S.T.L. Degree. Father Kehoe was assigned in 1922 to teach Theology at Augustinian College, Washington, D.C., and continued in this work until 1936. In addition to teaching, he served in a number of roles at various times: Director of Professed Students in Washington, Province Regent of Studies, Secretary of the Province, and Assistant Provincial. He earned an M.S.T. Degree in 1930.

Father Kehoe was transferred in 1936 to Saint Rita Parish, Chicago, Illinois, where he was pastor and prior of the Augustinian community. In 1937, he was named Vicar Provincial for the Midwest Augustinians. When the new Augustinian Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel was established in 1941, Father Kehoe served as Commissary Provincial until a Provincial was elected at the first Province Chapter in June of 1941. Father Kehoe continued as Pastor of Saint Rita Parish, Chicago, until the time of his death. During his pastorate, a much larger church building was constructed around the original church, which had become too small for the large congregation. During the construction, the older building continued to be used for daily and Sunday worship until the new church was almost complete. The original building was then dismantled.

For many years, Father Kehoe suffered from a painful blood disease. Worn out by this disease, he died on August 30, 1958 in Chicago.
Father Kehoe is remembered as a teacher of great ability who demanded accomplishments from his students. He was a serious man who understood human nature and recognized the potential existing in others. He is buried in the Augustinian plot at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Alsip, Illinois.

Joseph D. Keffer, O.S.A.

1920 – 2005 (February 6)

Joseph Donald Keffer, son of John Keffer and Estella Poist, was born on October 22, 1920, in McSherrystown, Pennsylvania, into a family of eight sons and one daughter. He was baptized and received his early education at Saint Mary's Parish in McSherrystown, graduating from the parish school in 1934. He then attended Central Catholic High School where he excelled in both basketball and football. From 1938 to 1941, he studied Business at Villanova College, and in 1941, became a post graduate postulant at Augustinian Academy on Staten Island, New York. He was received into the novitiate of Our Mother of Good Counsel, New Hamburg, New York, on September 9, 1942, and professed first vows on September 10, 1943. He then returned to Villanova, and in June 1944, graduated with a B.A. degree in Philosophy. He studied theology at Augustinian College and did graduate work in Education and Economics both at Villanova and at Catholic University in Washington, DC. Joseph professed solemn vows on September 10, 1946, and on June 10, 1947, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop John M. McNamara, in the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC.

In 1948, Father Keffer received his first assignment to St. Mary's Parish in Waterford, New York. That September, he became sub-master at Our Mother of Good Counsel Novitiate, where he remained until August 1952, when he joined the community at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, DC, and where, for the next ten years, he taught Religion and Latin, and served as Director of Athletics and Moderator of the School Band. For a period of time he was community treasurer. From July 1962 to August 1967, he was Master of Professed at Saint Mary's Hall, Villanova. In 1967, he was appointed Master of Brothers at Mother of Good Counsel Novitiate where he also served as prior and treasurer for three years.

Beginning in 1971, and for the next 34 years, Father Keffer served as associate pastor, pastor, prior and treasurer in various parishes of the Province: Saint Denis, Havertown, Saint Genevieve, Flourtown, and Saint Thomas of Villanova, all in Pennsylvania. In Massachusetts he was appointed pastor, prior and treasurer at Saint Augustine Parish, Andover, then at Saint Mary's, Waterford, Saint Joseph, Greenwich, and Saint Augustine, Troy, in New York.

Father Keffer was greatly devoted to the Eucharist and to Mary, and fostered devotional life wherever he was stationed. Toward the end of his life he battled cancer and heart problems, but continued to work in parochial ministry until his death.

Father Keffer died peacefully on February 6, 2005. A liturgy was celebrated on February 10, at Saint Augustine Church, Troy, N.Y. The following day, the Funeral Mass was celebrated at Saint Thomas of Villanova Church, Villanova, Pa. Interment was held at Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, PA.

Father Keffer is remembered as a religious of humility, patience, and deep spirituality, a gifted pastoral minister who always made time to visit people in the various parishes in which he served, a man of great compassion and concern. 

John V. Keegan, O.S.A.

1900 – 1988 (August 12)

John Vincent Keegan was born to Daniel Keegan and Katherine Glynn on August 15, 1900 in the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Baptized in Saint Laurence O'Toole Church, he attended the local grammar school and began his secondary education at Lawrence High School. In 1916 was accepted at Saint Rita Hall, Villanova. Upon completing his secondary education he was received in the Order on June 17, 1919. He made his novitiate and professed simple vows on June 19, 1920. Three years later he professed solemn vows. John graduated from Villanova College with an A.B. in philosophy in 1923, and began theological studies. He was ordained to the priesthood by Denis Cardinal Dougherty on August 19, 1926. While continuing his theological studies he received a master's degree in education from the Catholic University in Washington, DC.

Father Keegan was assigned in 1927 to teach English and History at Colegio San Agustin, Havana, Cuba, and later, in 1930 at the newly opened Cascia Hall Preparatory School in Tulsa, Oklahoma and at the Benedictine College of Monte Cassino. In 1935, he was appointed to the Augustinian Mission Band, with residence at Saint John the Baptist Parish, Schaghticoke, New York, and later at Saint Mary’s in Lawrence, Massachusetts. In June, 1940, he began preaching missions in California while resident at Our Mother of Good Counsel Church in Los Angeles. In 1947, he was assigned to Sacred Heart Church in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, where he was assistant chaplain at the Federal Penitentiary and worked with the Newman Club on the campus of Bucknell University.

In 1950, Father Keegan was assigned to Saint Rita Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Two years later he was transferred to Saint Augustine in Troy, New York, where he worked as assistant pastor and taught at Central Catholic High School. In 1954 he was appointed pastor of Saint John the Baptist in Schaghticoke, and later pastor and prior of Saint Augustine in Troy. In 1959 he returned as pastor and prior of Saint John in Schaghticoke where he remained until 1965, when he was appointed to Saint Mary's Church in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He served there as assistant pastor until 1979, at which time he retired to Our Mother of Good Counsel Monastery on the campus of Merrimack College, North Andover, Massachusetts, and where he died on August 12, 1988, following an extended illness.

Father Keegan was a very popular preacher and teacher. He had a great interest in sports and was an excellent basketball and football coach. While at Cascia Hall his team won the Catholic championship of Tulsa.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at the Collegiate Church of Christ the Teacher on the campus of Merrimack College, on August 15, 1988. Father Keegan is buried in the Augustinian plot at Saint Mary's Cemetery, Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Timothy F. Keating, O.S.A.

1911 – 1993 (May 30)

Timothy Francis Keating was born September 6, 1911, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, one of four sons and two daughters of John A. Keating and Margaret McGrath. He was baptized on September 12, 1911, at Saint Mary's Church, Lawrence, and attended Saint Mary's Parochial School. After graduating from Lawrence High School in 1929, he was accepted as a postgraduate postulant at Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, New York. In September 1930 he began his year as a novice at Our Mother of Good Counsel Novitiate, New Hamburg, N.Y. On September 12, 1931, he professed simple vows, and three years later, solemn vows. He graduated with a B.A. degree from Villanova in 1935 and began the study of theology at Augustinian College in Washington, D.C. During the summer months he took graduate courses in romance languages at nearby Catholic University. Timothy Keating was ordained to the priesthood in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on June 7, 1938. Following ordination Father Keating continued theology and graduate studies. He was granted a master's degree in French from Catholic University in 1939. Father Keating continued studies later while teaching, taking post-graduate courses in French at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and biology at Villanova University, Villanova, PA.

Father Keating's first assignment in 1939 was to Malvern Preparatory School, Malvern, PA, where for the next 24 years he taught a variety of subjects: French, Latin, religion, English, and biology. In 1953 he was transferred to Prendergast, later re-named Monsignor Bonner High School, in Drexel Hill, PA. He returned to Malvern where he remained until 1960 when he was assigned to Saint Thomas Monastery on the Villanova campus. For the next three years he taught in the theology department. 

In 1964 he was appointed associate pastor at Saint Paul's Church in Mechanicville, N.Y. In 1968 he was transferred to Saint Augustine's in Troy, N.Y. Later, he returned to Saint Paul's in Mechanicville as pastor and prior. In 1976 he was assigned as prior and pastor of the Church of the Resurrection of Our Lord in Dania, Florida, where he remained until 1978 when he was transferred to Our Mother of Good Counsel Monastery on the campus of Merrimack College, North Andover, MA. There he engaged in a variety of ministries in the greater Merrimack Valley. In 1980, Father Keating, with his background in romance languages, offered to go the Augustinian Mission in Peru, South America, however his age and health made this impossible. In June of 1988 he celebrated his golden jubilee as a priest.

Father Keating died on May 30, 1993. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on June 3 at the Collegiate Church of Christ the Teacher on the campus of Merrimack College, North Andover, MA. The following day interment took place in the Augustinian plot of Saint Mary's Cemetery, Lawrence, MA.

Patrick J. Keane, O.S.A.

1926 – 2011 (December 11)

Patrick J. Keane was born in San Diego, California on March 14, 1926 to Patrick Keane, a native of Ireland, and Leona Karrels. He had two sisters: Rita Wyckoff and Sister Helen Keane SCL. He professed vows in the Order on September 10, 1946, and graduated from Villanova College in 1949. He obtained a Masters Degree in mathematics from the Catholic University, Washington, D.C., and was ordained to the priesthood on May 31, 1952. 

In 1953, Father Keane was missioned as a teacher at St. Augustine High School, San Diego. In 1962 he became principal of the school and served there until he was elected prior provincial of the California province in 1975. Whenever he led, he always did so by example. While provincial he participated in marches with Cesar Chavez in support of the United Farm Workers.
In 1983, after serving two terms as provincial, he was assigned to St. Mary’s High School in Medford, Oregon. While there only a few weeks, he was called to Rome to be Assistant General of the Order. During much of this time, he was also on the formation team for the Augustinian novitiate in Racine, Wisconsin. In 1989 he became the pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas parish in Ojai, California, and from 2005 to 2009 he served that parish as pastor emeritus. In 2009 he returned to the place where he started — the St. Augustine’s community in San Diego. 

Circumstances led Father Keane to spend much of his life with illness. In 1954, while still a young priest, he was on vacation in Mexico when he became paralyzed and was soon in a Texas hospital in the grip of polio. For the remainder of his life he suffered the effects of the debilitating disease. With all his pain, his difficulty in sitting, standing and walking, he never complained, and accepted his cross with grace.

Father Keane was a leader who was not known for making quick decisions. But when decisions needed to be made, he seemed always to make the right ones, and never doing so before turning it over to prayer. Outwardly, he never seemed to let too many things bother him. When he was principal of St. Augustine, he would often end a challenging day by inviting others to join him at the beach. He was a pied-piper who never chose to be one. He simply did God’s will and people followed him. He loved being an Augustinian and his students, parishioners and other friars enjoyed the warmth of his gentility, sense of humor, and his displayed interiority. 
Father Keane died on December 11, 2011 at St. Augustine Monastery in San Diego after long bouts of pulmonary and post- polio complications. Following a wake on Tuesday, December 13th at Saint Augustine High School Chapel, his funeral Mass was celebrated at Saint Patrick's Church, San Diego, on Wednesday, December 14, 2011.
 

Denis J. Kavanagh, O.S.A.

1886 – 1966 (May 2)

Denis Joseph Kavanagh, son of Thomas Kavanagh and Mary Walsh, was born in Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland, on August 21, 1886. In September 1904 he began four years of study at Villanova Preparatory, Villanova, PA after which he entered the novitiate. He was professed on July 7, 1909 and received his A.B. degree from Villanova College on June 13, 1912. On the 12th of the following month he made his solemn profession, and on September 17, 1912, he went to Rome to continue his studies at the International Augustinian College of Saint Monica. Due to the volatile international scene, he returned as a deacon on June 9, 1915 to Villanova, where he was ordained to the priesthood on July 1, in Saint Thomas' Church by Bishop John J. McCort, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia. 

From 1915 to 1932, Father Kavanagh taught at Villanova, and held various important posts in the Province. It was in 1925 that he was appointed Regent in Theology and on December 15, 1930 he was awarded the degree of Master of Sacred Theology in the Order. In October 1932, he was assigned to Our Mother of Good Counsel parish in Hollywood, California. Father Kavanagh was appointed prior of Augustinian College in Washington in 1935 and spent the next six years teaching Canon Law and Moral Theology. In 1941 and again in 1944, he was prior at the Novitiate of Our Mother of Good Counsel in New Hamburg. He was appointed prior at Malvern Preparatory School in 1947 and returned as prior in Augustinian College in Washington in 1950. Six years later, Father Kavanagh was appointed prior at the University of San Tomas de Villanueva in Cuba. On July 17, 1959 he was assigned to Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Parish in the Bronx, NY. 

In 1937, Father Kavanagh wrote The Augustinian Order, a brief historical sketch of the Order, which he revised in 1965 shortly before his death. He also wrote "St. Augustine and Education" in 1937, and in 1943 translated Saint Augustine's Contra Academicos and his Sermon on the Mount for a patristic series being published in this country. Father Kavanagh returned to Villanova on November 18, 1964 in ill health. He died in Bryn Mawr Hospital on May 2, 1966 at the age of 70. He is buried in the Community Cemetery at Villanova. 

Paul M. Judson, O.S.A.

1897 – 1967 (December 9)

Paul Mary Judson was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on August 17, 1897, one of four sons of Leo Judson and Grace Cunningham. He received his primary education in Norfolk, and his secondary education at Villanova Preparatory School from 1912 to 1916. He was received into the novitiate at Villanova on June 23, 1916, and made his profession of vows on June 24, 1917. In June, 1920, he received an A.B. degree from Villanova, and pursued theological studies. He was ordained to the priesthood by Michael J. Crane, Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia at Saint Thomas of Villanova Church, on September 22, 1923. He completed his Master's degree work in history in June, 1924, and received his degree from Catholic University.

Father Judson was assigned to Saint Mary's Hall, Villanova, as sub-master of professed clerics from 1924 to 1931, except for a year's assignment to the parish of Saint Thomas of Villanova, Rosemont, Pa., in 1925, because of poor health. In 1931 he was appointed master of clerics at Augustinian College, Washington, D.C., and the following year returned to Saint Mary's Hall as Master of Clerics and remained in that position until 1936. From 1936 to 1947 he was Master of Novices at Good Counsel Novitiate, new Hamburg, New York, and served also as sub-prior from 1941 to 1947. He was elected prior at the novitiate in June 1947 and served two terms in that office until June 1953.

In June 1953 he was appointed prior and procurator at the parish of Saint Rita of Cascia in Philadelphia, and served there until appointed prior and pastor of the Church of Saint Augustine, Lawrence, Massachusetts. Father Judson remained at Saint Augustine's until June, 1962, when he was appointed prior and pastor of Saint Mary's Church, Lawrence.

At the Provincial Chapter of 1965, he was elected first definitor, and attached to the new Saint Mary's Collegiate Seminary, Villanova. On December 10, 1966, he was assigned "in residence" to Saint Denis Church, Havertown, Pa., where he assisted in the work of the parish when not engaged in preaching parish missions or giving spiritual retreats and conferences to Sisters and other religious groups. It was during this year that Father Judson, under the direction of the prior provincial, laid out and planned the new Saint Mary's Hall Cemetery for the friars.

Father Judson died on Saturday morning, December 9, 1967, while attending a meeting of the Augustinian Seminary Renewal Committee at Saint Mary's Hall, Villanova, and had just finished addressing the members of the Committee when he collapsed in his chair. The prior provincial administered the sacraments to him and the assembled friars joined in the recitation of the prayers for the dying. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Bryn Mawr Hospital, the victim of a heart attack.

Father Judson's funeral Mass was celebrated for the Saint Denis parish community on December 12, and the following day with his brother Augustinians and family and friends at Saint Mary's Hall Chapel, with Prior Provincial, James Sherman, O.S.A. as principal celebrant, and his classmate and good friend, Father Henry Caffrey, O.S.A., as homilist.

Father Judson was buried in the community cemetery adjoining Saint Mary’s Hall, Villanova, until all the graves were eventually removed to the Augustinian plot at Calvary Cemetery in West Conshohocken, PA.

William A. Jones, O.S.A.

1865 – 1921 (February 17)

William Ambrose Jones was born in Cambridge, New York on July 21, 1865, and was baptized there in St. Patrick’s Church by Father Ambrose Mullen, O.S.A. on August 14, 1865. He completed his elementary and secondary studies in local schools, arriving at Villanova in 1883. He was received into the novitiate there on February 5, 1886, and made his first profession of vows on February 6, 1887. He did his philosophical and theological studies at Villanova and was ordained to the priesthood on March 5, 1890, by Archbishop Patrick Ryan in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. 

As a young priest, Father Jones served first at Saint Augustine's in Philadelphia, Pa., and, in January 1896, was transferred to Villanova to be submaster of novices. Seven months later he was elected subprior of the monastery and novice master, and taught Latin and mathematics at the college as well. In 1896 he published the first American edition of the very popular Augustinian Mission Manual. At the Provincial Chapter of 1898 he was elected first definitor.

On January 25, 1899, he set out with Brother George Woolsey, O.S.A. for Cuba to settle arrangements with the local bishop of Havana for a mission of the Province in that country. They were given charge of the Capilla de San Agustin and, in 1901, the Province opened a day academy for boys with Father Jones as rector and president. In 1903 this capilla was exchanged for the Church of El Cristo.

Pope Pius X named Father Jones bishop of Puerto Rico in September 1906.  He was ordained by the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Joseph Aversa, in Havana, on February 24, 1907 in the Augustinian Church of El Cristo. Ten days later he was installed as bishop of the oldest diocese in the New World, and labored there for the next fourteen years.

Afflicted repeatedly with yellow fever, he returned north where he was admitted to Greylock Rest in North Adams, Massachusetts, in September 1917. After a few months he returned to San Juan, but remained in delicate condition. Finally, he entered Saint Joseph's Hospital, Philadelphia, on September 4, 1920 with a serious liver condition. He died there on February 17, 1921 at the age of 56. 

His funeral took place on February 23 in the Church of Saint Thomas of Villanova, which Bishop Jones himself had consecrated in 1907. Archbishop Giovanni Bonzano, Apostolic Delegate to the United States celebrated the Solemn Pontifical Mass with several other bishops in attendance. Father John Nugent, O.S.A., preached the eulogy, after which internment took place the Community Cemetery at Villanova. 

At the request of Bishop Jones’ successor in San Juan, Cardinal Luis Aponte, Bishop Jones’ body was exhumed and returned to Puerto Rico on October 22, 1977, where it was reinterred in the newly renovated cathedral of the diocese. Present at the ceremony were Prior General, Theodore Tack, and John Cardinal Krol, Archbishop of Philadelphia.

Thomas G. Johnston, O.S.A.

1953 – 1988 (January 26)

Thomas Gerard Johnston was born on December 31, 1953, in Detroit, Michigan, to George Johnston and Catherine O'Malley. He had one sister and three brothers. Baptized in Saints Cyril and Methodius Church, he attended Sacred Heart Grammar School in Detroit. The family moved to Pennsylvania, where Thomas finished grammar school at Saint Lawrence Parish, Upper Darby, PA, graduating in 1968. He attended Monsignor Bonner High School, Drexel Hill, PA, and graduated in 1972. Following graduation, he entered the pre-novitiate program while attending Villanova University from which he graduated with a B.A. in fine arts in 1977. He did graduate work in fine arts and liturgical music at Saint Joseph College, Rensselear, IN, and Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, from which he received a M.A. in fine arts in 1982. He entered Our Mother of Good Counsel Novitiate, New Hamburg, NY, where he professed simple vows on August 28, 1976, in Saint Thomas of Villanova Church, Villanova.

Brother Thomas' first assignment in 1977 was to Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Parish, the Bronx, NY, where for three years he taught English and art in the high school as well as lending his talents in liturgical music to the parish church. In 1981, he was transferred to Mount Augustine Retreat House, Staten Island, NY. From 1982 to 1985 he taught fine arts at Villanova University, as a member of the Saint Denis community, Havertown, and later Saint Thomas Monastery, Villanova. He was active in campus ministry at the university and in liturgical music in area parishes. In 1986 he was diagnosed as suffering from a terminal illness. At the time of his death on January 26, 1988, he was assigned to Saint Denis Parish, Havertown, PA.

Brother Thomas' artistic creations were recognized both locally and abroad and his designs were exhibited in the area. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on January 29, 1988, by Prior Provincial, Joseph A. Duffey, O.S.A., at Saint Thomas of Villanova Church. Homilist for the Mass was Donald Reilly, O.S.A. Brother Thomas is buried in the Augustinian plot at Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, PA.

Edward F. Jenkins, O.S.A.

1906 – 1991 (July 12)

Edward Felix Jenkins was born August 17, 1906 in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Benjamin Wheeler Jenkins and Jane Marie Clarke. He was baptized on September 4, 1906 in the Old Cathedral there. His immediate family consisted of two brothers and a sister, however, the Jenkins were a large Catholic family, whose roots were in Saint Mary's, Charles and Baltimore counties from Colonial days. In 1909, his family moved to Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, where Edward attended the Wilkes Barre Academy and Coughlan High School, from which he graduated in 1923. He attended Villanova College, Villanova, PA, from which he received an A.B. degree in 1927 with a major in Latin and the Humanities and with a minor in Biology and Chemistry. In September, 1927, he entered the novitiate and professed simple vows on September 9, 1928. On September 9, 1931, he pronounced solemn vows. Edward studied theology at Augustinian College in Washington, D.C., and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Shahan in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on June 9, 1931. Following ordination, he began full-time graduate studies in chemistry at the Catholic University in Washington. 

During the summer of 1931, he was appointed submaster of professed students at Saint Rita's Cottage, Sea Isle City, New Jersey. In the summer of 1933, he was assistant at Saint Rita's Church in Chicago, Illinois. In 1935, Father Jenkins was assigned to Villanova College as a part-time instructor in chemistry while he continued his graduate studies. In 1939, he received his doctorate in chemistry with minors in biology-physics and mathematics. Until 1961 Father Jenkins taught a variety of subjects in the science department of Villanova University.

Father Jenkins remarked that he obtained his graduate degree because Villanova needed a chemistry instructor, but his real interest was astronomy. During the summer of 1951, while assisting at the Colegio San Agustin in Havana, Cuba, he observed from the roof of the residence the star Venus and decided to build a telescope. With the help of a friend at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, he learned how to grind lenses and build a telescope, which was mounted in an observatory on the top floor of the present Tolentine Hall. In 1957, Villanova decided to erect a new science building, and Father Jenkins prevailed upon the University to include an observatory and planetarium, In 1961, a degree program was offered in astronomy under his direction. He served as chairman of the department until 1974, when he reached the age of retirement, but he continued to work in the department until shortly before his death.

Father Jenkins was a member of the Saint Thomas Monastery community for thirty-five years, and as the campus of the University changed over the years, his familiar figure was most welcome to the alumni returning for various reunions. He retained a keen mind and possessed a phenomenal memory. There were very few topics which he could not discuss. He died peacefully, on July 12, 1991, one day after a total eclipse of the sun.

A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated on Tuesday, July 16, at Saint Mary's Hall Chapel. The celebrant was the Prior Provincial, John Hagen, O.S.A., assisted by Father Devereau, S.J., a cousin of Father Jenkins. Father John Farrell, O.S.A., was the homilist. Father Jenkins is buried in the Augustinian Plot of Calvary Cemetery in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

Patrick Jarrett, O.S.A.

1853 – 1927 (April 27)

Patrick Jarrett, son of Thomas Jarrett and Bridget Walsh, was born in Kilcommon, County Mayo, Ireland, on March 4, 1853. He was vested as a lay-brother at Villanova, Pennsylvania, on August 6, 1891, and made his profession of vows on August 17, 1897. He was solemnly professed in 1902.
For many years he was stationed at Villanova where he had charge of the gardens, lawns, and the greenhouse, and was known as a man of prayer and sincere piety.

Brother Patrick died at Villanova on April 27, 1927 at the age of 74. He is buried in the Community Cemetery at Villanova.