Edward B. McKee, O.S.A.

1905 – 1974 (January 2)

Edward Bernard McKee, son of George McKee and Sarah McCloskey, was born in Philadelphia, PA, on August 25, 1905. He began his education at Saint Rita Parish School, South Philadelphia, followed by one year at Roman Catholic High School, and three years at Villanova Preparatory Scholasticate. Received as a novice on June 25, 1924, he professed simple vows on June 26, 1925 and solemn vows on June 26, 1928. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Villanova College in 1928, and began theological training at Villanova and completed it at Augustinian College, Washington, DC. He was ordained to the priesthood in Washington on June 9, 1931. He obtained an MA degree in religious education from the Catholic University, and fulfilled most of the requirements for his doctorate there.

Father McKee's first assignment was as an instructor in religion at Villanova College, where he remained for the first 25 years of his ministry. He was a prefect in the residence halls all those years, was chairman of the Department of Religious Studies, moderator of The Villanovan and director of the Catholic Press Apostolate. He organized intramural sports on campus from 1932 to 1944, and was moderator of varsity sports from 1944 to 1956, He was named vice president and dean of men in 1944, and assistant to the president in 1956. After a brief period as prior of the Villanova Monastery, Father McKee was appointed in 1957, prior and pastor of Old Saint Augustine's Parish, Philadelphia, where he remained until 1971. During this period he undertook a remodeling of this historic structure.

While he considered his most important work at Villanova that of teaching religion, he maintained a full athletic program in all its phases. As moderator of varsity sports he traveled the country many times with students and influenced many newspapermen in the sports world. A kindly, warmhearted, understanding priest, he was tough when he had to be, strong on discipline but always fair. With his friendly, Irish smile he evinced a personal interest in the students which was returned a hundredfold. Later, as pastor of Old Saint Augustine's in the shadow of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge he was called upon to dissuade a number of would-be suicides. In 1970, at the age of 65, he was pictured atop the bridge dissuading someone from his plans.

Plagued by failing health, Father McKee returned to the Villanova Monastery in 1971, and finally was cared for by the Sisters at the Villa of Divine Providence, Lansdale, PA, where he died on January 2, 1974. Father McKee is buried in the Augustinian plot at Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, PA.

Henry J. McIntyre, O.S.A.

1919 – 1988 (May 28)

Henry James McIntyre was born on September 14, 1919 in Philadelphia, PA, one of four sons and two daughters of William McIntyre and Marie Keightley. His early education took place at the H.A. Brown Public School and the parish school of Saint Anne from which he graduated in June 1934. After one year at Northeast Catholic High School in Philadelphia, in 1935 he entered Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, New York, from which he graduated in 1939. He entered the novitiate at New Hamburg, N.Y. and professed simple vows on September 10, 1940, and solemn vows three years later on the same day in 1943. He graduated from Villanova University in 1944 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and pursued theological studies at Augustinian College, Washington D.C., where he was ordained to the priesthood on June 10, 1947. While studying theology Father obtained in 1948 a Master of Arts degree in Latin with a minor in Greek from the Catholic University of America.

Father McIntyre's first assignment was to Malvern Preparatory School, Malvern, PA, in 1948, where he taught Latin and English. In 1950 he was transferred to Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, where for three years he taught Latin and Greek. In 1954 he was assigned to Our Mother of Good Counsel Novitiate, New Hamburg, NY, where, for one year he was sub-master of novices. From 1955 to 1961 he was parochial assistant at Saint James the Minor Parish, Carthage, N.Y., and, in 1961, was transferred to Merrimack College, North Andover, MA. That same year Father McIntyre, transferred to the Province of Saint Joseph in Canada and taught at Saint Augustine in Nova Scotia. In 1963 he pursued further studies in France and was assigned in 1964 to Saint Mary's Church, Waterford, NY. For the next 14 years Father, on leave from the Province, assisted in various parishes with the diocese of Saint Petersburg, FL, returning in 1979 to become associate pastor of Saint James the Minor in Carthage and later in that year to Saint Augustine, Casselberry, FL, where he worked as chaplain in Orange Park, FL. With his health failing due to terminal cancer, he took up residence at Saint Thomas Monastery, Villanova University in 1987, where he died on May 28, 1988.

Father McIntyre was a very precise and unassuming person, and a lover of tradition and music. He is buried in the Augustinian plot of Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, PA.
 

Clement C. McHale, O.S.A.

1901 – 1973 (March 4)

Clement Charles McHale was born on April 12, 1901, in Atlantic City, New Jersey to Patrick McHale and Judith Kelly. He was baptized on April 28, 1901 at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church, Atlantic City, and received the Sacrament of Confirmation on November 17, 1912 at Saint Mary of the Assumption Church, Pittston, Pennsylvania. Following elementary education at Saint Mary Parochial School, Pittston, Clement studied for one year at Pittston High School.  He then completed his secondary education at the Augustinian Preparatory Scholasticate, Villanova, Pennsylvania. On June 27, 1919, Clement was received into the novitiate, professed simple vows on June 29, 1920, and solemn vows on June 29, 1923. He earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Villanova College, Villanova, in 1923, and pursued theological studies at Villanova. He was ordained to the priesthood on August 29, 1926 at Villanova. He did additional studies at a number of schools: Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C.; University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma; and University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.

From 1927 to 1935, Father McHale taught at Cascia Hall, Tulsa. He then taught at Saint Rita High School, Chicago, from 1935 to 1937, and as assistant pastor of Saint Rita Parish, Chicago, from 1937 to 1942. Father McHale became a Chaplain in the United States Navy in 1942, and served during World War II in the Pacific theater, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
After discharge from the service, he was named pastor of Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Rockford, Illinois, from 1945 to 1947. He then served from 1947 to 1950 as assistant pastor of Saint Matthew Parish, Flint, Michigan.

In 1950, Father McHale was elected the third Prior Provincial of the Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel, and was elected to a second term in 1953. During his ministry as provincial, the province opened Mendel Catholic High School, Chicago, in 1951 and Austin Catholic High School, Detroit, in 1952. The province also co-sponsored the opening of the Catholic mission in Nagasaki, Japan with the Province of Villanova in 1952.

Upon completion of his provincialate in 1956, Father McHale was assigned to Saint Rita Parish, Chicago. He served as prior until 1958 and then as pastor until 1968.  After this, he was assigned to Saint Augustine Parish, Detroit, in 1968, as prior of the Augustinian community until the time of his death on March 4, 1973.

Father McHale is buried in the Augustinian plot at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Alsip, Illinois.

William A. McGuire, O.S.A.

1939 – 2012 (January 17)

William Anthony McGuire was born on January 2, 1939, in Washington, D.C., the son of William A. McGuire and Grace E. Young. He was baptized on February 19, 1939, at Saint Martin Catholic Church, Washington, and attended Saint Gabriel's Parish School and Archbishop Carroll High School in that city. In 1956 he became a postulant at Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, New York, and was received into the Order as a novice on September 9, 1957 at Good Counsel Novitiate, New Hamburg, New York. He professed simple vows on September 10, 1958, and then attended Villanova University, which he received a BA in Philosophy in 1962. He continued his theological education at Augustinian College, Washington, D.C., where he obtained an MA degree. He professed solemn vows on September 10, 1961, and was ordained to the priesthood on October 29, 1965, at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., by Bishop James McDonald.

Father McGuire was assigned to Saint Joseph Friary and Msgr. Bonner High School, Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania in 1966, where he taught, and served at various times as the school's business manager, academic counselor and athletic director. In 1979, he was assigned to Villanova University, where he served as Assistant Dean of Admissions, from 1979 to 1982, Assistant Dean of Liberal Arts from 1982 to 1987, Assistant Athletic Director, 1987 to 1989, Dean of Enrollment Management from 1989 to 1998, and Senior Vice President for Administration, 1998 to 2006. During these years, he was a member of the community of at St. Thomas of Villanova Monastery on campus from 1979 to 1997. In 1997 he joined the community of Saxony Hall, and in 2004, the community at Saint John Stone Friary. He was then a member of Villanova’s Bellesini Friary from 2005 to 2008, and then returned to Saxony Hall until 2009.

Father McGuire retired from the university in 2006 and was appointed treasurer of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova in 2007. He resigned as treasurer of the Province in October, 2009, because of failing health. Father Bill McGuire served on many Boards of Trustees of our high schools and colleges, and was a member of National Associations for Higher Education. He spent his entire religious and priestly life in the province's education apostolates, devotedly serving young people, encouraging them to achieve their goals. He was known for his ready smile, friendly manner and sense of humor. He lived his life in the spirit of St. Augustine, the teacher, counselor and administrator.  

Father McGuire died on January 17, 2012. Father Mickey Genovese, O.S.A., Prior Provincial, celebrated the Funeral Mass at Villanova on Monday, January 23, 2012. Father Robert Hagen, O.S.A. preached the homily. Burial took place the following day in the Augustinian plot of Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, PA.

John P. McGuire, O.S.A.

1891 – 1957 (May 30)

John P. McGuire, son of William McGuire and Margaret Hutchenhausen, was born in Philadelphia, PA on March 18, 1891. He attended St. Columba Elementary School and Roman Catholic High School and then entered the novitiate at Villanova, PA on June 20, 1912, and was professed the following year. Following philosophical and theological studies, he was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Denis Dougherty in the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Chapel on June 8, 1919.

Father McGuire was assigned, following ordination, as a teacher in the Colegio San Agustin in Havana, Cuba. In 1922, he served as Vice-President of Villanova College. In 1926, he was appointed assistant pastor at Saint Augustine's Parish in Andover, Massachusetts. The following year he was transferred to Villanova Prep in Ojai, California, where he remained until 1938. He then returned to parochial ministry at Saint Nicholas in Atlantic City, New Jersey until 1945. Because of poor health he was sent to the Villanova monastery, but returned to teach in Ojai, California from 1947 to January, 1957, when he once again was assigned to the Villanova monastery, Villanova, Pa.
Father McGuire died suddenly at the monastery at Villanova of a cerebral hemorrhage on Ascension Thursday, May 20, 1957 at the age of 66. A Requiem Mass was celebrated by Fr. John O’Leary, O.S.A. on Tuesday, June 4, 1957. Father John Fagan, O.S.A. preached, after which Father McGuire was buried in Villanova’s Community Cemetery, with Prior Provincial Henry Greenlee, O.S.A. presiding. 
 

Francis X. McGuire, O.S.A.

1909 – 2003 (May 9)

Francis Xavier Nicholas McGuire, son of Francis McGuire and Bridget Foley, was born in the Bronx, New York, on November 21, 1909, and on December 5th he was baptized in St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church there. He began his early education at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Parochial School, St. Ann Academy, and Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, New York, where he was admitted as a postulant. He began his novitiate at New Hamburg, New York, on September 8, 1927, professed first vows a year later, and received solemn profession on September 9, 1931. In 1932, after graduating from Villanova College with a BA degree, he studied theology at the Gregorian University in Rome, was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on July 21, 1935, and earned his Doctorate of Divinity in 1939. 

Father McGuire's first assignment was assisting at St. James Parish in Carthage, New York. In September 1939, he began teaching theology at Villanova College, and served as prefect of studies until 1941. During the Provincial Chapter of 1941, Father McGuire was appointed Vice President of Villanova College and three years later, at age 34, became Villanova's 24th president. While President of Villanova from 1944 to 1954, Father McGuire oversaw the transformation of Villanova College from a small liberal arts college to an expanded institution of higher education, culminating in Villanova's elevation to University status in 1953. During his tenure, new buildings were erected on campus to accommodate increasing enrollment: namely, Falvey Library, Barry Hall, Dougherty Hall, the Chemical Engineering Building, the Commerce and Finance Building and Mendel Hall. The College of Nursing, Villanova Law School, and part-time studies program were established during his presidency. Between 1945 and 1954, the year he retired from the office, he had received honorary Doctor of Law degrees from LaSalle College, and Saint Joseph University, both of Philadelphia, Pa., and Doctor of Humane Letters from Long Island University in N. Y. From 1954 to 1959, he directed Villanova's Development Foundation. He was also professor of philosophy and religious studies, and served on the Boards of Trustees at Villanova University and Rosemont College. He was elected Counselor to the Provincial from 1950 to 1956. He served on the Joint State Government Commission of Pennsylvania, and held an executive position of the Association of Naval Reserve Officer Training Colleges and Universities.

After Father McGuire left Villanova he ministered in several Augustinian parishes. Parishioners remember him for his keen mind, charm and quick wit, all interwoven with a deep spirituality. His magnetic personality developed from both his reputation as a spiritual leader and educator and the fact that, when he spoke, people listened. They marveled at his insight, wisdom and humorous anecdotes.

Father McGuire taught at Merrimack College, in North Andover, Massachusetts, before continuing parochial ministry in Andover and Lawrence, Massachusetts, Jamaica, the Bronx, and Staten Island, New York. His last active assignment was prior of Mount Augustine Retreat House, on the site of the former Augustinian Academy, Staten Island. 

In 1996, when his health began to fail, Father McGuire returned to St. Thomas Monastery, at Villanova. He remained in the Health Care Unit at there until January, 2003, when he moved to Sacred Heart Manor in Philadelphia. Father McGuire died at the age of 93 on May 9, 2003. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Thomas of Villanova Campus church. His body was interred at the Augustinian Cemetery on Villanova's campus, on Thursday, May 15. 

Robert E. McGrath, O.S.A.

1910 – 1973 (February 13)

Robert E. McGrath was born in Oxnard, California on June 24, 1910. His family was prominent in ranching and his uncle was among those instrumental in the foundation of Villanova Preparatory School in Ojai, CA. Father McGrath claimed to have been the second student enrolled in that institution from which he graduated in 1928. He was the first student from the school to be enrolled in the Augustinian Novitiate in New Hamburg, N.Y., and the first to be ordained to the priesthood. He graduated from Villanova College in 1933 and completed his theological studies at Augustinian College in Washington, DC. He was ordained in Los Angeles on June 6, 1936.

Father McGrath’s first assignment was to the Mission Band with the Villanova Monastery, Villanova, as his home base. From 1943 until 1945 he taught theology at Villanova. At the end of World War II, he was given his long-promised obedience as associate pastor of Our Mother of Good Counsel Church in Hollywood. In 1951 he was assigned to his alma mater in Ojai and remained there until 1964, serving in many business roles as well as teaching American history, speech, civics, religion, and typing.

He was then re-assigned to Our Mother of Good Counsel Church until 1968 when ill health forced him to resign as prior of the community and curtail his activities. He was then assigned to Casa Adolfo Camarillo serving as the first resident prior of that formation community. He oversaw the beautification of the Camarillo Ranch House which had been proclaimed a State Historic Landmark. Father McGrath died on February 13,  1973 while working at his desk. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, San Diego, CA.
Father McGrath once wrote the following words concerning his high school alma mater, but which apply much more widely, and which reveal a good deal about the author, as well.

“In the life of everyone there are several great loves, such as the love of God, the love of father and mother, the love of country. Then there is the love that one has for his own school, his alma mater, or foster mother. Like all love it does not come suddenly — it comes only with the maturity of years, when the restlessness, of youth has been tempered by the experience of years. Only then, can we look back and truly estimate the value of the lessons taught and the helpful hands that lifted us along the way. Only then, can we recall with love and benediction the memory of those who, under God, helped to form in its sons and daughters the ideals that embody the true follower of Christ and the Christian gentlemen, and lady. May we always prove by our daily lives that we are worth so noble a heritage…”
 

Christopher C. McGrath, O.S.A.

1885 – 1966 (July 1)

Christopher Columbus McGrath was born on December 14, 1885 in Spring Valley, Illinois to Thomas McGrath and Anne Christopher. He was baptized on December 18, 1885 at St. Mary’s Church, Peru, IL., and was educated at St. Elizabeth School, St. Gabriel School, and Association Institute, all in Chicago. He then worked in a foundry and as a manual training instructor at the Armour Institute. At the age of 27, he was received into the novitiate on June 19, 1913. He professed simple vows in the Order on June 19, 1914 and solemn vows on June 24, 1917. He earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Villanova College, Villanova, Pennsylvania, in 1917, and then pursued theological studies at Villanova. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 29, 1920.
 
Father McGrath’s first assignment after ordination was in 1921 to San Agustin, Havana, Cuba. In 1923, he was transferred to St. Nicholas of Tolentine Parish, Jamaica, New York. He then ministered from 1925 to 1929 at St. Paul Parish, Mechanicville, New York, and at St. Laurence Parish, Lawrence, Massachusetts, from 1929 to 1930. Father McGrath served on the Augustinian Mission Band from 1930 to 1939, in which latter year he was named Pastor of St. Mary Parish, Rockford, Illinois. He also was prior of the Augustinian community there.
 
From 1948 to 1956, Father McGrath was prior at St. Augustine Seminary, Holland, Michigan. He was then named prior at St. Monica Novitiate, Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, in 1956. Because of declining health, he retired in 1962 to St. Nicholas of Tolentine Monastery, Olympia Fields, IL. 
Father McGrath suffered a fatal heart attack during the night of July 1, 1966. He is buried in the Augustinian plot at Holy Sepulchre Cementery, Alsip, Illinois.

Thomas A. McGowan, O.S.A.

1914 – 1998 (July 26)

Thomas Augustine McGowan was born August 11, 1914 in Mechanicville, New York, one of three sons and one daughter of James McGowan and Margaret Feeney. He was baptized August 23, 1914 at St. Paul Catholic Church, Mechanicville. Thomas received his elementary education at Public School 3, Mechanicville and Mechanicville High School, and worked for a time as an electrician. In 1937 he studied Latin as a postgraduate postulant at Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, N.Y. He was received into the novitiate on September 9, 1938, and professed simple vows on September 10, 1939, and solemn vows on September 10, 1942. Villanova College awarded him a B. A. in Philosophy in 1942. He pursued theological studies from 1942 to 1946 at Augustinian College, Washington, D.C., and was ordained to the priesthood on May 22, 1945 in Washington.

Upon completion of his studies at Augustinian College in 1946, Father McGowan was assigned to teach at Saint Rita High School, Chicago. He was appointed associate pastor at Saint Clare of Montefalco Parish, Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, in 1951. In 1962 he was assigned to teach at Austin Catholic High School, Detroit. During this time he also served as sub-prior of the local Augustinian community. 

Father McGowan was appointed associate pastor of Saint Matthew Parish, Flint, Michigan, in 1963, and served there until 1967. In that year, he was transferred to Augustinian Academy, St. Louis, Missouri, where he was teacher, disciplinarian and Assistant Business Manager of the school. He returned to Saint Rita High School, Chicago, in 1968, serving as teacher until 1971. He was Alumni Director at St. Rita High School from 1971 to 1973. In 1973, Father McGowan moved back to Saint Augustine Parish, Detroit, as associate pastor and prior of the community there from 1982 to 1989.

Father McGowan retired in 1989, residing first at Saint Clare of Montefalco Parish, Grosse Pointe Park, until 1993, and then at Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Monastery, Olympia Fields, Illinois, until his deteriorating health caused him to enter Mercy Health Care and Rehabilitation Center, Chicago Heights, Illinois.

He died July 26, 1998 after suffering a heart attack. He is buried at Saint John Cemetery, Schaghticoke, New York.
 

James F. McGowan, O.S.A.

1860 – 1935 (December 16)

James Francis McGowan was born in Cleveland, New York on February 17, 1860, to Michael McGowan and Mary Hyland. He entered the novitiate at Villanova, Pennsylvania on February 2, 1882, and made his simple profession of vows on February 2, 1883. After spending a year at Villanova College, he was sent to Italy in September, 1884, to complete his studies. He was solemnly professed at the Collegio Santa Monica, Rome, on February 25, 1886, and was ordained to the priesthood there on Easter Saturday, April 9, 1887.
 
After returning to the United States in September, 1887, Father McGowan was assigned to Saint Mary's Parish, Lawrence, Massachusetts. In October, 1889 he was transferred to Immaculate Conception Parish, Hoosick Falls, and in May, 1890, to Saint James Parish, Carthage. In August, 1891, he was appointed to Saint Mary’s Parish, Waterford, New York. 
 
From October, 1894 to November, 1903, he was Director of the Good Counsel Magazine, and a member of the Villanova Monastery community. In 1903, he was appointed rector of Saint Augustine Parish, Andover, MA., and in January, 1907, became founding pastor of Saint Rita Parish, Philadelphia. His next assignment was at Greenwich, New York, where he served as rector for four years. 
 
Father McGowan returned to Villanova in 1918 because of ill health. He died at Saint Joseph Hospital on December 16, 1935 at the age of 75. His funeral was celebrated at the Villanova church on December 19, 1935, after which he was buried in the community cemetery at Villanova.

Francis X. McGowan, O.S.A.

1854 – 1903 (October 4)

Francis Xavier McGowan, the son of Andrew McGowan and Catherine Higgins, was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, on January 10, 1854. He entered Villanova College in 1869 and became a novice there on January 12, 1873. He made his simple profession of vows on January 25, 1874 and was solemnly professed on January 26, 1877. He was ordained to the priesthood at Villanova by Bishop Shanahan of Harrisburg on July 14, 1877.

Father McGowan taught English Literature at Villanova College, and in 1884 became subprior of the community there. In 1887 he was assigned to Saint Augustine Parish in Philadelphia, and in 1890 was transferred to Saint Augustine in Lansingburg, New York. He returned to Villanova in 1894, and then again to upstate New York at Immaculate Conception, Hoosick Falls. In 1902, he was once again appointed to Saint Augustine, Philadelphia.

Father McGowan was the author of the centenary "Sketch of Saint Augustine's", two books of sermons, a translation of "Catherine Emmerich", and was founder and editor of Holy Family Magazine. As director of the Province Mission Band for 8 years, he was regarded as one of the most outstanding preachers of his day.

Father McGowan died in Philadelphia on October 4, 1903 at the age of 49. He is buried in the Community Cemetery at Villanova.
 

Peter C. McGovern, O.S.A.

1850 – 1884 (April 16)

Peter Charles McGovern was born in Jeansville, North Carolina, in 1850, the son of Patrick McGovern and Mary Caffrey. He entered the novitiate at Villanova, Pennsylvania, on January 20, 1870, and made his first profession of vows on January 21, 1871. He was solemnly professed on January 25, 1874, and was ordained to the priesthood in Saint Augustine's Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Bishop Martin Crane, O.S.A. of Australia, on March 7, 1875.

After ordination, Father McGovern assisted at Villanova, at Saint Denis in Havertown, Pa, and at Immaculate Conception in Lawrence, Massachusetts. In July, 1880, he left Lawrence to become procurator at Villanova.
 Father McGovern died after several weeks of sickness from rheumatic fever, while serving at Saint Mary's on April 16, 1884. He was 34. At his Requiem Mass, Father Connolly, S.J. of Woodstock, Maryland, was the homilist.

Father McGovern is buried in Saint Mary's Cemetery in Lawrence.
 

Cornelius F. McGinty, O.S.A.

1894 – 1972 (August 8)

Cornelius Francis McGinty was born in Philadelphia on March 10, 1894, the son of Cornelius McGinty and Elizabeth Roberts. He entered the novitate in 1911, and made his first profession on June 22, 1912. In September, 1912 he was sent to Italy for studies and returned in June, 1915. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Philadelphia Cathedral on May 26, 1917, by Archbishop Edmond Prendergast. 

Father McGinty served as assistant pastor in the parishes of Saint Mary's, Lawrence, Massachusetts; Saint Thomas of Villanova, Rosemont, Pennsylvania; Saint Augustine's, Troy, New York; Holy Rosary, Lawrence; and Saint Augustine's in Detroit, Michigan.

After spending some years at Good Counsel Novitiate in New Hamburg, New York, he was assigned to Villanova in 1940. Here he served until his death at age 78 in 1972. Following his Funeral Mass at which Father Joseph Hyson preached, Father McGinty was buried in the community cemetery adjoining Saint Mary's Hall, Villanova, and was later removed to Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, PA.
 

James T. McGettigan, O.S.A.

1877 – 1957 (April 7)

James Thomas McGettigan, son of Thomas McGettigan and Mary Hagan, was born on January 13, 1887, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was baptized there on January 21, 1887, in the Church of the Immaculate Conception. As a teenager he was employed by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia and continued with that company for about forty years. He was fifty-five years of age when he applied for admission into the Brotherhood of the Order of St. Augustine.

Brother James' first step toward admission as an oblate for the lay brotherhood, was his assignment to Augustinian College in Washington, D.C., where he edified the community with his humility, prayer life, and dedication to his work. He entertained many of the professed with his great interest in professional baseball. On November 3, 1931, the Definitory voted to admit him as an oblate.  A year later he was transferred to Augustinian Academy on Staten Island, New York, where he completed his time of probation and was formally received in 1934.

On February 5, 1936, he began his novitiate at Augustinian Academy, professed first vows on February 6, 1937, and made solemn profession on February 6, 1940. Brother Jim served the community at Augustinian Academy for twenty-three years in the important work of building maintenance, and in particular, was the mechanic in charge of the heating plant. These years saw the conversion from oil to coal and back to oil again. During these many years, Brother Jim was an example of dedicated service not only to the friars of his community, but to the lay teachers and the students of the Academy.

Father Henry Caffrey, novice master, wrote of Jim, "Brother James is extremely thorough and painstaking in his work. He is absolutely honest and upright in his dealings with others. He is anxious to devote the remainder of his life to God as a religious of the Order of St. Augustine."

Fathers Robert Regan and Patrick Kenny, who were members of the Augustinian Academy community wrote the following commendation on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Brother James' death. "As the province negotiates the sale of the Mount Augustine property (1982) it is most fitting that the memory and deeds of those who served there so faithfully and so well be recalled. Brother Jim McGettigan was well loved and respected by all during his twenty-three years at Augustinian Academy. His dedication, talents, and warm and generous personality were an invaluable treasure to our community."

Brother Jim was 80 years old when he died at the Academy on April 7, 1957. The funeral Mass was celebrated there on April 11, and interment services took place at the St. Thomas community cemetery at Villanova, Pennsylvania.

Vincent J. McGarvey, O.S.A.

1917 – 1994 (February 2)

Vincent McGarvey was born in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, in 1917, and attended Saint Francis de Sales Parochial School in Philadelphia, He graduated from Augustinian Academy in Staten Island, New York, and entered Good Counsel Novitiate in New Hamburg, N.Y. Following profession of vows, he matriculated at Villanova College, and studied theology at Augustinian College in Washington, D.C. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1935 and completed a Masters Degree in education at Catholic University.

He was assigned briefly as assistant novice master in New Hamburg, N.Y., but was soon named associate pastor of Saint Patrick's Church, San Diego where he became a mainstay of the parish for the next thirteen years. In 1956 he returned east to Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, the Bronx to be near his ailing mother. After her death he returned to California and was assigned to Our Mother of Good Counsel Church, Hollywood. He eventually became pastor when his predecessor was forced to step down due to health reasons in 1961.

He was appointed Vice Provincial while remaining pastor for the next six years. During the years of the Second Vatican Council, Father McGarvey oversaw a great deal of expansion in the Vice Province, including the sending of friars to the Peruvian missions, encouraging post-graduate studies, and taking on an additional high school in Modesto, CA. When his term as Vice Provincial ended he returned to Saint Patrick as pastor. In 1980, Father McGarvey was named pastor of Our Lady of Grace Church in Castro Valley, CA when the California Augustinians expanded into the Bay Area. He then moved to Central Point, Oregon where he served as pastor, and subsequently to Shady Grove, OR as pastor of another parish.

Eventually Father McGarvey retired to Saint Thomas Aquinas Church in Ojai. While there he traveled to San Diego to visit his doctor. During that visit he suffered a stroke resulting in his death on February 2, 1994. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, San Diego, CA.
 

Charles J. McFadden, O.S.A.

1909 – 1990 (June 27)

Charles Joseph McFadden was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 30, 1909, one of three sons and one daughter of Charles McFadden and Hannah Callahan. He was baptized at Saint Gregory Church, Philadelphia. The family moved to Bryn Mawr, PA, where he attended Our Mother of Good Counsel Parish School. In 1923, at the age of fourteen, he began his secondary education at Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, New York, from which he graduated as a postulant in 1927. The following year he entered Our Mother of Good Counsel Novitiate, New Hamburg, N.Y., and professed simple vows on September 9, 1928. He began his college education at Villanova College, PA., and professed solemn vows on September 19, 1931. The following year he graduated from Villanova with an A.B. in philosophy and went on to begin his theological studies at Augustinian College in Washington, DC. He was ordained to the priesthood there by Bishop McNamara on June 11, 1935 in the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. While pursuing his collegiate and theology studies from 1929-1934, he took summer courses at Villanova and Catholic University in philosophy, psychology, English, and education.The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen, then professor at Catholic University, directed Father McFadden’s graduate studies. In 1936 he received his master's degree from Catholic University. Concerning his dissertation "The Powers of Morality and Religion in Henri Bergson," Professor Sheen wrote on the inside cover, "The best master's dissertation I have ever read." In 1938 Father McFadden was awarded his doctoral degree from Catholic University. His dissertation "The Metaphysical Foundations of Dialectical Communism" became the basis of his later books on communism. In 1948 he was awarded an S.T.L. from the Augustinian College of Rome, Italy.

Father McFadden was assigned to Villanova University in 1938, although he had been teaching philosophy during the summer sessions from 1935 to 1937. For the next forty years until 1979 when he retired, he taught philosophy as well as other specialized courses at Villanova. From 1940 to 1956 he also taught at nearby Rosemont College. In 1940, he began giving courses on medical ethics to student nurses at Fitzgerald-Mercy Hospital, Darby, PA. From these courses evolved his highly successful text Medical Ethics for Nurses, published in 1946. Despite his teaching schedule, he contributed many articles published in various periodicals. In 1939 he wrote Philosophy of Communism with a preface by Fulton J. Sheen stating that it was "without doubt the best book in any language" on the subject. In 1949, probably his most successful work, Medical Ethics, was published and later translated into Spanish. In 1976, he published Dignity of Life: Moral Values in a Changing Society, which was later translated into Chinese. In 1978 Challenge to Morality was published. In 1982 he published Christianity Confronts Communism, a basic text for the average reader.

Father McFadden traveled extensively in Europe and in the Far East, spending lengthy periods in Russia and other Eastern European countries behind the “Iron Curtain”. He remained always a member of Saint Thomas Monastery, Villanova, where his wit and observations were widely appreciated. Father McFadden died on June 27, 1990.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 30 at Saint Denis Church, Havertown, PA. by Prior Provincial, John Hagen, O.S.A. Father Francis X. McGuire, O.S.A., a classmate, preached the homily. Father McFadden is buried in the Augustinian plot at Calvary Cemetery in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
 

Charles J.A. McFadden, O.S.A.

1863 – 1914 (June 22)

Charles Joseph Aloysius McFadden was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, the son of John McFadden and Margaret Mullin, on January 3, 1863. He was baptized the following day in Saint Vincent Church in that city. He entered the novitiate at Villanova on February 2, 1881, and made his profession of simple vows on February 2, 1882, and his solemn profession on February 3, 1885. Charles was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Patrick Ryan in the Philadelphia Cathedral on March 20, 1886.

After ordination, Father McFadden taught at Villanova College until July, 1896, when he was assigned to Saint Denis Parish, Havertown. In December, 1898, he returned to Villanova and then, in September, 1899, was transferred to Augustinian Academy on Staten Island, New York. He was again stationed at Villanova from 1902 until 1906, when he was assigned as pastor to Saint Nicholas of Tolentine Parish in Atlantic City, New Jersey. During the years 1899 until 1910, he served as a member of Villanova College’s Board of Trustees.

Father McFadden was 51 when he died on June 22, 1914 at his mother’s home in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. He is buried in the Community Cemetery at Villanova.
 

Christopher A. McEvoy, O.S.A.

1840 – 1914 (December 14)

Christopher Augustine McEvoy was born in Queens County, Ireland, on Decembeer 20, 1840. In 1849 he arrived with his family at Waterbury, Connecticut, and in 1864 entered the Seminary of Our Lady of Angels at Niagara, New York. Two years later he arrived at Villanova, and in January 1868, he entered the novitiate there. He made his simple profession on January 8, 1868, and was ordained to the priesthood, with a dispensation by Bishop Wood in the Philadelphia Cathedral on April 3, 1871. He celebrated his first mass on Easter Sunday in Saint Augustine Church, Philadelphia. He was solemnly professed on January 22, 1872.

After ordination, Father McEvoy was assigned to Our Mother of Consolation in Chestnut Hill, Pa., and after only a few months at the failing health of the pastor, he assumed charge. In 1881 he opened the first parochial school there in the basement of the church which he had also enlarged. In 1882 he was elected Prior Provincial and, when the acts of the next Chapter of 1886 were ruled invalid by the Prior General, Father McEvoy was appointed to continue in office. In 1889 he resigned while attending the General Chapter that elected the successor to Prior General, Father Pacifico Neno. As provincial, Father McEvoy attended the Third Plenary Council in Baltimore, Maryland in 1884.
 
The Provincial Chapter of July 1890, elected Father McEvoy president, prior, and pastor of Villanova. In 1894, he was appointed rector at Saint Denis' in Ardmore, Pa.; in 1899 rector of Saint Augustine's, Philadelphia, and in 1902 again at Our Mother of Consolation, Chestnut Hill. IN 1908 he was assigned to at Saint Mary's in Lawrence, Massachusetts. In September 1913, Father McEvoy left for Villanova, where he died on December 14, 1914, at the age of 74.

The Funeral Mass was offered by Prior Provincial, Father Nicholas Murphy, O.S.A. at Villanova on December 17. The eulogy was given by Father McShane, O.S.A. Archbishop Prendergast gave the final absolution. He was buried in the Community Cemetery at Villanova.

Father McEvoy was a champion of two great causes of his time: that of total abstinence and the promotion of devotion to Our Mother of Good Counsel. As a preacher he was eloquent, as an advocate of Augustinian devotion to Mary under the title of Genazzano he was vigorous.
 

John A. McErlain, O.S.A.

1868 – 1935 (September 6)

John Augustine McErlain, son of John McErlain and Ellen Madden, was born in Belfast, Ireland on June 19, 1868. He came to the United States with his family and entered the novitiate at Villanova, Pennsylvania on February 2, 1889. He professed simple vows on February 6, 1890 and solemn vows on February 11, 1893. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Patrick Ryan in the Philadelphia Cathedral on May 27, 1893.

After ordination, Father McErlain was stationed at Bryn Mawr and Villanova, PA. In 1902, he went with Father O’Mahony to the Philippine Islands where he served for three years. In 1905 he was assigned to Saint Laurence Parish, Lawrence. MA., and then at Saint Mary, Waterford, New York. In 1912, he returned to the Philippines where he served for the next 10 years, undertaking significant initiatives for the education of the young. His attempts to procure addition friars to minister in the Philippines unfortuantely did not meet with success. In 1922, Father McErlain was appointed prior of Malvern Preparatory School. As prior, he built the first school building at Malvern.Father McErlain also served at Saint Paul’s, Mechanicville, N.Y. He was rector of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine, Atlantic City, New Jersey, and later at Saint Augustine's in Philadelphia, Pa.; prior  at Holy Rosary in Lawrence and rector of Saint Augustine's in Andover, Massachusetts.

He died in Lowell, MA., on September 7, 1935 at the age of 67. A Requiem Mass was celebrated at Saint Augustine, Andover of September 9th by Prior Provincial, Mortimer Sullivan. The Funeral Mass was celebrated the following day at Our Mother of Good Counsel Church, Bryn Mawr, by Assistant General Joseph Hickey. Father McErlain is buried in the Community Cemetery at Villanova.
 

Thomas F. McDonnell, O.S.A.

1816 – 1849 (May 19)

Francis McDonnell was born about the year 1816 in Ireland. After immigrating to the United States he sought entrance into the Order and was vested together with Brother John Gallagher at Villanova, Pennsylvania, on November 9, 1843, taking the name Brother Thomas. He served at both Villanova and Saint Augustine's in Philadelphia. Brother Thomas worked on the building of the first chapel at Villanova in 1844 and saw it to completion. 

He was later sent to Saint Augustine Church in Philadelphia and there he died, suddenly, of epilepsy, on Saturday, May 19, 1849 at the age of 33. He is buried in the vault at Saint Augustine's in Philadelphia, though his name was never inscribed on the large stone covering the vault.