Andrew M. McLoughlin, O.S.A.

1863 – 1899 (November 25)

Andrew Mark McLoughlin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 15, 1863, the son of Andrew McLoughlin and Jane Mulrine. He was baptized several days later at Olde St. Augustine Church, where he was also confirmed. He taught at St. Augustine Parochial School before entering the novitiate at Villanova on February 2, 1883. He made his first profession on February 3, 1884, and his solemn profession on July 6, 1887. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Ryan at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia on May 20, 1888.

Father McLoughlin was stationed at Saint Augustine Parish, Lansingburg, New York. He died there of typhoid on November 25, 1899, at the age of 35. His body was brought back to Philadelphia, where it was interred in the vault at Saint Augustine's four days later.

Thomas C. McLeod, O.S.A.

1892 – 1952 (December 24)

Thomas Corjea McLeod was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 2, 1892, to Thomas McLeod and Katherine McDonough, and spent his early years in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He returned to Philadelphia for his high school years and then worked as a banker and broker's clerk. He entered the novitiate at age 20 in June 1912, and professed simple vows on June 20, 1913. He was solemnly professed on June 23, 1916 vows, and pursued his studies of philosophy and theology at Villanova College. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 8, 1919, at the Overbrook Seminary by Denis Cardinal Dougherty.

Father McLeod’s his first assignment was as rector of postulants, in 1920. He remained in this position for two years and, from 1922 to 1941, served on the Mission Band of the Province. For a period, he served as its director. In 1938 he was elected a definitor of the Province. 

In 1941 Father McLeod was assigned as prior and pastor of Saint Thomas of Villanova Parish, Rosemont, Pennsylvania, and in 1946 was named prior and pastor of Our Mother of Consolation Parish, Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. While there, in 1947, he purchased property in Flourtown and in 1949 blessed Saint Mary's Chapel there. During this time he served on the Province's Building Committee.

Father McLeod died in Misericordia Hospital on December 24, 1953. His Requiem Mass was offered at Our Mother of Consolation Church, after which he was buried at Villanova.
 

Thomas J. McLaughlin, O.S.A.

1925 – 2008 (March 6)

Thomas J. McLaughlin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 15, 1925 to Charlotte and William McLaughlin. When he was a teenager, the family moved to San Diego where Tom was introduced to the Augustinians, who taught him at St. Augustine High School.In the second semester of his senior year at St. Augustine’s, Tom entered the Army Air Corps, and was commissioned a lieutenant in 1943. He served as navigator in twenty-five flight missions over Germany. On February 27, 1945 Tom’s plane was shot down over Germany and he became a prisoner of war until he was liberated on April 29th of the same year. His family and friends believed that Tom had died in the war, and no communication indicated otherwise. After the war was over, Tom returned to San Diego, bringing shock and elation. It was from this point that Tom received the nickname Spook, as if others had seen a ghost.

As soon as he returned, he entered the Province, professed vows on September 10, 1947, and was ordained to the priesthood on May 30, 1953. His humility would cause him to evaluate his ministry as thrilling for him, but only ordinary for the people whom he served. That assessment would be challenged by the thousands of students he taught and those he served in parochial ministry. He was an excellent science and religion teacher to the students of Villanova Prep in Ojai and St. Augustine High School in San Diego. He thought that he would be a high school teacher all of his religious life, until he was asked to be the Director of Formation for Augustinian students in 1971.
 
Four years later he entered upon parish ministry, and served most of his remaining years ministering at St. Thomas Aquinas in Ojai, St. Patrick’s in San Diego, and Our Lady of Grace Church in Castro Valley, California. In all three parishes he basked in the reciprocal love of grateful parishioners whose admiration helped them easily forgive Fr. Tom’s signature bluntness or his inability to remember names.
In the last few years of his priesthood, he was the go-to person for any Augustinian parish whose priest needed a respite from the job. His love for his ministry was only surpassed by his love for the Augustinian community. Among his final words were repeated statements about how he will miss community life and how he loved ministering.

John E. McLaughlin, O.S.A.

1910 – 1974 (September 6)

John E. McLaughlin was born in Malden, Massachusetts, on January 24, 1910. After making his novitiate at New Hamburg, New York, he was professed on September 10, 1929. He studied at Villanova and Washington, DC, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 9, 1936.

Father McLaughlin taught at Saint Rita High School in Chicago, Illinois, from 1937 to 1942. He was then named Rector of Postulants at Saint Monica's in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and in 1949 he became the first Novice Master of the Midwestern Province. He remained in Oconomowoc until 1956 when he became Principal of Saint Rita High School in Chicago.

In 1962 Father returned to formation work as Mastor of Professed at Augustinian Academy in Saint Louis, Missouri. He held this same position at Tolentine College from 1963 to 1965. From 1965 to 1967 he was Principal of Austin Preparatory in Detroit, Michigan. He then became pastor of Saint Clare's Parish in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, until 1973. In 1973, he retired because of a heart condition and after spending a year recovering at Merrimack College in Massachusetts, he returned to Tolentine Center, Olympia Fields, Illinois, where he remained until the time of his death in 1974.

Father McLaughlin is buried in the Augustinian plot at Saint Lawrence, MA.
 

George J. McLaughlin, O.S.A.

1914 – 1970 (January 2)

George Joseph McLaughlin, son of John F. and Ann E. McLaughlin, was born in the coal region of Pennsylvania at Avoca on February 10, 1914. His primary education was obtained at Saint Cecilia Parochial School and Public Schools 33 and 35 in Scranton. He attended Scranton Central High School and, from 1930 to 1931, Malvern Preparatory School. His college education was begun at Villanova in 1931-1932, and at Saint Thomas College, Scranton, 1932-1933. George was received as a novice on September 9, 1933. He pronounced simple vows on September 10, 1934, and completed his college studies at Villanova. He pronounced solemn vows on September 10, 1937, and did his theological training at Augustinian College, Washington, D.C., where he was ordained to the priesthood at the National Shrine on May 30, 1939. The following year he was awarded a Master of Arts degree in economics by Catholic University. 

Father McLaughlin's first assignment was as a teacher at Saint Augustine High School, San Diego, California from 1940 to 1944. He volunteered as an army chaplain in the Second World War, and served in the European theater from 1944 to 1946. Upon discharge from the Armed Services he was stationed at Villanova and was a member of the Augustinian Mission Band from 1947 to 1948. In June, 1948, he was named dean of student activities at Villanova and from 1956 to 1965 served as dean of men at the University. In the summer of 1965 Father McLaughlin was transferred to Merrimack College, North Andover, Massachusetts, as Professor of Economics, until his sudden death five years later, January 2, 1970, at the age of fifty-five.

A forceful speaker and a precise teacher, he moved easily and competently through the multiple duties of his administrative office. Father McLaughlin is buried in the Augustinian plot at Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, Pa. 

John J. McKniff, O.S.A.

1905 – 1994 (March 24)

John Joseph McKniff was born on September 5, 1905, in Media, Pennsylvania to John McKniff and Mary Starrs. Baptized in the church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virigin Mary, he attended both the public and parochial schools in East Media. After completing elementary school in 1919, he entered Villanova Prep on the campus of Villanova College, as a postulant. He was accepted into the novitiate in 1923, professed simple vows on June 22, 1924, and solemn vows three years later. In 1927 John graduated with an A.B. degree from Villanova College was sent to the Order's International College, Saint Monica, in Rome, Italy, to study theology. He was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Pamphili on July 6, 1930, and continued post-graduate studies at the Roman Academy of Saint Thomas, where he earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1932. In 1960 Father McKniff was granted an S.T.L. by the Order.

Father McKniff's first assignment after his return to the United States was to the formation program at Villanova, where he taught and served as submaster of clerics; from there he was transferred to Augustinian Academy, Staten Island, New York. In 1935 Father McKniff volunteered to go to the Philippines, where he taught chemistry at the College of Saint Augustine, Iloilo, on the island of Panay. A serious accident in the chemistry laboratory hospitalized him, and in 1939 he was sent to Villanova Preparatory School, Ojai, CA, to recuperate. A few months later he was sent to Cuba to teach at the Colegio San Agustin. Within two years he was named pastor of Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje in the old section of Havana City, and for the next 27 years he served the spiritual and physical needs of the people there. He opened a clinic, provided a parish school, enrolled many in the Legion of Mary, and introduced the Augustinian Third Order. With the coming to power of the Castro regime he was one of the few American priests, and the sole Augustinian, not expelled by the government. From 1962 to 1968 he continued to care for the faithful under the most difficult conditions.

When, in 1968, he was compelled for reasons of health to return to the United States the Cuban government took the opportunity to revoke his passport and refuse permission to return. From 1970 to 1972 he served as associate pastor at Saint Augustine Parish, Troy, N.Y., and Saint Mary's Parish, Lawrence, Massachusetts, where he cared for the needs of the growing hispanic faithful. In 1972, after several requests, Father McKniff was permitted to go to the Prelature of Chulucanas, Peru. There he assisted Bishop John McNabb, O.S.A., in several parishes. He was associate pastor of San Jose Obrero in Chulucanas and taught at the diocesan seminary in Trujillo. During stops at Miami, he would visit former members of Santo Cristo Parish living in exile. In 1994, while in Miami he became ill and on the morning of his flight to Lima, Peru, was taken to Palmetto Hospital in Miami. Over the next weeks his condition grew worse. Visited by many Cuban friends and with his brother Augustinians at his bedside, he died on March 26, 1994. Father McKniff was 88 years of age. 

At the request of the Cuban Community, many former members of the parish of Santo Cristo, Havana, Father's funeral and interment were held in Miami, FL. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 26 at the Church of Saint Agatha in Miami. The celebrant was Father John Lydon, O.S.A., superior of the mission of Peru. The homily was given by Father John's close friend, Father John Kelly, O.S.A. Internment was in the priest's section of Our Lady of Mercy, the diocesan cemetery in Miami. On May 20, 1994, a memorial Mass was celebrated at the Church of San Jose Obrero in Chulucanas, Peru. Bishop John McNabb, O.S.A. presided and the homily was given by Father John Lydon, O.S.A.

In 1999, following upon the steady requests of many people of Peru, the diocesan process of the Cause of canonization of Father McKniff was initiated in Chulucanas.

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.