Centenarian Priest Speaks of Bells and Prayer – Oral History Interview
Monsignor Charles Monaghan, the oldest priest in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, turned 100 on March 31, 2015. In a 2007 taped interview, Msgr. Monaghan spoke of his earliest desire to be a priest, which came in the form of bells at Ascension of Our Lord Church. Click the link below
Thomas Cooke Middleton papers, 1859-1917 (MC 7)
Born into a prominent Philadelphia Quaker family, Thomas Middleton Cooke (1842-1923) converted to Catholicism and joined the Augustinian order. After his ordination, Middleton was assigned to Villanova University (then Villanova College) where he served for almost 60 years. He served as the University’s tenth president from 1876 to 1878. He
Patrick Coad family papers, 1798-1880 (MC 37)
...Coad, undated Patrick Coad (1783-1872), an Irish immigrant who settled in Philadelphia, was the first patentee of a graduated galvanic battery with insulated poles. Touting his battery among other uses as an instrument that helped cure various diseases, Coad’s invention attracted a good deal of attention within the scientific and
Starting from Scratch: The Story of Msgr. Hawks and St. Joan of Arc Parish
Msgr. Edward Hawks was born Feb 17, 1878 in Southern Wales. He moved to Canada to study for priesthood in the Anglican church. During the Open pulpit controversy, he converted to Catholicism and was ordained by Archbishop Prendergast in 1911. He served as a chaplain in the Canadian Expeditionary Force