Monsignor John Francis McCarthy, P.A. (1930–2024)
Msgr. John Francis McCarthy, P.A.
The Very Reverend Monsignor John Francis McCarthy, P.A. was born in Butte, Montana on May 7, 1930, and ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Helena on December 17, 1955. His academic career took him to Rome, where he earned a Licentiate and Doctorate in Canon Law (1962) and a Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Lateran University (1975). He subsequently served as a professor at the Lateran University and as an official of the Vatican Congregation for the Oriental Churches for nearly three decades.
Monsignor founded the priestly Society of the Oblates of Wisdom in 1979, and its lay affiliate, the Marian Academy of the Oblates of Holy Tradition, in 1983. Through his Sedes Sapientiae formation program in Rome he assisted 28 men in becoming priests. He founded the Roman Theological Forum (rtforum.org) and served as editor of its journal Living Tradition for decades. His extensive writings are available at rtforum.org.
His major scholarly works include:
- The Science of Historical Theology (first published Rome, 1976; reprinted TAN Books, 1991) — a groundbreaking work developing a new concept of historical science and its relationship to faith and reason.
- Catholic Biblical Scholarship for the Third Millennium (2017) — his final major work, addressing the crisis of scriptural inerrancy in modern Catholic thought.
Monsignor served as Director of the Oblates of Wisdom Study Center at Saint Mary of Victories from 2005 to 2019, and as Chaplain from 2010 to 2011. He passed away peacefully on March 11, 2024, age 93, fortified by the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church. A memorial Mass was celebrated at Saint Mary of Victories on April 20, 2024.
Fr. Brian W. Harrison, O.S.
Fr. Brian W. Harrison, O.S.
Fr. Brian W. Harrison, O.S. was born in Sydney, Australia in 1945 and raised as a Presbyterian. He converted to the Catholic faith at the Easter Vigil of 1972. He entered seminary studies in Sydney in 1979, completed his Licentiate in Theology at Rome’s Angelicum University, and was ordained to the priesthood in Saint Peter’s Basilica on April 20, 1985, by Pope John Paul II. He earned his doctorate in Systematic Theology summa cum laude from the Pontifical Atenæum of the Holy Cross in Rome in 1997.
Fr. Harrison served as Emeritus Professor of Theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (1989–2007), where he also served as parochial vicar and Defender of the Bond in the diocesan marriage tribunals. He is fluent in Spanish. He served as Associate Editor of Living Tradition, the journal of the Roman Theological Forum, and has contributed to or authored more than 11 books and over 120 articles in Catholic journals across the United States, Australia, Britain, France, Spain, and Puerto Rico.
Fr. Harrison introduced the Latin Ordinary Form Mass celebrated with Gregorian Chant at Saint Mary of Victories with Archdiocesan approval in early 2008 — one of the first and only such Masses in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. By February 10, 2016, this Mass had been offered 417 consecutive times. He served as chaplain until his retirement, and the Latin Mass he established continues periodically at the chapel today.