Michael Thomas McNicholas, O.P., Death, 1968-06-01
Scope and Contents
This collection contains personal materials relating to friars after they have left the order, passed away, or transferred to another province. Each friar's file contents are mostly contain to their novitiate records, canonical assignments, historically important correspondence, and a small number of personal items if desired upon their passing. Within the broader collection, each Friar is sorted as a series.
Friars with particuarly substantial historically important papers or items outside of the scope of the Personal Files Collection are moved to a dedicated collection under their name.
This collection is a work in progress and any use of these files requires the explicit permission of the Provincial. Contact the Archivist to discuss access or inquire about friars that may not been cataloged yet.
Dates
- Creation: Death, 1968-06-01
Conditions Governing Access
Requires explicit permission from Provincial to access any records. Contact the Archivist for more information.
For comprehensive lists and records of individuals who left the order or transferred to other provinces, researchers must contact the archivist. Access to such materials may be restricted and is subject to privacy considerations and organizational policy.
Conditions Governing Use
Can only be accessed upon written permission of the Provincial. Contact the Archivist for further details.
Biographical / Historical
Born in Chester, Pennsylvania, on April 8, 1918, he received his early training in the elementary and high school of St. Robert's in his native city and completed his high school education at Aquinas in Columbus, Ohio. For two years he studied at Providence College (1934-1936) in preparation for his entrance into the Order.
Simultaneously, a younger brother, Timothy J., was preparing for the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati of which his uncle, His Excellency, the Most Reverend John T. McNicholas, O.P., was the
Metropolitan. He had another uncle who was a Dominican, Michael Thomas McNicholas, who was at that time superior and pastor of Holy Name in Philadelphia.
Our Brother Thomas entered the novitiate of the Order at St. Rose Priory, Springfield, Kentucky, in the summer of 1936, and on August 16, 1937, he made profession and was at once sent to the Dominican House of Studies, River Forest, Illinois. In the Fall of 1940, with three other students of the newly erected Province of St. Albert the Great, he went to the House of Studies in Washington, but returned the following year for the completion of his studies in River Forest, where, with his brother Timothy J., he was ordained to the priesthood by his uncle, Archbishop McNicholas, on June 6, 1943.
Father McNicholas was assigned in the Fall of 1944 to Fenwick High School, Oak Park, Illinois, where he taught for some years and where he was also Director of Discipline. In 1949 he was commissioned as Chaplain in the United States Air Force and served in both home and foreign bases. On his return to civilian life in 1953 he became assistant in St.
Anthony of Padua parish, New Orleans, and successively served in the Priory as Subprior and Prior until the late Fall of 1962. He was then assigned to the House of Studies, River Forest, as Procurator in early 1963, but was shortly appointed superior and pastor of St. Dominic's, Denver, Colorado. There, after a brief illness, he died of cancer on June 1, 1968, and was buried in the community cemetery at St. Joseph's, Somerset, Ohio, where the body of his uncle Michael Thomas had been interred in 1947.
Extent
From the Collection: 100 Linear Feet (30 File Cabinets )
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
From the Collection: Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Archives of the Province of St. Albert the Great, U.S.A. Repository
1910 S. Ashland Ave
Chicago Illinois 60608 United States
3122430011
archivist@opcentral.org