McDonough, Father John
1977, June 22
Date of Birth: 1894, February 14
John Sebastian McDonough was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on February 14, 1894. From 1899 to 1908 he attended Sacred Heart Parish School, and from 1908 to 1912 he attended New Haven High School. After a year, 1912-1913, at St. Thomas Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut, he came to St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1913. After two years of Philosophy he attained his M.A. in 1915. Three years of Theology at St. Mary’s were followed by a year at the Sulpician Seminary (Theological College) at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Hartford on May 29, 1919. He continued at The Catholic University of America for another year and earned his S.T.L. in 1920. Then Father McDonough went to St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland, to teach for a year before he made his Solitude in Catonsville in 1921-1922. After Solitude he returned to St. Charles College until 1924 when he went to St. Patrick’s Seminary in San Francisco, California. There he taught Church History and Liturgy until 1945.
In that year Father McDonough came to St. Mary’s Seminary, Paca Street, to act as Socius of the Solitude. In 1949 he went to the Theological College of The Catholic University of America, where he served as Assistant Master of Ceremonies at The Catholic University. In 1955 he returned to Baltimore again to act as Socius of the Solitude newly relocated adjacent to the campus of St. Mary’s Seminary, Roland Park. He held this post until 1966. From 1957 to 1968 he also served as chaplain at the Loch Raven Veterans Administration Hospital. Illness occasioned his retirement, and in 1971 he moved to the newly opened Sulpician Retirement Home, St. Charles Villa, in Catonsville. He died there on June 22, 1977.
Adapted from Father McDonough’s “Personal Data” sheet and from The Voice.