Vincent McNabb
Encyclopedia
Vincent McNabb, O.P. (8 July 1868 – 17 June 1943) was an Irish
scholar and priest, based in London
, active in evangelisation and apologetics.
, County Down
, Ireland
, the tenth of eleven children. He was educated during his schooldays at the diocesan seminary
of St. Malachy's College
, Belfast
. On 10 November 1885 he joined the novitiate
of the English Dominicans
at Woodchester
in Gloucestershire
, England
and was ordained in 1891. After studies at the University of Louvain
(where he obtained in 1894 the degree of lector
in Sacred Theology), he was sent to England where he served for the remainder of his life.
. Between 1929 and 1934, he lectured on the Summa Theologica
of St. Thomas Aquinas under the auspices of the University of London
External Lectures scheme. Tens of thousands of people heard him preach in Hyde Park
, where he did not shy away from taking on all challengers — Protestants, atheists, and freethinkers — before vast crowds every Sunday, or heard him debate such luminaries as George Bernard Shaw
in the city's theaters and conference halls on the burning social issues of the day.
Fr. McNabb was described as a 13th-century monk living in 20th-century London, pursuing such tasks as reading the Old Testament
(and taking notes on it) in Hebrew
, reading the New Testament
(and quoting from it) in Greek
, and reading the works of St. Thomas Aquinas (and writing his reflections on them) in Latin
. Throughout his life, Fr. McNabb had little to call his own, except his Bible
, his breviary
, and his copy of the Summa Theologica.
Fr. McNabb was among the early Catholic ecumenists, seeking in particular to promote reunion between the Catholic Church and the Anglicans. Towards the end of his life, he wrote, "God knows how much I have striven and prayed to mend the shattered unity of Christendom." As a young priest, he came under the influence of the convert bishop of Clifton
, William Robert Brownlow, who, after his reception into the Catholic Church by Newman, not only kept many Anglican friendships but made others among Nonconformists. Brownlow was the author of a work breathing a strong ecumenical spirit titled Catholics and Nonconformists: or Dialogues on Conversion (1898). McNabb regarded him as one of his "masters and heroes" and wrote his biography. While prior at Woodchester, McNabb was in correspondence with Anglicans on both sides of the Atlantic. He was host to his Cotswolds
neighbour, the Rev. Spencer Jones, rector of Moreton-in-Marsh
, leading Anglo-Catholic and author of England and the Holy See: An Essay Towards Reunion (1902). He also contributed to the early issues of The Lamp, a paper edited by Fr. Paul Wattson, who, after becoming a Catholic, was to promote the Unity Octave
through it for almost half a century. McNabb's lifelong interest in ecumenism culminated in his book The Church and Reunion (1937), published six years before his death.
McNabb sought also to promote a vision of social justice inspired by St. Thomas and by Pope Leo XIII
's Rerum Novarum
, which called upon "every minister of holy religion…to bring to the struggle [for a broad distribution of property] the full energy of his mind and all his powers of endurance", as well as to shore up both faith and reason against the perceived threat of modernism
.
and was buried in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery
, Kensal Green
, London.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
scholar and priest, based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, active in evangelisation and apologetics.
Early life
McNabb was born in PortaferryPortaferry
Portaferry is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland, at the southern end of the Ards Peninsula, near the Narrows at the entrance to Strangford Lough. It had a population of 2,467 people in the 2001 Census. It has an aquarium and is well-known for the annual Galway Hookers Regatta. It hosts...
, County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the tenth of eleven children. He was educated during his schooldays at the diocesan seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
of St. Malachy's College
St. Malachy's College
St. Malachy's College is the oldest Roman Catholic grammar school in the province of Ulster, and one of the oldest in Ireland.The college was founded in 1833 by Bishop William Crolly, about 50 years after the repeal of the penal laws, which had outlawed, among other things, the celebration of the...
, Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. On 10 November 1885 he joined the novitiate
Novitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
of the English Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
at Woodchester
Woodchester
Woodchester is a Gloucestershire village in the Nailsworth Valley, a valley in the South Cotswolds in England, running southwards from Stroud along the A46 road to Nailsworth....
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and was ordained in 1891. After studies at the University of Louvain
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven is a Dutch-speaking university in Flanders, Belgium.It is located at the centre of the historic town of Leuven, and is a prominent part of the city, home to the university since 1425...
(where he obtained in 1894 the degree of lector
Lector
Lector is a Latin term for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages the word has come to take various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as , , and . It has various specialized uses:...
in Sacred Theology), he was sent to England where he served for the remainder of his life.
Career
Fr. McNabb was a member of the Dominican order for 58 years and served as professor of philosophy at Hawkesyard Priory, prior at Woodchester, parish priest at St. Dominic's Priory, and prior and librarian at Holy Cross Priory, Leicester, as well as in various other official capacities for his Dominican provinceDominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
. Between 1929 and 1934, he lectured on the Summa Theologica
Summa Theologica
The Summa Theologiæ is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas , and although unfinished, "one of the classics of the history of philosophy and one of the most influential works of Western literature." It is intended as a manual for beginners in theology and a compendium of all of the main...
of St. Thomas Aquinas under the auspices of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
External Lectures scheme. Tens of thousands of people heard him preach in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
, where he did not shy away from taking on all challengers — Protestants, atheists, and freethinkers — before vast crowds every Sunday, or heard him debate such luminaries as George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
in the city's theaters and conference halls on the burning social issues of the day.
Fr. McNabb was described as a 13th-century monk living in 20th-century London, pursuing such tasks as reading the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
(and taking notes on it) in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, reading the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
(and quoting from it) in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, and reading the works of St. Thomas Aquinas (and writing his reflections on them) in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. Throughout his life, Fr. McNabb had little to call his own, except his Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, his breviary
Breviary
A breviary is a liturgical book of the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church containing the public or canonical prayers, hymns, the Psalms, readings, and notations for everyday use, especially by bishops, priests, and deacons in the Divine Office...
, and his copy of the Summa Theologica.
Fr. McNabb was among the early Catholic ecumenists, seeking in particular to promote reunion between the Catholic Church and the Anglicans. Towards the end of his life, he wrote, "God knows how much I have striven and prayed to mend the shattered unity of Christendom." As a young priest, he came under the influence of the convert bishop of Clifton
Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese centred around the Cathedral Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Clifton....
, William Robert Brownlow, who, after his reception into the Catholic Church by Newman, not only kept many Anglican friendships but made others among Nonconformists. Brownlow was the author of a work breathing a strong ecumenical spirit titled Catholics and Nonconformists: or Dialogues on Conversion (1898). McNabb regarded him as one of his "masters and heroes" and wrote his biography. While prior at Woodchester, McNabb was in correspondence with Anglicans on both sides of the Atlantic. He was host to his Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
neighbour, the Rev. Spencer Jones, rector of Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh is a town and civil parish in northeastern Gloucestershire, England. The town is at the crossroads of the Fosse Way Roman road and the A44. The parish and environs are relatively flat and low-lying compared with the surrounding Cotswold Hills...
, leading Anglo-Catholic and author of England and the Holy See: An Essay Towards Reunion (1902). He also contributed to the early issues of The Lamp, a paper edited by Fr. Paul Wattson, who, after becoming a Catholic, was to promote the Unity Octave
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an international Christian ecumenical observance kept annually between 18 January and 25 January. It is actually an octave, that is, an observance lasting eight days.-Beginnings:...
through it for almost half a century. McNabb's lifelong interest in ecumenism culminated in his book The Church and Reunion (1937), published six years before his death.
McNabb sought also to promote a vision of social justice inspired by St. Thomas and by Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
's Rerum Novarum
Rerum Novarum
Rerum Novarum is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on May 15, 1891. It was an open letter, passed to all Catholic bishops, that addressed the condition of the working classes. The encyclical is entitled: “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labour”...
, which called upon "every minister of holy religion…to bring to the struggle [for a broad distribution of property] the full energy of his mind and all his powers of endurance", as well as to shore up both faith and reason against the perceived threat of modernism
Modernism (Roman Catholicism)
Modernism refers to theological opinions expressed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but with influence reaching into the 21st century, which are characterized by a break with the past. Catholic modernists form an amorphous group. The term "modernist" appears in Pope Pius X's 1907...
.
Death
He died at St. Dominic's Parish, LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and was buried in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery is located at Kensal Green in London, and has its own .-History:Established in 1858, the 29 acre site was built next door to the much larger Anglican & Non-Conformist Kensal Green Cemetery...
, Kensal Green
Kensal Green
Kensal Green, also referred to as Kensal Rise is an area of London, England. It is located on the southern edge of the London Borough of Brent and borders the City of Westminster to the East and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the South....
, London.
Quotes about Fr. McNabb
Works
- Bishop Brownlow (1830–1901). Catholic Truth Society (1902)
- Where Believers May Doubt: or Studies in Biblical Inspiration and Other Problems of Faith. Burns and Oates (1903)
- Oxford Conferences on Prayer. Kegan Paul (1903)
- Oxford Conferences on Faith. Kegan Paul (1905)
- Infallibility. Longmans Green (1905)
- Our Reasonable Service: An Essay on the Understanding of the Deep Things of God. Burns and Oates (1912)
- The Children's Hour of Heaven on Earth. P.J. Kenedy (1914)
- Europe's Ewe-Lamb and Other Essays on the Great War. R & T Washbourne (1916)
- The Doctrinal Witness of the Fourth Gospel. Catholic Truth Society pamphlet (1922)
- From a Friar's Cell. P.J. Kenedy (1923)
- The Mysticism of St. Thomas. Basil Blackwell (1924)
- The Church and the Land. Burns Oates and Washbourne (1926)
- The Catholic Church and Philosophy (with an introduction by Hilaire BellocHilaire BellocJoseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc was an Anglo-French writer and historian who became a naturalised British subject in 1902. He was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. He was known as a writer, orator, poet, satirist, man of letters and political activist...
). Burns Oates and Washbourne (1927) - The New Testament Witness to St. Peter. Sheed and Ward (1928)
- St. Thomas Aquinas and Law (pamphlet). Blackfriars (1929)
- Thoughts Twice-Dyed. Sheed and Ward (1930)
- The New Testament Witness to Our Blessed Lady. Sheed and Ward (1930)
- God's Book and Other Poems. St. Dominic's Press (1931)
- Nazareth or Social Chaos. Burns Oates and Washbourne (1933)
- Geoffrey Chaucer: A Study in His Genius and Ethics. St. Dominic's Press (1934)
- The Wayside: A Priest's Gleanings. Burns Oates and Washbourne (1934)
- The Craft of Prayer. Burns Oates and Washbourne (1935)
- St. John Fisher. Sheed and Ward (1935)
- Francis Thompson and Other Essays (with an introduction by G. K. Chesterton). St. Dominic's Press (1935)
- The Science of Prayer (A Revised Edition of Oxford Conferences on Prayer). St. Dominic's Press (1936)
- The Craft of Suffering: Verbatim Notes of Instruction on Suffering Given During Retreats at the CenacleSisters of the CenacleThe Sisters of the Cenacle is a Roman Catholic Congregation founded in 1826 in the village of Lalouvesc , France...
Convents 1930-35. Burns Oates and Washbourne (1936) - God's Way of Mercy: Verbatim Notes of Retreat Instructions. Burns Oates and Washbourne (1936)
- Frontiers of Faith and Reason. Sheed and Ward (1937)
- God's Good Cheer. Burns Oates and Washbourne (1937)
- St. Elizabeth of Portugal. Sheed and Ward (1937)
- The Church and Reunion: Some Thoughts on Christian Reunion. Burns Oates and Washbourne (1937)
- In Our Valley: Notes of Retreat Instructions. Burns Oates and Washbourne. (1938)
- A Life of Jesus Christ Our Lord. Sheed and Ward (1938)
- Joy in Believing. Burnes Oates and Washbourne (1939)
- Mary of Nazareth. P.J. Kenedy (1939)
- St. Mary Magdalen. Burnes Oates and Washbourne (1940)
- Eleven, Thank God! Memories of a Catholic Mother. Sheed and Ward (1940)
- Confession to a Priest. Catholic Truth Society pamphlet (1941)
- Some Mysteries of Jesus Christ. Burns Oates and Washbourne (1941)
- Catholics and Nonconformists. Catholic Truth Society pamphlet (1942)
- Old Principles and the New Order. Sheed and Ward (1942)
- Did Jesus Christ Rise from the Dead? Catholic Truth Society pamphlet (1943)
- An Old Apostle Speaks (with a memoir by Fr. Gerald VannGerald VannGerald Vann, O.P. was a British Roman Catholic theologian and philosopher. He was born in St Mary Cray, Kent. He was joined the Dominican Order in 1923 and was ordained a priest in 1929. His books include works on just war theory and St. Thomas Aquinas...
, O.P.). Blackfriars (1946) - Faith and Prayer. Blackfriars (1953)
- A Father McNabb Reader. P.J. Kenedy (1954)
- The Prayers of Fr. McNabb (pamphlet). Newman Press (1955)
- A Vincent McNabb Anthology: Selections from the Writings of Vincent McNabb, O.P. Blackfriars (1955)
- Stars of Comfort: Retreat Conferences. Burns Oates and Washbourne (1957)
- Meditations on St. John. Aquin Press (1962)