Father Anthony Maher, C.P., Holy Cross Province (1906-1960)

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Born Walter J. Maher was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 17, 1906, he was the son of George Maher and Ellen Burke. He attended elementary school at Holy Cross, the Passionist parish. After graduation he went to the Preparatory School at Holy Cross Monastery in the same city. He then went to Normandy, Missouri when the school was transferred there. In 1924 he entered the Passionist novitiate at Sacred Heart Retreat, Louisville, Kentucky. He professed his vows on August 2, 1925 and received the name Anthony. He then studied at St. Paul, Kansas; Des Moines, Iowa; and Chicago, Illinois. He was ordained at Quigley Seminary on December 20, 1931. Most of his ministry was preaching missions and giving retreats except for two years when he was superior of the St. Joseph’s Retreat, Birmingham, Alabama. He had an older brother who was also a Passionist. In 1958 while preaching a sister’s retreat he suffered a heart attack. To regain his health he lived at the retreat of the Sisters of Charity, El Pomar, Colorado Springs until his death in 1960.