Father Gabriel Gorman, C.P., St. Paul of the Cross Province (1895-1964)

Born Walter M. Gorman on March 9, 1895 in Binghamton, New York, he was the son of Walter Gorman and Mary Butler. He attended public elementary school, Central High School and St. Patrick’s Academy. He went to the Passionist Preparatory Seminary, Baltimore, Maryland in 1915. After one year he entered the novitiate at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was professed on October 7, 1917. His religious name was Gabriel. He was ordained on January 21, 1923 in Brighton, Massachusetts in the public chapel. Earlier this had been the barn on the monastery property. From 1925 until 1926 he was a student at The Catholic University of America where he obtained a M.A. cum laude. From 1926 until 1928 he went to the Angelicum in Rome where he obtained a doctorate in philosophy. Upon his return to the United States he was professor of philosophy for ten year at St. Mary’s Monastery, Dunkirk, New York while at the same time prefect of studies at nearby Holy Cross Seminary where he was also professor of biology. In 1938 he was named rector of Brighton. In 1941 he was named second provincial consultor. In 1944 he was named first provincial consultor. In 1947 he was elected provincial and in 1950 was chosen second provincial consultor. During some of the years that he was consultor he wrote “The Sign Post” column in Sign Magazine and then became a member of the editorial staff. Over this period of time Holy Cross Seminary was enlarged, the novitiate at Pittsburgh was rebuilt due to the increase in vocations to the priesthood and brotherhood. The Tacubaya Mission in Mexico was established. The Brighton retreat house was almost doubled in size and the monastery choir and library made larger. Property was purchased for a new foundation in Farmington, Connecticut. The post office address was West Hartford. The Toronto, Canada monastery and church were constructed; the Jamaica, New York and West Springfield retreat houses were expanded; and the Atlanta, Georgia school, convent, church and rectory came into being. At the same time there was concern over the long term health of the China missions. Later the Passionists went to Jamaica, West Indies and the Philippines. Father Gorman paid a great deal of attention to the various building programs in the province. Over the last several years of his life he was in poor health with high blood pressure and diabetes. His brother was Father Ralph Gorman, C.P.