Born on October 8, 1910 in East Orange, New Jersey, he attended St. Joseph Elementary School, Roselle, New Jersey and then went to St. Charles Seminary, Catonsville, Maryland. From there he went to the Passionist Preparatory Seminary, Dunkirk, New York. He professed his vows on August 15, 1933 and was ordained a priest on April 23, 1940 by Archbishop Michael J. Curley at St. Joseph’s Monastery, Baltimore, Maryland. In 1941 he was assigned to Sign Magazine where he worked in the circulation department. After eleven years there he moved to the Passionist community, Toronto, Canada and was vicar there for nine years. He was also chaplain at a Veterans Hospital. In 1962 he became a member of the parish staff, Jamaica, New York. That ended in 1972. He was not all that comfortable with the liturgical and theological changes brought about by Vatican II in the 1960s. In 1972 he became chaplain at John E. Runnell’s Hospital (formerly Bonnie Burn Sanatorium) in northern New Jersey. This had been served for forty years by the Passionists. He filled this assignment until 1990 when he was assigned to West Hartford, Connecticut. For a short time he went to Jamaica, New York and then back to Foley Hall, West Hartford and eventually on to Mont Marie, Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Birth Date:
October 8, 1910
Profession Date:
August 15, 1933
Ordination Date:
April 23, 1940
Death Date:
March 12, 1993
Religious Name:
James Anthony of the Sacred Heart McAghon