Born Edmund Noonan on June 9, 1872 in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York, he was the son of Daniel and Agnes O’Connor Noonan. At fifteen he entered the Passionist Preparatory School, Dunkirk, New York. He professed his vows on August 7, 1889 and received the religious name of Theodore. He studied at the Passionist monasteries of Baltimore, Maryland and St. Paul, Kansas where he was ordained a priest on April 28, 1895. For several years he was professor of Latin and English and this provided him with a life long interest of examining the similarities of expression in Scripture and classical Latin authors. Known for his terse, laconic style of preaching he became a sought out preacher. He was given the assignment to begin The Sign magazine in 1921 and served as the first editor. He was rector for two terms in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Louisville, Kentucky. He was also a provincial consultor. He also was a pastor and superior in Jamaica and Shelter Island. He was loyal to the Brooklyn diocese. His name became synonymous with the early years of Shelter Island. In 1917 he declined to accept being elected as the provincial. News of his death was carried in the diocesan papers of Brooklyn and New York, which had editorials. Also he was praised in the secular press.
Birth Date:
June 9, 1872
Profession Date:
August 7, 1889
Ordination Date:
April 28, 1895
Death Date:
February 4, 1953
Religious Name:
Theodore of the Assumption Noonan