Vincent McNabb, O.P. (8 July 1868 – 17 June 1943) was an Irish Catholic scholar and Dominican priest based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, active in evangelisation and apologetics.

Early life

McNabb was born in Portaferry, County Down,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, the tenth of eleven children. He was educated during his schooldays at the

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

of St. Malachy's College,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. On 10 November 1885 he joined the novitiate of the English Dominicans at Woodchester in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) 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. The county town is the city of ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and was ordained in 1891. After studies at the

University of Louvain A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, where he obtained in 1894 the degree of Licentiate of 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 province. In 1913 he visited the United States, to preach and lecture in New York. McNabb was a frequent contributor to '' Blackfriars'', the Dominican literary monthly published in Oxford. In 1919 Albert I of Belgium awarded McNabb with a medal of the Order of the Crown for his efforts on behalf of Belgium war relief. 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 for the

Catholic Evidence Guild The Catholic Evidence Guild is a loose international association of Roman Catholic lay volunteers which seeks to research and present clear and compelling explanations of the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. Their objective is to address i ...

, where he took on challengers—Protestants, atheists, and freethinkers—before vast crowds every Sunday, or heard him debate intellectuals including

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

in the city's theaters and conference halls on the 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 Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, reading the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

(and quoting from it) in Greek, and reading the works of St. Thomas Aquinas (and writing his reflections on them) in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

. Throughout his life, Fr. McNabb had little to call his own, except his

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

, his breviary, and his copy of the ''Summa Theologica''. FrMcNabbGrave

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

William Robert Brownlow William Robert Brownlow (4 July 1830 – 9 November 1901) was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Clifton from 1894 to 1901. Born in Winslow, Buckinghamshire on 4 July 1830, Brownow was the son of Reverend William ...

, who, after his reception into the Catholic Church by

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican priest and later as a Catholic priest and ...

, 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 The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of J ...

neighbour, the Rev. Spencer Jones, rector of Moreton-in-Marsh, leading

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...

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 Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

's '' Rerum novarum'', which called upon ''"every minister of holy religion... to bring to the struggle broad_distribution_of_property.html" ;"title="distributism">broad distribution of property">distributism">broad distribution of propertythe full energy of his mind and all his powers of endurance"'', as well as to shore up both faith and reason against the threat of

modernism Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

Death

He died at St. Dominic's Parish,

and was buried in

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery St Mary's Catholic Cemetery is located on Harrow Road, Kensal Green in London, England. It has its own Catholic chapel. History Established in 1858, the site was built next door to Kensal Green Cemetery. It is the final resting place for ...

, Kensal Green, 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 Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, 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 Cenacle Convents 1930–1935''. 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 Vann, 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)

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * * *

External links

The Vincent McNabb Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNabb, Vincent 1868 births 1943 deaths People from Portaferry Academics of the University of London 20th-century English Roman Catholic priests 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Irish Dominicans Roman Catholic writers Burials at St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green Distributism People educated at St Malachy's College English Dominicans Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni