Francis C. Wade (November 11, 1907 – July 6, 1987) was an American

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

and professor of

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

Biography

Wade was born on November 11, 1907, in Whitesboro, Texas, where he was

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

in St. Thomas Church. He was the son of George H. Wade and Virginia M. (Ligon) Wade. He was educated at Whitesboro Public School and at St. Mary's College High School,

St. Marys, Kansas St. Marys or Saint Marys is a city in Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Pottawatomie and Wabaunsee County, Kansas, Wabaunsee counties in Kansas of the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 2, ...

. He entered the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

in 1925. He was awarded his B.A. from

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

in 1930, his M.A. from

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

in 1932, and his S.T.L. from

in 1939.

Marquette University (1945-1985)

Wade held several positions at

. In September, 1945 he moved to Marquette University, where he was to teach for 40 years. For the first eleven years he taught

and

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

and then taught philosophy alone for 29 more years from 1957 to 1985. Wade is best known for his teaching of

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

, rational psychology, history of philosophy, and in later years,

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

. In 1970 Wade was awarded the Pere Marquette Award for Teaching Excellence. Along with Fr. Gerard Smith he helped to mold the Philosophy Department into its current state. Wade helped to develop courses in

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

, racial justice, Black thought, war and peace, death, and others. He willingly participated in the Great Books movement both in an outside the university. He was a leading force in and presided over the committee on faculty for many years, and he was an esteemed collaborator on many university boards and committees. He was always seen as a priest teaching truth, preaching by his words and actions the Gospel of Christ.Tierney, Kay, "Helping Students 'Wade' Through Philosophy," Marquette Magazine, 1983 He worked devotedly on the WISCOM, a province planning group on the better choice of apostolic ministries.

Books

Wade had five books published, at least 22 articles, a number of book reviews, and often delivered sermons. He wrote a history of the Marquette Philosophy Department. Wade was also known to write poetry. *The Catholic University and The Faith, 1978 *A brief history of the philosophy department at Marquette University, 1881–1981, 1981 *Teaching and morality, 1963 *The Trinity, Or The First Principle : De Trinitate, Seu De Primo Principio, 1989

Archival collections

Francis Clarence Wade, S.J., Papers, Marquette University.

Biography

Marquette University (1945-1985)

Books

Archival collections

References

See also