John Austin, S.J. (12 April 1717,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

- 29 September 1784,

), was an Irish

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 ...

. Austin was a noted educator and preacher.

Life

John Austin was born in Dublin on 12 April 1717. As a young man, Austin left Ireland for France where, at the age of 18, 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 Nancy on 27 November 1735. He made his vows on 28 November 1737. He studied logic and physics at

Pont-à-Mousson Pont-à-Mousson () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Its inhabitants are known as ''Mussipontains'' in French. It is an industrial town (mainly steel industry), situated on the river Moselle. Pont-à-Mou ...

, and after completing his higher studies, was employed in teaching humanities for several years at

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

. His ordination on 22 September 1747, was followed by two years studying theology at the Irish college in Poitiers. He held the office of

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

of the Irish College at

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

. In 1750 he returned to Dublin, where he opened a school. John O'Keeffe was one of his students. Thomas Betagh was a student at Austin's school in Saul's Court off

Fishamble Street Fishamble Street (; ) is a street in Dublin, Ireland within the old city walls. Location The street joins Wood Quay at the Fish Slip near Fyan's Castle. It originally ran from Castle Street to Essex Quay until the creation of Lord Edward S ...

. Betagh went on to become a Jesuit and in 1781 set up a number of free schools for the poor boys of Dublin. In 1770 Austin and Father James Mulcaile set up a boarding school.Refferty SJ, Oliver P., "Ireland", ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Jesuits'', (Worcester, Thomas SJ, ed.), Cambridge University Press, 2017
Austin was allowed to profess the

fourth vow A fourth vow is part of religious vows that are taken by members of some religious institutes in the Catholic Church, apart from the traditional vows based on the evangelical counsels: poverty, chastity and obedience or their equivalents stabili ...

specific to the Society on 2 February 1754. He obtained renown as a preacher. Topham Bowden, an English writer, noted in his book, ''Tour through Ireland'' (1791), that "... Austin was a very remarkable character, of extraordinary learning and piety; he was a great preacher, and injured his health by his exertions in the pulpit." Austin died in Dublin on 29 September 1784, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Kevin's Church in that city. The inscription over his grave describes him as "''pius, doctus, indefessus operarius, apostolicis confectus laboribus. Divites admonuit, pauperes sublevavit, juventutem erudivit, orphanis loco parentis fuit, de omni hominum genere prseclare meruit, omnibus omnia factus ut omnes Christo lucrifaceret''." A portrait of Austin, painted by George Petrie, and engraved by Henry Brocas, was published in 1792.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, John 1717 births 1784 deaths 18th-century Irish Jesuits Irish expatriates in France