Nov. 29, 2005

CUA Remembers Monsignor Frederick R. McManus

Renowned Canon Lawyer and Liturgical Expert Was Professor Emeritus, Former Academic VP

Monsignor Frederick R. McManus

The Catholic University community lost one of its most accomplished emeritus professors Nov. 27, 2005, when Monsignor Frederick R. McManus passed away after a brief illness at the age of 82 in Boston, where he was living in retirement.

Monsignor McManus, who began his teaching career in 1954 as a professor of canon law and moral theology at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, Mass., joined the faculty at CUA as an assistant professor in 1958. During his 27-year tenure at the university he served as dean of the School of Canon Law (1967-1973), vice provost and dean of graduate studies (1974-1983) and academic vice president (1983-1985).

“The passing of Monsignor Frederick R. McManus is, in a sense, the end of an era at The Catholic University of America,” said Very Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M., president. “As a long-time member of the faculty here and one of the university’s academic leaders, Monsignor McManus left his mark at CUA at a time of great transition. He was a well-respected canon lawyer whose interests in the liturgical life of the Church in the post-conciliar period were also well chronicled. He was very much ahead of his time in both his thinking and scholarship. “

In his remembrance of Monsignor McManus, Provost John Convey described him as a prolific scholar who also was “well-known for his contributions to the liturgical renewal in the Catholic Church and to the Catholic-Orthodox dialogue. He served as consultor to the Pontifical Preparatory Commission on the Sacred Liturgy for the Second Vatican Council and was a peritus at the Council.” Reporting on his passing, Catholic News Service called Monsignor McManus “a key figure in liturgical reform.”

Father O’Connell added that he was fortunate to have worked very closely with Monsignor McManus, who served as director of Father O’Connell’s doctoral dissertation in canon law.

“He was incredibly thorough and a very kind and attentive mentor. His sharp intellect and keen wit were always tempered by a soft voice and gentle manner,” O’Connell said. “I recall his distinguished bearing in and out of the classroom as he made his way around campus. Tall, slim and always impeccably dressed in black suit and roman collar, Monsignor McManus was ever the ‘gentleman priest.’ He worked closely with the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and was a strong advocate for Catholic higher education during the revision of the Code of Canon Law and, subsequently, in the drafting of Ex Corde Ecclesiae.”

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Any questions or comments? cu a-public-affairs@cua.edu

Revised: 11/29/2005