author
Francis P. (Francis Patrick) Donnelly
1869–1959
A Jesuit priest, teacher, and writer, he brought classical learning and a lively sense of style to books on rhetoric, education, devotion, and verse. His work moved easily between the classroom, the pulpit, and the page.
1 Audiobook
Art principles in literature
by Francis P. (Francis Patrick) Donnelly
About the author
Born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, in 1869, Francis Patrick Donnelly entered the Society of Jesus in 1888 and was ordained in 1903. He became known as a gifted scholar of Greek and Latin and spent years teaching at Jesuit institutions including Holy Cross, Boston College, and Fordham University.
Donnelly wrote widely and with unusual range. Alongside religious works and poetry, he published books on speaking, writing, and Jesuit education, including The Art of Interesting and Principles of Jesuit Education in Practice. He also contributed articles to the Catholic Encyclopedia, showing how comfortably he worked as both a teacher and an author.
He died in 1959 after a long career that joined intellectual discipline with an accessible, practical style. For listeners coming to his work today, he stands out as a writer who cared not just about ideas, but about how to make them clear, vivid, and memorable.