Francis P. (Francis Patrick) Donnelly

Born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, in 1869, Francis Patrick Donnelly entered the Society of Jesus in 1888 and was ordained in 1903. He went on to build a long career as a teacher and scholar, with work at Holy Cross and Boston College before spending more than two decades at Fordham University as a professor of rhetoric and classics.

He was remembered as a strong classical scholar, especially in Greek and Latin, and as a notably prolific writer. His published books included devotional works such as The Our Father in Gethsemane and The Heart of the Gospel, along with essays and textbooks, showing how comfortably he moved between serious spiritual reflection and practical teaching.

Donnelly died in 1959 at age 89. The picture that emerges from library and memorial records is of a priest-author who combined scholarship, teaching, and accessible religious writing over many decades.