McMahon, Brother Justin , F.S.C., 1834-1912

Person

Staff Only

Biography

Brother Justin McMahon, the founding San Francisco Visitor, had already made a name for himself in the New York District. Born in Ireland in 1834, he came to the United States as a young man and entered the novitiate in Montreal at the age of 20. After completing his period of study, he began his teaching career at the Brothers' Calvert Hall in Baltimore. His talents for administration were soon recognized, and he served as principal and director of various high schools and colleges on the East Coast. Among his greatest achievements was the founding of the first Catholic chapel on the grounds of West Point (1899). Brother Justin established a reputation as an astute political observer and worked actively to promote Catholic educational interests. Asked to recruit Brothers for the new San Francisco District and the operation of Saint Mary's College in 1868, his energy, dedication, public relations skills, and the foresight to found feeder schools served the new project well. In 1879, after eleven years in San Francisco, Brother Justin was called back to the New York District to serve as Visitor. He died in 1912.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Saint Mary's College of California Early History Collection

Collection

Identifier: SMCA-2020-HIS

Scope and Contents The Saint Mary's College of California Early History Collection contains 38 boxes and 36 folders. The intellectual content of the collection is focused on the early years of the college in both San Francisco and Oakland before the school moved to its Moraga location. Materials in the collection are organized to highlight documents related to the founding of the college, financial and academic records for both campuses, items specific to the San Francisco and Oakland campus years, student...

Dates: 1863 - 1927

Found in: Saint Mary's College of California College Archives / Saint Mary's College of California Early History Collection

Filtered By

Subject: Academics X