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June 3, 2021Gavin P. Monaghan was born Nov. 20, 1900, in Prince Edward Island, Canada. The story of this Canadian’s sojourn to Oklahoma and the work that endeared him as one of the finest and most talented priests to serve in the Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa is the stuff of legend.
Ordained for Charlottetown, PEI, in 1924, he was awarded a doctorate in theology in Rome. Returning to Charlottetown, he taught philosophy at Saint Dunstan’s, the alma mater of Bishop Kelley. Monsignor Monaghan had suffered with a severe respiratory ailment (most likely tuberculosis) and was hospitalized for five years. He recovered enough to return to the classroom in 1935. In 1941, he resigned, and Bishop Kelley invited him to come to Oklahoma for the supposedly healthful climate. Monaghan once stated: “I love Oklahoma. My illness was a blessing in disguise because it brought me here.”
After leaving Saint Dunstan’s, he came to Oklahoma to assist Bishop Kelley in translating some French texts and he never left. Shortly after his arrival, Bishop Kelley already had plans for this capable cleric. He was appointed the superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese, which covered all of Oklahoma. The Southwest Courier had these observations: “Monsignor Monaghan was a brilliant but very humble man. He was witty, crisp in talking, and his observations were keen. He was a quiet man. There were no flamboyant gestures in his talks. He stated his ideas simply, firmly and convincingly. In the scholastic field he did more for Oklahoma Catholics than anyone in this century. He was responsible in great part for the unity of curricula now in effect in all the schools.”
He held this office until his death from cancer in 1959. Historian Father James White stated: “His early death deprived Oklahoma Catholics of a man known as a scholar and compassionate human being.”
Another of his great services to the diocese was the recruitment and encouragement of a second generation of priests from Prince Edward Island, including the MacAulay brothers, Gerard and Stephen. Stephen served as vicar general for the Diocese of Tulsa after the dividing of the diocese, and Gerard, now 92, is retired after serving faithfully the people of the archdiocese for more than 60 years. He is the last of the Prince Edward Island connection. Father MacAulay recalls that Monsignor Monaghan was a “very good man and a great storyteller.”
Monsignor Gavin Monaghan’s impact is still felt in Catholic education and for the positive image of priesthood he exhibited that inspired two generations of clergy. Bishop Reed in his eulogy paid tribute to that positive image when he said, “He was always conscious of his holy priesthood and what it meant.”
