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July 31, 2024Joseph Donald Cahill, priest of the Marianist Residence Community in San Antonio, Texas, died June 18, 2024, at the age of 95 with 74 years of religious profession.
Father Don was a pastor, chaplain, counselor, and teacher at numerous schools, parishes, and communities, including Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in the late 1970s.
He was born Aug. 5, 1928, in Detroit, Michigan. He was the first of seven children of Thomas and Mary (Sheedy) Cahill. He attended Holy Redeemer Grade School and High School in Detroit, where he first encountered the Marianists.
He entered the novitiate at Marynook in Galesville, Wisconsin, later that fall and professed his first vows on Sept. 24, 1949. He then attended scholasticate at Saint Mary’s University, earning a bachelor’s degree in history in 1952, and professed perpetual vows in Galesville on July 16, 1955.
Subsequently, Father Don taught religion and social studies at Saint Mary’s High School in Saint Louis, Missouri. He taught for another year at Central Catholic in San Antonio. In 1957, he wrote to his provincial superior asking to begin seminary studies. He was ordained in Fribourg on June 11, 1961, then returned to Holy Redeemer in Detroit to celebrate his first Mass with his family present.
The next three decades Father Don’s ministry spanned five states and numerous schools, parishes, religious communities, and hospitals. He served as chaplain at Bishop McGuinness in 1978-79.
