Rev. Thomas Joseph MacMAHON

One of the most able Catholic educators in Quebec province, a man sincere, straightforward and reliable in the discharge of the duties and obligations of life, most earnest and consecrated in his work as a priest of the Society of Jesus, is Rev. Thomas Joseph MacMahon, rector of Loyola College in Montreal. He has been connected with this institution since 1912 and, constantly following high ideals and guiding his actions by sound and practical judgment, has been an important factor in its later development and growth.

Father MacMahon was born at Hamilton, Ontario, December 12, 1874, and received his primary education at the Catholic separate schools in that city, later attending Hamilton high school and St. Mary’s College, Montreal. Entering the Society of Jesus in 1895, he was sent to St. Louis, Missouri, where he received a long Jesuit training in philosophy and theology, after which he returned to Montreal, where he was ordained to the priesthood in 1910. Father MacMahon then went to England for further training preparatory to taking the position of prefect of studies at Loyola College, a post which he assumed in May, 1912. He proved a capable educator and an excellent disciplinarian and in 1913 was advanced to the position of rector of the college. This is a large and growing institution conducted by the Jesuit Fathers for English-speaking Catholic boys and has an enviable reputation throughout eastern Canada for the thoroughness of its training and the comprehensive courses of study offered. The high standard of efficiency, traditional in the school, has been maintained under Father MacMahon’s able management and the institution has made a creditable growth during the period of his incumbency. He has made himself thoroughly conversant with the affairs of the college and is rapidly pushing forward the work on the construction of the new buildings at Notre Dame de Grace, Sherbrooke Street, Montreal West, where the institution will be moved within the next two years.

Besides being an able educator and a farsighted and reliable business man, Father MacMahon is known also as a preacher of rare ability and power and has filled most of the pulpits in Montreal and the vicinity in a creditable manner. He has made his talents, powers and abilities forces in the spread of the Catholic religion in this province and has accomplished a great deal of beneficial and lasting work among the students of Loyola College and the people of the city. He has their love in large measure, while his upright and honorable character and his life of service has gained him the respect and esteem of people of all denominations.