Francis X. Talbot | |
|---|---|
| 20th President of Loyola College in Maryland | |
| In office 1947–1950 | |
| Preceded by | Edward B. Bunn |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Murray |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1889-01-25)January 25, 1889 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | December 3, 1953(1953-12-03) (aged 64) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Jesuit Community Cemetery |
| Alma mater | |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | June 29, 1921 by Owen Corrigan |
Francis Xavier TalbotSJ (January 25, 1889 – December 3, 1953) was an AmericanCatholic priest andJesuit who was active in Catholic literary andpublishing circles, and became thePresident of Loyola College in Maryland. Born inPhiladelphia, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1906, and was educated atSt. Andrew-on-Hudson andWoodstock College. He taught for several years inNew York City and atBoston College, before entering publishing as theliterary editor ofAmerica magazine in 1923, of which he became theeditor-in-chief in 1936. While in this role, he was also active in founding and editing several academic journals, includingThought, and establishing various Catholicliterary societies and book clubs. DuringWorld War II, he waschaplain to a Catholic organization that previewed movies for theNational Legion of Decency. He also supportedFranco's rule in Spain because of its support of Catholicism and opposition tocommunism; he also supported the US war effort. He was described as one of the early leaders of therevival of Catholic literature in the United States.
In 1947, Talbot was named the President ofLoyola College in Maryland. He held the office for three years and then was briefly anarchivist atGeorgetown University before becoming a priest and historian ofSt. Aloysius Church. He was then assigned toHoly Trinity Church inGeorgetown, where he died.
Francis Xavier Talbot was born on January 25, 1889, inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, to parents Patrick Talbot and Bridget Talbot née Peyton. He was one of seven children and attended St. Edward's Parish School,[1] and thenSt. Joseph's Preparatory School.[2] He lived in Philadelphia until the age of seventeen, when he entered theSociety of Jesus on August 15, 1906, proceeding to the Jesuitnovitiate ofSt. Andrew-on-Hudson inPoughkeepsie, New York.[1] After two years, he went toWoodstock College inMaryland for three years,[3] where he received a Master of Arts inphilosophy in 1913.[4]
He then taught English atLoyola School inNew York City from 1913 to 1916 and religion atBoston College from 1917 to 1918, before returning to Woodstock College to studytheology for four years. While there, he was ordained apriest byOwen Corrigan, theAuxiliary Bishop of Baltimore, on June 29, 1921.[3] That year, he took hisfinal vows,[5] and completed histertianship in 1923.[3] He later received atDoctor of Philosophy from thePontifical Gregorian University inRome.[6]
Talbot spent much of his life working in Catholic literary circles and was described as one of the early leaders of therevival of Catholic literature in the United States.[7] He publicly defended the quality of Catholic intellectual life against criticisms[5] and called for the improvement of the teaching of Catholic fiction literature inCatholic universities.[8]
He became theliterary editor ofAmerica magazine in 1923 after the death of Walter Dwight.[3] In that role, he held two "literaryplebiscites" to draw public attention to Catholic authors and books.[9] He became a trustee of theAmerican Catholic Historical Society in 1925. Talbot also became the first editor of theacademic journalThought in 1926.[10] He additionally played a key role in the establishment ofTheological Studies, the official theology journal of the Society of Jesus.[11] In 1928, he founded the Catholic Book Club to give readers a list of notable Catholic books.[12] He formed the Catholic Poetry Society of America in 1930, whose goal was to bring together all the Catholic poets in the United States, and served as itschaplain from 1934 to 1936. He was also active in the founding of the Spiritual Book Associates in 1932 and served as chairman of its editorial committee. He then assisted in the founding of the Pro Parvulis Society, whose focus was on children's books.[10]
Talbot contributed to theEncyclopædia Britannica, including generally reviewing it to reduceanti-Catholic bias,[13] and the 1936 edition contained two articles written by him.[5] He served as chaplain to the National Motion Picture Bureau of the International Federation of Catholic Alumnae for twelve years, which previewed movies for theNational Legion of Decency.[11] He was also chaplain to theYorkville Council of theKnights of Columbus.[10] Talbot also contributed to foundation of the Catholic Theatre Conference and the Catholic Library Association.[13] While in Canada, he worked to persuade theQuebec authorities to return theDionne quintuplets, the world's first surviving quintuplets, to their parents.[14]
In 1936, he was selected to succeed Wilfrid Parsons aseditor-in-chief ofAmerica, and became theex officio editor-in-chief of the journalCatholic Mind as well.[14] Due to its support of Catholicism and rejection ofmodernism andcommunism, Talbot supportedFrancoist Spain.[11] Talbot organized the America Spanish Relief Fund to aid victims of theSpanish Civil War.[14] He also strongly supported the United States duringWorld War I andWorld War II.[11] His tenure as head ofAmerica came to an end in 1944.[15] In recognition of his work in publishing, students ofNew York City Catholic high schools created abook club in 1942 called the Talbot Club.[16]
During World War II, Talbot became an auxiliary chaplain atFort Myer inArlington, Virginia.[15] Upon leavingAmerica, he moved toGeorgetown University, where he became the regional director of the Institute of Social Order and the university's assistantarchivist, where he remained until 1947.
Talbot was appointed thePresident of Loyola College in Maryland on July 26, 1947, by theJesuit Superior General,[15] succeedingEdward B. Bunn.[17] AtLoyola College, he constructed the collegechapel. His tenure as president came to an end on August 14, 1950,[15] and he was succeeded byThomas Murray.[17] He then returned to Georgetown briefly as assistant archivist, before becoming a parish priest atSt. Aloysius Church in Washington, and writing the history of the parish.[15]
He then performedretreat work at Manresa on theSevern inAnnapolis, Maryland, from 1952 to 1953. That year, he returned toGeorgetown, where he was a parish priest atHoly Trinity Church.[15] There, he died ofpneumonia on December 3, 1953, in the churchrectory.[1] Hisrequiem mass was said byJohn Michael McNamara, theAuxiliary Bishop of Washington, at Holy Trinity on December 6,[15] and was buried in theJesuit Community Cemetery at Georgetown.[18]
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| Preceded by | 20thPresident of Loyola College in Maryland 1947–1950 | Succeeded by |
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