Fr. James Kelsey McConica, CSB, a world-renowned scholar who served as President of the University of St. Michael’s College from 1984 to 1990 and then as Praeses of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (PIMS) from 1996 to 2008, has died at the age of 93.
“St. Michael’s has lost a dear friend whose leadership both at the University and at PIMS was extraordinary,” said St. Michael’s President David Sylvester. “A gifted administrator and academic, Fr. McConica’s research and teaching on Erasmus and Thomas More drew international attention and acclaim. His impact continues to be felt in the Office of the President and his vision for the University remains an influence.”
Born in Saskatchewan in 1930, James McConica graduated from the University of Saskatchewan before traveling to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He then pursued studies at Princeton before returning to the University of Saskatchewan to teach. In 1967 he was made a Junior Fellow – and then a Senior Fellow– at PIMS, a role he held until 1991.
He was appointed President of St. Michael’s in 1984, succeeding Fr. Peter Swan, CSB. A research fellow at All Souls College, Oxford from 1990 to 1997, Fr. McConica was appointed Praeses, or President, of PIMS in 1996.
With more than 50 publications to his name, Fr. McConica’s interests included Erasmus, More, northern humanism to 1550, intellectual history, and historical theology.
The list of honours and accomplishments earned in his lifetime was lengthy and impressive. Fr. McConica was the first Roman Catholic priest since the English Reformation to be named a fellow of All Souls College. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada, with his citation noting his editing and interpretation on the Collected Works of Erasmus, as well as The History of the University of Oxford. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, he also served as a Member of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy.
During his time at St. Michael’s, Fr. McConica demonstrated a strong talent for fundraising. He also was known for his desire for the University to serve as a venue where multiple voices and viewpoints could be heard. Perhaps the most famous example was inviting Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, then the controversial Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to speak on campus in 1985. The event was so over-subscribed it had to be moved off campus to Varsity Arena. Twenty years later, Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI.
Friends and colleagues remember Fr. McConica fondly. Sr. Anne Anderson, CSJ, who served as St. Michael’s President from 2008 to 2015, described him as “a scholar and a gentleman.”
Dr. Richard Alway, who succeeded Fr. McConica in his roles at both St. Michael’s and PIMS, echoed Sr. Anne, noting that his colleague was “a man of culture and refinement.”
Describing Fr. McConica as one of his dearest friends and a colleague of more than 30 years, Dr. Alway said that while he was a scholar of great standing, “Fr. McConica was always a priest first.
“He came to his faith later in life and he was a late vocation,” Dr. Alway added, explaining that, after years of teaching, Fr. McConica was in Montreal visiting a friend who was a priest, and that friend suggested he spend a summer discerning with the Basilians in Toronto. He entered the order shortly thereafter.
While President, Fr. McConica recognized that one of St. Michael’s many assets was its impressive green space in the heart of the city, and so he worked hard to ensure that the grounds including the rock gardens, were well maintained, recalled Alway, adding that Fr. McConica was responsible for planting the rows of oak tress that line Elmsley Place today.
The Order of Canada citation describing Fr. McConica as “a classic humanist whose influence resonated through academic circles and beyond.”
Fr. McConica’s funeral Mass will be held at Presentation Manor, 61 Fairfax Crescent, Scarborough, on Friday, December 29 at 10:30 a.m., with visitation at 9:30.
The University of St. Michael’s College extends its condolences to the Basilian Fathers, and to Fr. McConica’s many friends and colleagues in the academy and around the world.
Read Fr. McConica’s obituary as published in the Globe & Mail.