Congratulations to Fr. James McCabe, C.PP.S., who this year is celebrating the 60th anniversary of his ordination.
Fr. McCabe, 86, a native of Newcastle, Neb., entered the Society in 1945 and was ordained on June 1, 1958. In his years as a priest he has been involved in parish ministry, college administration and leadership of the Congregation.
Fr. McCabe served briefly in parishes after his ordination, then became an instructor at St. Charles Seminary in Carthagena, Ohio, from 1961-1965. During that time he also served as archivist for the Congregation. In 1965, he became the librarian of Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind., which is sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. He was instrumental in the growth of another college sponsored by the Missionaries, Calumet College of St. Joseph in Hammond, Ind., where he served first as executive vice president beginning in 1973, then president from 1975 to 1981.
Fr. McCabe returned to parish work in 1982, when he was named pastor of St. Mary of the Woods Church in McQuady, Ky. He became pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Hawesville, Ky., in 1983.
In 1987, Fr. McCabe was named pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Celina, Ohio, where he served until 1992, when he was named secretary for the province. He also served the province as its personnel director, and had been a member of its senate. During this time, Fr. McCabe helped found the Amici, a group of former members and students of the C.PP.S. He served as Amici coordinator from 1987 to 2005.
In 1997, Fr. McCabe accepted an assignment to the Sorrowful Mother Shrine in Bellevue, Ohio. He was named director of the shrine in 2000, where he served until his retirement in 2001.
In 2002, Fr. McCabe retired to St. Charles Center.
Fr. McCabe’s anniversary, along with the milestone anniversaries of 12 other Missionaries of the Precious Blood of the Cincinnati Province, signifying hundreds of years of ministerial service to God’s people, will be celebrated in a special liturgy on July 2 at St. Charles Center.
“The lives of these C.PP.S. priests and brothers are an example of faithfulness and commitment for all of us,” said Fr. Larry Hemmelgarn, C.PP.S., provincial director of the Cincinnati Province of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. “We thank God for their lives of service, which have brought so much good to so many.”
The Missionaries of the Precious Blood is a religious society of priests, brothers and lay associates founded in 1815 by St. Gaspar del Bufalo. Society members work as missionaries in parishes in the U.S. and abroad, in education and in a wide range of apostolates, promoting the cause of God’s reconciliation worldwide by proclaiming the Word.