Life trustee Archbishop McGrath dies at age 76 passes away
Special to The Observer
Father Mark McGrath, archbishop of Panama from 1969-94 and life trustee of the University of Notre Dame, passed away on Aug. 3.
Archbishop McGrath died in Panama City of complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 76 years old.
A native of Panama, Archbishop McGrath studied at Catholic University of Chile in Santiago before coming to Notre Dame in 1940. In 1942 he entered the novitiate of the Congregation of Holy Cross. After graduating from Notre Dame in 1945, he studied theology at Holy Cross College in Washington, D.C., and was ordained a priest in 1949. He studied at the Theological Institute of Paris and at the Angelicum in Rome, from which he received his doctorate in theology in 1953.
From 1953-61, Archbishop McGrath served in several ministries in Chile. He was rector of Holy Cross Seminary, professor and prefect of religion at Saint George's College in Santiago, professor and dean of theology at Catholic University and founder of a theological journal entitled "Teología y Vida."
In 1961 he was consecrated auxiliary bishop of Panama and three years later was named resident bishop of the new diocese of Santiago de Veraguas. During the Second Vatican Council, he served on the committee which produced the document "Gaudium et Spes." From 1966-68 he served as secretary general of the Council of Latin American Bishops, and, until he retired for reasons of health in 1994, he served on numerous Vatican commissions, including the Secretariat for Non-Believers.
and the Secretariat for the Unity of Christians.
Archbishop McGrath was elected to Notre Dame's board of trustees in 1975 and elected a life trustee in 1993.
He received an honorary doctor of laws from the University in 1963.
All News Stories for Saturday, August 19, 2000
