Obituary Notice
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Br. Stanislaus McConville (1903-1965) ee ol OBITUARY -NOTICE of BROTHER STANISLAUS McGONVILLE, C.P. On Sunday, July 4ths, a well-known and beloved figure was removed from the community. of St. Paul's Retreat, Mount Argus, Dublin, when with tragic suddenness death claimed Brother Stanislaus of Our Lady of Sorrows at the age of sixty-one years. He had been in his usual good health ‘that morning and had assisted at the community exercises. At about 4430 in the afternoon he suffered a sudden attack of coronary thrombosis and died within a few seconds, It was with a sense of deep shock that various members of the community, returning to the house after Sunday ministries, were greeted with the news "Brother Stanislaus is dead!" . A native of Belfasty where he was born in 1903, John Patrick McConville as he was formerly known always retained a strong sense of affection for his native citys He was still very young when he applied for admiss+ ion to the Passionist Congregation and was accepted as a postulants He made his religious profession at Sts Gab-= riel's Retreat, The Graan, Enniskillen on St. Patrick's Day, March I7th.s, 1920, He had not yet reached his seven~ teenth birthdays As a young brother, he filled the office of sacristan at Sts Joseph's Retreats Highgate, London, and subsequently was attached to St, Saviour's Retreat, Broadway, Worcs. On the division of the former Anglo«Hibernian Province, Brother Stanislaus came to Dub« lin about 1928, where he again acted as sacristan for some time, Subsequently he was appointed Questor for Sts Paul's Retreat, an office which he filled with diligence and fid~ elity for many years,
In the retreat Brother Stanislaus placed himself without reserve at the service of his breth+ rene Utterly unsparing of selfy he was unwearying in deal- ing with the manifold tasks that were entrusted to him. From early morning when he placed the daily newspapers in the community recreation until late at night when he check= ed visitors’ rooms to see if anything further were needed his energy appeared to be inexhaustible. Whenever disting- uished visitors came to the retreat, it was always his privilege to see that the necessary preparations were made in advances At successive Provincial Chapters, he made it his business to see that nothing was wanting to the Capit- ular Fathers, Carefully and methodically under the Rector's supervision, he checked each individual room to see that all was provided for the comfort of the visitors. "How kind he was when one was visiting!" wrote one on hearing of his deaths "nothing to add to one's welcome was too much trouble to him'', Indeed Brother Stanislaus seemed incapable of refusing any request, no matter how importunate or untim- ely, and his smiling and ready willingness made it almost seem that he was receiving a favour rather than granting ones Often and often after a hard and wearying day spent on the quest he would return to the retreat to find that in his absence further duties had been set aside for his atten- tions "Ask Brother Stanislaus to look after it" seemed to be a magic formula for getting awkward jobs attended to, but such unremitting toi undoubtedly took its toll. His own spiritual life was as unobtrusive as it was solid. To his devotions he brought the simplicity of a child together with a mature perception of his duties as a religious. His great love for the Congregation was an outstanding feature of his characters Often he spoke with feeling of the good old brothers who had gone before him, and of the edification they gave to him in his younger days in religion. He never even suspected for a moment that he
was giving a similar example himself to the next generation, More than one hundred Passionists from both St. Joseph's and St. Patrick's Provinces, including Very Revs Frs Ambrose, C.P., Provincial of St. Joseph's Province, attended the obsequies at St. Paul's Retreat, Mount Argus, Dublin. Despite the fact that the newspaper strike was in progress and that many were therefore unaware of his sudden death, the funeral was attended by a large number of mournerss Solemn Requiem Mass was celebrated by Very Rev. Fr. Valentine, C.Ps,y Provincial, after which ) interment took place in the adjoining monastic cemetery. May he rest in peace. St. Paul's Retreat, Mount Argus, Dublin.
Source: Obituary Notices, Provincial Archive, St Joseph's Province. Passionist Congregation.