Rev. John P. McNamee papers

Reverend John P. McNamee was born in 1933 and ordained a diocesan priest in Philadelphia at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary on May 7, 1959. Early in his priesthood, Fr. McNamee served as curate (parish priest) at Philadelphia’s Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul and as a member of the archdiocese’s first liturgical commission, which was formed after Vatican II. Inspired by the work of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement, Fr. McNamee decided early on that he wanted to serve inner city working poor. In the 1970s, he was assigned to St. Francis DeSales and Most Precious Blood Parishes. Between 1979 and 1982, he was assistant pastor at St. Rose of Lima Parish. In December 1982, Fr. McNamee was assigned as an administrator at St. Malachy’s Parish in North Philadelphia and in 1984 was appointed pastor. He served in that position until his retirement in 2008.

In 1993, at the encouragement of friends and colleagues, Fr. McNamee published a book titled Diary of a City Priest. Consisting of a collection of his journal entries from 1989 to 1991, the work chronicles his experiences working in an inner city parish that often tested his faith and resolve. In one of the entries Fr. McNamee asks, “What are the consequences for faith and belief in a landscape where there is so little to believe in?” Diary of a City Priest was well-received and in 2001 it was adapted into a film of the same title. Actor David Morse portrayed Rev. McNamee in the film. Rev. McNamee followed up this work with Endurance in 1996 and three books of poetry: Clay Vessels and Other Poems (1995), Derrybeg and Back (2010), and Donegal Suite (2006).