On December 31, 1997, Father John Paul "Cappy" Donahue, CSP, died in Washington, DC, at the age of 75 after 40 years as a Paulist priest. Born in Philadelphia in June 17, 1922, John Donahue attended local parochial schools and enlisted in the US Army Tank Corps in 1942. Serving as a tank commander in Europe during 1944-1945, he was wounded three times. During the Battle of the Bulge he was wounded in his tank and lost his right eye. He was awarded 3 Battle Stars, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Belgian Government's Fourregère award.
After attending the Foreign Service School and graduating from Mexico City College in 1949, he entered the Paulists. His fellow seminarians nicknamed him "Cappy" out of respect for his military service. He was professed on September 8, 1951, and was ordained a priest in New York on May 11, 1957.
Father Donahue's first assignment was as an assistant at St. Patrick's parish in Memphis, and Newman Chaplain at Mempis State and the University of Tennessee-Memphis. In the mid 1960s he assisted at Paulist foundations in Los Angeles, Portland, and South Africa before joining the Austin, Texas, mission band in 1967.
In 1969 he moved to St. Paul's College in Washington, DC, to direct a special ministry fostering vocations in United States military bases around America and Europe. Thinking of his own path to the priesthood, Father Donahue noted: "We may have a repetition of the situation of 1946 -- thousands of returning GI's seeking a fulfilling way of life. Many of the GI's of my generation entered the seminaries of the Church. The "now" generation of Vietnam veterans will do the same. Christ is calling men to be priests. The Paulists will welcome them."
He returned to Newman ministry in the 1970s, first at Tufts University in Boston and later at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He retired from the active ministry in 1989 and worked as a chaplain at Walter Reed U.S. Army Hospital in Washington, DC.
A military hero, Father Donahue was laid to rest in the section of Arlington National Cemetery in Washington reserved for chaplains.
After attending the Foreign Service School and graduating from Mexico City College in 1949, he entered the Paulists. His fellow seminarians nicknamed him "Cappy" out of respect for his military service. He was professed on September 8, 1951, and was ordained a priest in New York on May 11, 1957.
Father Donahue's first assignment was as an assistant at St. Patrick's parish in Memphis, and Newman Chaplain at Mempis State and the University of Tennessee-Memphis. In the mid 1960s he assisted at Paulist foundations in Los Angeles, Portland, and South Africa before joining the Austin, Texas, mission band in 1967.
In 1969 he moved to St. Paul's College in Washington, DC, to direct a special ministry fostering vocations in United States military bases around America and Europe. Thinking of his own path to the priesthood, Father Donahue noted: "We may have a repetition of the situation of 1946 -- thousands of returning GI's seeking a fulfilling way of life. Many of the GI's of my generation entered the seminaries of the Church. The "now" generation of Vietnam veterans will do the same. Christ is calling men to be priests. The Paulists will welcome them."
He returned to Newman ministry in the 1970s, first at Tufts University in Boston and later at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He retired from the active ministry in 1989 and worked as a chaplain at Walter Reed U.S. Army Hospital in Washington, DC.
A military hero, Father Donahue was laid to rest in the section of Arlington National Cemetery in Washington reserved for chaplains.
On December 31, 1997, Father John Paul "Cappy" Donahue, CSP, died in Washington, DC, at the age of 75 after 40 years as a Paulist priest. Born in Philadelphia in June 17, 1922, John Donahue attended local parochial schools and enlisted in the US Army Tank Corps in 1942. Serving as a tank commander in Europe during 1944-1945, he was wounded three times. During the Battle of the Bulge he was wounded in his tank and lost his right eye. He was awarded 3 Battle Stars, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Belgian Government's Fourregère award.
After attending the Foreign Service School and graduating from Mexico City College in 1949, he entered the Paulists. His fellow seminarians nicknamed him "Cappy" out of respect for his military service. He was professed on September 8, 1951, and was ordained a priest in New York on May 11, 1957.
Father Donahue's first assignment was as an assistant at St. Patrick's parish in Memphis, and Newman Chaplain at Mempis State and the University of Tennessee-Memphis. In the mid 1960s he assisted at Paulist foundations in Los Angeles, Portland, and South Africa before joining the Austin, Texas, mission band in 1967.
In 1969 he moved to St. Paul's College in Washington, DC, to direct a special ministry fostering vocations in United States military bases around America and Europe. Thinking of his own path to the priesthood, Father Donahue noted: "We may have a repetition of the situation of 1946 -- thousands of returning GI's seeking a fulfilling way of life. Many of the GI's of my generation entered the seminaries of the Church. The "now" generation of Vietnam veterans will do the same. Christ is calling men to be priests. The Paulists will welcome them."
He returned to Newman ministry in the 1970s, first at Tufts University in Boston and later at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He retired from the active ministry in 1989 and worked as a chaplain at Walter Reed U.S. Army Hospital in Washington, DC.
A military hero, Father Donahue was laid to rest in the section of Arlington National Cemetery in Washington reserved for chaplains.
After attending the Foreign Service School and graduating from Mexico City College in 1949, he entered the Paulists. His fellow seminarians nicknamed him "Cappy" out of respect for his military service. He was professed on September 8, 1951, and was ordained a priest in New York on May 11, 1957.
Father Donahue's first assignment was as an assistant at St. Patrick's parish in Memphis, and Newman Chaplain at Mempis State and the University of Tennessee-Memphis. In the mid 1960s he assisted at Paulist foundations in Los Angeles, Portland, and South Africa before joining the Austin, Texas, mission band in 1967.
In 1969 he moved to St. Paul's College in Washington, DC, to direct a special ministry fostering vocations in United States military bases around America and Europe. Thinking of his own path to the priesthood, Father Donahue noted: "We may have a repetition of the situation of 1946 -- thousands of returning GI's seeking a fulfilling way of life. Many of the GI's of my generation entered the seminaries of the Church. The "now" generation of Vietnam veterans will do the same. Christ is calling men to be priests. The Paulists will welcome them."
He returned to Newman ministry in the 1970s, first at Tufts University in Boston and later at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He retired from the active ministry in 1989 and worked as a chaplain at Walter Reed U.S. Army Hospital in Washington, DC.
A military hero, Father Donahue was laid to rest in the section of Arlington National Cemetery in Washington reserved for chaplains.
Gravesite Details
1ST LT US ARMY; WORLD WAR II
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