Speaker focuses on Roman Catholic Church and the Great War
The next Theology on Tap will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War.
Mark McGowan, a professor of history at the University of Toronto, will give a presentation entitled “The Roman Catholic Church and the Great War: Ideas of Peace, Patriotism and the Paschal Mystery” on Wednesday, Nov. 7, 7 p.m., in the Pourhouse above The Old Triangle Ale House at 189 Great George Street, Charlottetown. All are welcome.
McGowan, who is also deputy chairman of history at the University of Toronto, served as principal of St. Michael’s College from 2002 to 2011 and in several university administrative posts since. He is the author of numerous award-winning books on religion, culture, and migration, with a special focus on the Irish.
His latest book is “The Imperial Irish: Canada’s Irish Catholics Fight the Great War, 1914–1918” (MQUP, 2017). His current research is on Irish famine orphan children and their reception and settlement in British North America and the United States.
McGowan is also the recipient of four university teaching awards. He is known in Catholic education circles for his work on the history of Catholic schools in Ontario, his duties as a trustee for the DCDSB in 2014 and his advisory work for the Institute for Catholic Education. In the spring of 2019, Novalis will be publishing his new book, “It’s Our Turn: Carrying on the Work of the Pioneers of Catholic Education in Ontario”.
He lives in Whitby, Ont., with his wife, Eileen. Their five children have careers in teaching, archeology, study, management and ownership of the only board game pub in the Durham region. They have two grandchildren, which they spend much time and energy spoiling.