An All Souls’ Day Remembrance of Christendom’s Dr. Brendan McGuire

May his soul, and souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Dr. Brendan McGuire
Dr. Brendan McGuire (photo: Christendom.edu)

Dr. Brendan McGuire, beloved Christendom College history professor, passed away last month, on Oct. 9, at the age of 37. We were only casual acquaintances living in the same small town, but he and his family were often in our nightly Rosary intentions due to his long and courageous bout with cancer. Indeed, it seemed as if our entire little town rallied around the professor and his family.

Over the past months, Christendom has been building a magnificent chapel that its faculty, staff and students pass every day. And though the whole world seemed to stop due to concerns and restrictions of COVID-19, the chapel construction kept on going. Amid debates about what constitutes “essential services,” the chapel construction served as a quiet proclamation that the most essential services on Earth are those that are joined in Heaven. 

When this new chapel is blessed and opened, it will be filled with heavenly sounds in prayer, including prayers for souls such as Dr. McGuire. But, even as it is being constructed, there has already been one such beautiful prayer offered for him in that chapel by a friend and fellow professor, Larissa Fedoryka. Surrounded by bare walls and windows that will soon be adorned with pictures and stained glass, Fedoryka played a piece called Gabriel’s Oboe that is (quite literally) breathtakingly beautiful — as a tribute to Dr. McGuire.

Please give this a listen, along with saying a “Hail Mary” for the repose of Dr. McGuire’s soul, as well as a prayer for his family:


There has been a GoFundMe established for Dr. McGuire’s young family.

May his soul, and souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.