Letter to the Editor: Msgr. McCann, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Newton for 63 years

Thomas McCann, a man of many interests and talents was born on Sept. 12, 1881, to Irish parents, and reared in the streets of Philadelphia. He was a good athlete and became a fine boxer.

He was ordained to the priesthood in Baltimore on June 19, 1908, and came to Iowa as an Assistant Pastor at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport. He became pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Newton on May 14, 1910, where he remained the rest of his life. He taught English, Latin, and Greek at Dowling Junior College in Des Moines.

Father McCann was instrumental in forming the Knights of Columbus Council #2663 in 1927 and was Chaplain until 1967. He was President of the Newton Rotary Club and served on the Board of Directors of the YMCA, Salvation Army, and Jasper County Red Cross and Girl Scouts. He served as boxing commissioner for Jasper County and surrounding counties in the 1940s and directed the Golden Gloves Tournament.

In 1940 Father McCann received the Community Service Award in recognition of outstanding service and unselfish devotion to the welfare of Newton. An extraordinary man, his influence was felt not only in the city of Newton but throughout Jasper County and Central Iowa.

In 1926, the third Catholic Church in Newton was built and dedicated under the guidance of Father McCann in a new location, which served the Catholic Community for many years.

In 1950 he journeyed to Rome where he had a personal audience with Pope Pius XII. On June 19, 1959, he was named a Domestic Prelate by Pope John XXIII.

McCann Center, a Christian Education Center for Sacred Heart Church was dedicated on June 14, 1970, in the presence and honor of the Priest who had served for so many years.

Monsignor Thomas J. McCann died on April 17, 1973, and was buried on April 23 beside his friends and parishioners. The Catholic Community of Newton is his legacy: McCann Center is his Monument.

This information is inscribed on the tombstone of Msgr. McCann, who lays at rest in the rural Sacred Heart Cemetery.

Submitted by John McNeer

Newton