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Dictionary of Miramichi Biography

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ROACH, WILLIAM JOSEPH (1875-1961)

ROACH, WILLIAM JOSEPH, Catholic priest of the Basilian congregation; superior of St Thomas College, 1911-19; b. parish of Brechin, Ont., 1 Jan 1875, s/o Thomas Roach and Cecilia McGrath; brother of Michael Thomas Roach; ordained 1901; d. Toronto, 12 Feb 1961.

William J. Roach attended St Michael's College and was granted a BA in 1896 by the University of Toronto. He then enrolled in St Basil's Novitiate and was later trained for the priesthood at the congregation's seminary and at Assumption College in Windsor, Ont. After his ordination he taught at Assumption, except for the years 1902-04 when he was engaged in graduate study at the Catholic University of America. He was appointed superior of St Thomas College in 1911.

At St Thomas in 1911-12 there were students enrolled in grades six through twelve (senior matriculation), as well as in a commercial course. In reporting on the closing exercises held in June 1913 the Chatham World printed the names of nineteen students who had been awarded commercial diplomas in the name of the Dominion Business College of Toronto. No other graduates or students were mentioned.

In 1913 St Joseph's preparatory school was opened under the Religious Hospitallers of St Joseph for boys in grades one to four, and beginning that year all boys above grade four were admitted to St Thomas. The college calendar for 1913-14 outlined an elementary program for grades five to eight, a high school program for grades nine to eleven, a two-year college program, and junior, intermediate, and senior commercial programs. Throughout Roach's tenure as superior the commercial program was central to the curriculum, and enrollments in academic studies at the upper levels were very small.

The progress of St Thomas College was grievously interrupted at 12.45 a.m. on 13 March 1919, when the wood-frame structure in which it was housed went up in flames. The North Shore Leader reported that "the professors, prefects, and students escaped in their night attire," but that the building and its contents were completely consumed within a space of two hours.

After the fire the Basilian fathers withdrew from St Thomas temporarily, and Roach became master of scholastics at St Basil's Scholasticate in Windsor, Ont. He subsequently held a number of other positions in both the educational and pastoral spheres. In his later years he published articles on the history of the Basilian fathers, including one entitled "The Basilians in Chatham, N.B.," in The Basilian Teacher in 1961. His accomplishments were recognized by Assumption University, which conferred an honorary LLD on him in 1954, as well as by St Thomas, which honored him with a PhD in 1955.

Sources

[b/d] Scollard / Commercial World 19 May 1955; Leader 14 Mar 1919; World 26 Jun 1912, 31 Aug 1912, 21 Jun 1913


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