Fr. Sebastian John Owens, OP

Fr. Owens has an unusual history in coming to this Province.  He was born in Carracastle, County Mayo, Ireland and received his early education there, studying with the Christian Brothers at the college in Waterford, Ireland.  He was received into the Order in Coublevie, France joining the Lacordaire Congregation.  He made his studies in France and Fribourg, Switzerland, being ordained in Fribourg.  He had at this point theological training as well as a degree in Higher Education.  In 1906, he became a teacher at Lacordaire College in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  He taught English and math and was the Dean of Studies for a few years.  He worked in this mission field for thirteen years and he was not even solemnly professed!  In 1919 he returned to France, this time to Marseilles and again taught English and math.  While on the continent he took advantage of the resources and became solemnly professed.  This action inspired all the priests in the Congregation to be solemnly professed.  He returned to the college in Argentina from 1923 to 1926 to teach and to finalize financial obligations for the college.  After he was in the Western Dominican Province, his role in Argentina brought him back there on a special mission before World War II, since a lot of his pupils were in the council of the Argentine government.

His interest in transfiliation began as early as 1911.  He first considered the St. Joseph Province, but eventually he found his way to our Province.  He could not get away from his responsibilities at the college and so he stayed there for a total of sixteen years.  When he was able to come West, he was assigned to teach at our high school in Portland, Oregon, Aquinas High School.  That lasted a year (it was seen that the Province could not sustain the high school) and then he was moved to teach the seminarian students in Benicia.  During his four months at Mary Magdalen's in Berkeley in 1932, he was sent to Oakland to find a suitable place for our Studium so that it could be close to the University of California.  He was instrumental in getting the land that is now St. Albert's Priory.  He became the second Prior of St. Albert's in 1935 and was re-elected in 1938.  He became a teacher of languages and Church history for the seminarian students, and the strength of the house grew.  He stayed at St. Albert's until 1941, and then was assign to Pittsburg, California as Pastor to settle its financial difficulties.  He was much loved in Pittsburg which housed many Italian and Spanish speakers, for he could speak many languages.  He was elected for his third term as Prior of St. Albert's in 1944, and was also Director of the Third Order in 1945.  He died on Palm Sunday of a heart attack at the age of sixty-seven.

XII:220