Albert H. Dolan Explained

Albert Harold Dolan (July 1, 1892 – January 22, 1951) was an American Catholic priest of the Carmelite order, the author of many popular books, and a prominent as well as early promoter of devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux, especially in the United States and Canada.

Life

Dolan was born on July 1, 1892, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.[1] He attended grammar and high school in Syracuse, New York, after which he attended Niagara University.[2] In 1918, he entered the Carmelite order. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1919.[3] He studied at the North American College in Rome and at St. Augustine's Seminary in Toronto.[4] Father Dolan spent the majority of his time at St. Cecilia's Roman Catholic Church in Englewood, New Jersey.[4] He died in White Plains, New York and is buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Tenafly, NJ.[5]

Ministry

A significant part of Rev. Dolan's life after he entered the Carmelite order focused on fostering devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux, also known as "The Little Flower." In an autobiographical essay, Dolan wrote, "Even before ordination I owed much to the intercession of St. Therese. Consequently I undertook to propagate devotion to her in America first through the spoken and later through the written word."

Dolan has been described as "Perhaps the greatest apostle of St. Therese in the new world."[6] In 1923, while teaching public speaking and English at Mount Carmel College in Chicago, Rev. Dolan founded the Society of the Little Flower. Over many years, he established shrines to St. Thérèse of Lisieux in the United States, Canada, and France. For his research about St. Thérèse, Rev. Dolan traveled to France and interviewed four sisters of the saint; he wrote about these interviews in his book The Intimate Life of Saint Thérèse Portrayed by Those Who Knew Her (1944) .[7] Dolan "devoted his priesthood to promoting devotion to St. Therese," wrote one obituary.[8] Dolan founded and edited the first issues of The Sword, a quarterly journal within the Carmelite Order.[4]

Dolan also founded the Matt Talbot Legion, "formed," as one of his obituaries explained, "to aid alcoholics through prayer and the inspiration of Matt Talbott's example." Dolan wrote two books about Matt Talbot: Matt Talbot, Alcoholic: The Story of a Slave to Alcohol who Became a Comrade of Christ (1947) and We Knew Matt Talbot: Visits with His Relatives and Friends (1948).

Imposter scam

In 1929, there were several incidents of a man posing as a priest who claimed to be Rev. Albert H. Dolan and who visited several convents. The man appeared to be trying to collect money supposedly for Mass intentions and he would sometimes bring copies of Dolan's books with him which he would autograph for the nuns.[9]

Selected works

Dolan considered Roses Fall Where Rivers Meet (1937) his best work.[10] He said that his book Dare to Live! Is Our Religion a Burden or a Boon? (1941) was "suggested and inspired" by two books by Ida Friederike Görres, namely The Nature of Sanctity and The Burden of Belief.[11] He wrote 53 books. Most, if not all, of Dolan's books were published by Carmelite Press, based in Chicago, IL and Englewood, NJ.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Find a Grave: Albert Harold Dolan .
  2. Book: The Book of Catholic Authors, Third Series . Walter Roming & Co. . 1945 . Roming . Walter . Detroit, MI . 100 . Reverend Albert H. Dolan, O.Carm..
  3. News: February 2, 1951 . Fr. Dolan, Unique Apostle Of Little Flower, Is Dead . 9 . The St. Louis Register .
  4. News: January 23, 1951 . Obituary: Rev. A. H. Dolan . The New York Times.
  5. Web site: Find a Grave: Albert Harold Dolan .
  6. Web site: The Society of The Little Flower .
  7. Web site: The Intimate Life of Saint Thérèse Portrayed by Those Who Knew Her .
  8. News: January 29, 1951 . Fr. Dolan, Founder of U.S. Little Flower Shrine, Dies . 8 . Catholic News Service - Newsfeeds .
  9. News: May 2, 1929 . Convents Victims Of Bogus Priest . 1 . The Catholic Telegraph .
  10. Roming, Walter, ed. (1945). "Reverend Albert H. Dolan, O.Carm.". The Book of Catholic Authors, Third Series. Detroit, MI: Walter Roming & Co. p. 101.
  11. The Catholic Library World Vol 13 Iss 2 (November 1941), p. 62.https://archive.org/details/sim_catholic-library-world_1941-11_13_2/page/62/mode/2up?view=theater
  12. This book was republished in 1961 as The Life of Matt Talbot: The Story of a Slave to Alcohol who Became a Comrade of Christ. Chicago: Carmelite Press, 1961.

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