The Rev. Charles John McCloskey III, S.T.D. (1953 – 2023)[1] was a Catholic priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei and member of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross. He was a well-known author and spiritual director and a former director of the Catholic Information Center (CIC) located in the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.[2] He worked on Wall Street at Citibank and Merrill Lynch for a number of years before becoming a priest. He was ordained in 1981 by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray.
McCloskey grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. He attended St. Jane de Chantal Elementary School, class of 1967, St. John's College High School, class of 1971. He graduated in Economics from Columbia University, class of 1975, and with his doctorate in theology (S.T.D.) from University of Navarra (Spain) in 1982.
He was ordained a priest for the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei at the Shrine of Torreciudad (Spain) in 1981.
On February 23, 2023, McCloskey passed away from complications related to advanced Alzheimer's disease.[3] A funeral Mass was held on March 1, 2023 at Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Great Falls, Virginia. He is interred at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, Maryland.[4]
McCloskey was known for his pastoral writings, which appeared in "The Catholic Thing," and on Catholicity.com, etc.[5] [6] He also wrote a book, The Essential Belloc - A Prophet for Our Times.[7]
He appeared on Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), where he hosted series on Cardinal Newman, Catholic authors, Ecclesial Movements, Great Moments in Church History", "Your Vocation: God's Call in Your Life", and "St. Thomas More Faithful Statesman."[8]
In addition to having been the director of the Catholic Information Center (CIC) in Washington, D.C., McCloskey engaged in ministry in Princeton, NJ and Chicago, IL. He helped many people convert to Catholicism, including well-known individuals, such as Newt Gingrich,[9] Sam Brownback, Lawrence Kudlow, Robert Novak, and Bernard Nathanson,[10]
In November, 2002, the Prelature of Opus Dei received a complaint from an adult woman accusing Father McCloskey of sexual misconduct while he was serving as the director of the Catholic Information Center in Washington, DC. Following an investigation, Opus Dei found the accusation to be credible, and Father McCloskey was removed as director of the Catholic Information Center.[11] Restrictions were placed on his pastoral assignments, and a settlement was reached with the woman in question in 2005. He was later diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease.[12]