MacEntee, Francis J. (Father)

Jesuit Father Francis (Frank) MacEntee died on February 12, 2015, in Philadelphia. He was a Jesuit priest for 60 years.

A native of Philadelphia, Fr. MacEntee graduated from St. Joseph’s High School in 1941 before entering the Jesuits at the Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues in Wernersville, Pennsylvania.  He later received both a master’s degree and a doctorate in biology from Catholic University.  He was ordained to the priesthood on June 20, 1954.

Fr. MacEntee loved the biological sciences, teaching biology at St. Joseph’s Prep, Saint Joseph’s University and the University of Scranton.  Above and beyond the classroom, Fr. MacEntee rolled up his sleeves in the quest for new discoveries and ongoing knowledge, taking sabbaticals in both Australia and Hawaii to do biological research.  The field of botany intrigued him most, writing and co-authoring several scientific papers on the subject.

Fr. MacEntee continued as a professor of biology at the University of Scranton until 2002, where he remained a staple of the Scranton Jesuit Community until moving to Manresa Hall in Philadelphia in 2012.