Fr. John Frederick Hinnebusch, O.P.

Father John Frederick Hinnebusch, O.P., died peacefully on the afternoon of Monday, December 17, 2018, at the Mohun Health Care Center, Columbus, OH, at the age of 95.  Fr. Hinnebusch faithfully served the Church as a priest for nearly 70 years,serving at Providence College for nearly 25 years and the Pontifical Facility of the Immaculate Conception for nearly 35 years.  He worked tirelessly in the American section of the Leonine Commission and served as its Director for many years.

Father Hinnebusch was born April  22, 1923 in Pittsburgh, PA, to John Frederick  Hinnebusch and Anna (néeStratemeier) Hinnebusch and named John Charles. He attended St. Joseph School (Bloomfield) and Central Catholic High School, both in Pittsburgh, PA. In 1941, he was accepted as a preparatory student for the priesthood in the Dominican Order at Guzman Hall, Providence College, Providence, RI.

He entered the Dominican Novitiate in 1943, at St. Rose in Springfield, KY, and received the religious name Frederick. He made his first profession at St. Rose on August 16, 1944, and his solemn profession in Sea Bright, NJ, on August 16, 1947. He studied philosophy at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, OH, followed by theology at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. On June 10, 1950, he was ordained a priest at St. Dominic Church in Washington, DC, by Most Reverend Edward Celestin Daly, O.P., Bishop of Des Moines.

After his ordination, he remained at the Dominican House of Studies for two years, completing an S.T.L. at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and a M.A. in Medieval History at the Catholic University of America.  In 1952, he was assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas Priory in Providence, RI, and taught history at Providence College.  From 1964-1968, he was assigned to the Albertinum in Fribourg, Switzerland, while working on a Ph.D. in Medieval History at the University of Fribourg.  He returned to St. Thomas Aquinas at Province College in 1968, and completed his Ph.D in 1972.

In 1980, Fr. Hinnebusch was assigned to the Dominican House of Studies and began serving on the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and the Leonine Commission.  In 1988, he was appointed the Director of the American section of the Leonine Commission.

In 2014, Fr. Hinnebusch was assigned to St. Dominic Priory in Washington, DC, to better provide for his heath care needs.  In 2017, he was assigned to St. Patrick Priory in Columbus, OH, and resided at the Mohun Health Care Center, operated by the Dominican Sisters of Peace.

Fr. Hinnebusch‘s body will be received at St. Patrick Church, 280 N Grant Ave, Columbus, OH 43215, on Friday, December 21, 2018, and the Office of the Dead will be celebrated there at 5:30 pm.Viewing will take place at the Mohun Health Care Center, 2340 Airport Dr., Columbus, OH 43219,on Saturday, December 22, 2018, from 9:00 – 10:00 am.  A Mass of Christian Burial will celebrated for him in the chapel at the Mohun Health Care at 10:30 a.m.  Burial will follow at St. Joseph Cemetery in Somerset, Ohio.  Burial to follow at St. Joseph Cemetery, Somerset, Ohio. 

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