Monsignor John Egan

Monsignor John Egan

1916 – 2001

 

 

The Catholic Church in the United States has a long and rich history of priests, religious and the laity burning with a passionate commitment to racial, social and economic justice.  Chicago is blessed with a likewise long history of people of faith doing the right thing and fighting the good fight for God’s people by the light of Christ’s Gospel.  Such is the life and legacy of Monsignor John “Jack” Egan.

Monsignor Egan was born in Chicago in 1916 and by the time he was a seminarian at Quigley Preparatory, the city as well as the nation was roiling with unrest among the poor, laborers and people of color.  After ordination and years of inner-city parish work, Egan began a friendship with activist Saul Alinsky and immersed himself in grass roots organizations aimed at promoting justice for all people, but he didn’t do it with pious prayers and saccharine speeches.

Egan marched with Dr. Martin Luther King in Selma, Alabama and actively supported the Civil Rights movement at a time when doing so could mark a priest as a Communist sympathizer. He also pioneered the organizing and empowering Latino Catholics and advancing their agenda both in the Church and in the area of socioeconomics.

Egan went to Notre Dame University where he initiated several organizations to educate, train and support men and women engaged in social ministries. Despite his passion for academic work, Monsignor Egan’s heart always remained in Chicago and in the early 80s he felt it time to return and fight the good fight, especially after being horrified at the jeers and slurs hurled at Harold Washington after being elected the city’s first Black mayor.

A biograph, An Alley in Chicago, recounts the tumultuous legacy of Monsignor Jack’s service and passion for all people who suffer and struggle.