The death of Father Michael Scanlan, Third Order Regular Franciscan and president emeritus of Franciscan University of Steubenville passed away at the age of 85 this past weekend and will be forever known for his profound love for God and for the powerful way he ministered to souls throughout his life.

The National Catholic Register (NCR) is reporting on the passing of Father Scanlan at 5:37 a.m. on January 7. The friar, who was devoted to the Blessed Mother had the great honor of dying on a First Saturday which is traditionally dedicated to Our Lady. ay which is traditionally dedicated to Our Lady.

“During his tenure as president from 1974 to 2000, his ideas, guided by the Holy Spirit, turned things around at the struggling College of Steubenville and led to its prominence as Franciscan University of Steubenville,” Father Sean Sheridan, current president of Franciscan University of Steubenville told the NCR. “He emphasized the importance of academics, particularly theology — now, by far, our largest major — and stressed the role of campus ministry and student life in the daily lives of the students.”

Being a man of deep prayer and an unwavering commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, “He led countless people into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church,” Father Sheridan said. “It is, perhaps, most of all, for his spiritual fatherhood that so many will remember him with gratitude.”

One of those people is Scott Hahn, the well-known Catholic convert and theologian who serves as a professor at Steubenville. In fact, Father Mike, as he was affectionately known, once told Hahn that his favorite title was “Father” because he was so devoted to being a good father to all.

He certainly fulfilled that role with the Hahn family when he baptized three of their youngest children, one of whom, Jeremiah, is now in the seminary. “I don’t think that’s coincidental,” Hahn told the NCR.

“He had this gut intuition, supernatural in its origin,” Hahn said. “He fathered more than 12 tribes like Jacob — students, faculty, being accessible for spiritual direction and confession, and laying hands on anyone who desired it. … He was a man of prayer, and this was a spillover.”

Sister Ann Shields, an international speaker, author of books on Catholic spirituality and one of the Renewal Ministries’ leaders, was also struck by Father Mike’s prayerfulness and complete openness to the Holy Spirit.

“The first thing was his commitment to put the Lord first and to turn to the Lord for every decision for the development of that campus,” she said. “That was really something to watch. He asked his secretary to hold all his appointments till he had finished praying, until God gave him his marching orders for the day.”

Father Mike also had a great impact on the life of EWTN’s Father Mitch Pacwa, host of EWTN Live. Shortly after Father Mitch was ordained to the priesthood, he attended a summer conference for priests at Steubenville where he first met Father Mike. This was “just the beginning of the many ways that Father Mike Scanlan affected me,” Father Mitch said.

One of his more memorable encounters came while sharing the difficulties and challenges of being in a leadership role.

“ . . . [H]e pulled out a photograph of a severely deformed young man that he knew, saying, ‘Compared to him, I don’t have any real problems.’ This indicated the mature Christian approach to life that made it possible for him to maintain a healthy perspective on life’s problems. I will never forget that.”

Father Mike was born Vincent Michael Scanlan in Cedarhurst, Long Island, New York, in 1931 and grew up in Manhattan. He attended boarding school from elementary through high school, then graduated from Williams College followed by Harvard Law School. It was during his years at Harvard where he began to pray the Rosary and attend daily Mass.

Even though he went on to serve as a judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force, it is here that he first began to feel the call to the priesthood. “I sensed God saying, ‘Be a priest in community.’”

He responded to the call, joined the Franciscan Third Order Regular and was ordained in 1964. He was sent to Steubenville to serve as dean, followed by an assignment as rector-president of St. Francis Seminary in Loretto, Pennsylvania. He returned to Steubenville in 1974 to serve as its president.

“Over his 26 years as president, the university soon became debt-free and enrollment doubled,” writes Joseph Pronochen for the NCR. “He transformed the college into Franciscan University of Steubenville, which gained a worldwide reputation for academic excellence and its fervent Catholic atmosphere.”

Under his guidance a pre-seminary program was begun in 1985 which saw 115 men enter seminaries or religious orders in the last decade. More than 400 Franciscan University graduates serve in the priesthood with more than 700 alumni becoming bishops, priests, religious brothers and sisters.

The University is also well-known for its Catholic evangelistic conferences held every summer for teens which attract 55,000 high schoolers and adults to 31 Franciscan University summer conferences in 16 states and Canada.

In addition to building the University into a citadel of Catholic education in the U.S., Father Mike also authored 16 books and booklets on spirituality and became a leading figure in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. He hosted Franciscan University Presents on EWTN, a program now in its 23rd year and the longest running theology discussion program on EWTN.

Scott Hahn included Father Mike into a group of Catholic giants of the faith who revitalized the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council, such as the late Mother Mary Angelica of EWTN and Father Benedict Groeschel, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal who died in 2014.

They’re “like the greatest generation,” Hahn said, “a national generation of giants in our midst.”

Father Mike will be laid to rest today. His Memorial Mass is being streamed live here. EWTN will also air the Mass on January 14 at 3:00 p.m. ET and on January 15 at 12:00 a.m. ET.

You will be sorely missed, Father Mike, but your work on earth is done. May you rest in eternal peace.

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