Thomas McDonnell, priest, writer, servant of those in need

Sister Immaculata Maria, SND, of Ipswich, Monsignor McDonnell’s sister, said he had been taken to the hospital’s emergency room from St. Mary’s Rectory in Dedham, where he had lived during hospice care.

Bishops, politicians, and many other people in Greater Boston whom he had loved and cared for with food pantries, holiday dinners, and outings to places they could never afford to go mourned his loss.

A scholar and prolific writer for newspapers and magazines, he was ordained at the North American College in Rome in 1960. But Monsignor McDonnell remained the parish priest, caring for those who could not care for themselves, tapping the resources of his many friends.

“We mourn the loss of Monsignor Thomas J. McDonnell, Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley said in a statement. “. . . We need only think of the life that Monsignor McDonnell lived as an inspiration to others who are called to follow Christ.’’

He was known for his compassion and desire to serve others and cofounded the Simon of Cyrene Society, working with persons with disabilities, O’Malley said.

Sister Peggy Youngclaus, SND, of South Boston cofounded the Simon of Cyrene Society, named for the Biblical figure who helped Jesus carry the cross to his crucifixion, in 1979, the year Pope John Paul II visited Boston.

She recalled how they brought several hundred people in wheelchairs and on crutches to see the pope on Boston Common, along with nurses and doctors, and how when there was a torrential downpour, the staff covered them with plastic. When others fled the scene for cover, the disabled remained. So did Monsignor McDonnell.

At the time, he was in charge of ministry to the handicapped and special-needs people in the Boston Archdiocese.

When Raymond L. Flynn was mayor, he appointed Monsignor McDonnell chairman of an advisory committee on the problems of homelessness and the integration of public housing.

After Flynn became US ambassador to the Vatican, he said, Pope John Paul II recalled seeing the disabled near the altar as “one of his most memorable experiences.’’

Former state representative James Brett, a longtime friend, said the monsignor’s work with the disabled would be “his living legacy.’’

“He recruited people to drive [the disabled] and made it possible for them to attend Mass,’’ Brett said. “He loved teaching them the Gospel, and he did it with humor, with grace and a keen intellect.’’

Monsignor McDonnell’s columns appeared regularly in The Pilot and in The Boston Irish Reporter. Ed Forry, publisher of the Reporter, said Monsignor McDonnell wrote 24 columns a year for him “in the last 10 or 12 years.’’

“They were all spiritually oriented, like an oasis among the breaking news,’’ Forry said.

Monsignor McDonnell was diagnosed with lung cancer 12 years ago, Youngclaus said, but chose not to have treatment during that period. It got worse in 2007.

To help other cancer sufferers, Monsignor McDonnell wrote a pamphlet, “Walking in the Dark Valley,’’ from Psalm 23, with the subtitle, “When Cancer is a Constant Companion.’’

“Father Tom’s whole life was a meditation on the way of the cross to Calvary,’’ Youngclaus said. “His heart beat for others.’’

Monsignor McDonnell was “a great friend to South Boston and an irreplaceable figure in the neighborhood,’’ said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “He was truly devoted to his community and helped countless individuals.

“I’ll remember him for his humble works, but I’ll also never forget his singing,’’ Menino said. “Like I used to joke, everything about him was of heaven, besides his voice.’’

Thomas Joseph McDonnell was born in Boston and grew up in Mattapan, in St. Angela’s Parish. His sister, seven years older, said he wanted to be “a priest-sports reporter from the second grade.’’ He loved sports and, as a priest, would often play baseball or basketball with the children of the parishes he served.

In his early teens, he was an usher at the old and famous Oriental Theatre in Mattapan. He was an outstanding student and athlete at Boston College High School, where he graduated in 1953, his sister said.

Monsignor McDonnell earned his bachelor’s degree from St. John Seminary in Brighton in 1957. He went to Rome and in 1961 earned his licentiate in sacred theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. He then returned to Boston, where he served as assistant priest at St. Mary’s in Beverly for a year.

He returned to Rome to earn his doctorate in dogmatic theology, also at Gregorian University, in 1964. He was assigned as assistant pastor of St. Augustine’s on his return to Boston that year. He left South Boston in 1969 to teach at St. John Seminary in Brighton. In 1982, he was archdiocesan coordinator of ministry with handicapped people.

He returned to St. Augustine’s as pastor in 1983. Jack Forbush of Lynn grew up in South Boston and was a teenager when Monsignor McDonnell was there in the 1960s. “Father Tom was a very personable, people-oriented dynamo,’’ he said. “He got us all to participate in the parish, as well as in the community. He took a bunch of us kids from working-class families . . . and expanded our horizons. He did things like sending us to the North Shore Music Theater.’’

“He was one of those few people in South Boston who could be friends on every side of an issue,’’ Forbush said.

But he did not shy away from taking sides. A 1990 Globe report recounted how during the 1970s school busing crises in South Boston, Monsignor McDonnell “drafted the position paper that explained why the archdiocese was supporting busing as a way to integrate public schools.’’

“It did not go down well in South Boston,’’ the report said.

Monsignor McDonnell “did things on a grand scale,’’ Forbush said. “The easiest way to get something done was to ask Father Tom.’’

In 1997, he became pastor of both St. Augustine’s and St. Monica Church in South Boston. He was named monsignor in 1998 and retired in 2004.

Several years ago, when Martin Scorsese was directing the film “The Departed’’ in South Boston, he called on Monsignor McDonnell as a consultant. “They wanted to know who the priest in town was who knew everyone and was respected by all,’’ said state Representative Brian Wallace of South Boston. “Father Tom was a legend.’’

William Bulger, former president of the state Senate, said that “Father McDonnell always chose to be there among people who were not always recognized at their true value in life.’’

“He saw life steadily, and he saw life whole, and he tried to give a lift to anyone who was bearing its burdens,’’ Bulger said.

During their long friendship, Monsignor McDonnell and Bulger developed a song-and-dance routine to the song, ”Me and My Shadow,’’ with the priest as the shadow. About 10 years ago, Bulger recalled, the two performed it on stage at Symphony Hall to raise funds for a charity.

In addition to his sister, Monsignor McDonnell leaves a brother, George of Brockton.

Monsignor McDonnell will lie in state from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow at St. Monica Church in South Boston. A concelebrated funeral Mass will be said at St. Monica’s at 11 a.m. Saturday. Burial will be in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in West Roxbury.