 |
| Fr. Gordon Francis Knight |
Born: June 7 1899 East Orange New Jersey Died: Feb 3 1961 Vienna Va.
Born in East Orange, New Jersey, in 1899, Fr. Knight made his collegiate studies at City College, New York City; his philosophical studies at St Mary’s Seminary, Norwalk, Conn; and his theological studies in Rome, Italy, where he acquired a great admiration for Cardinal Louis Billot’s theology. He was ordained on July 28, 1929 and awarded the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology in the following year at the Gregorian University.
Upon returning to the United States in 1930, Fr. Knight was assigned to the Holy Ghost Fathers’ St. Mary’s Seminary, where he taught for fourteen years. He was appointed to the faculty at Duquesne University in 1944. He taught Apologetics and many loved to hear him talk and adored his logic. Struck by cancer in 1960, he retired to prepare himself for death in Ferndale.
Like many scholars, he had trouble remembering names, even the names of people who lived with him in the same house. He tried to cover up his ignorance by addressing everyone as “Gents.” It quickly earned him the title as a nickname. His favored hobby was tinkering with all kinds of scientific equipment, so that his room resembled a repair shop and a study. He was buried in Ferndale.
