TABLE OF CONTENTS

Descriptive Summary

Biographical Note

Scope and Contents

Arrangement

Restrictions

Administrative Information

Related Material

Index Terms

Detailed Description of the Collection

Series 1: Professional Papers, 1902-1933

Series 2: Personal Professional Papers, 1898-1963

Series 3: Professional Writings, 1887-1963

Series 4: Oversize, 1929, n.d.

Edward Aloysius Pace

An inventory of Edward Aloysius Pace Papers at The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives

Mailing Address: The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 20064

Telephone: 202-319-5065

Email: archives@mail.lib.cua.edu

URL: http://libraries.cua.edu/achrcua/index.html

Biographical Note

Edward Aloysius Pace was born on July 3, 1861 in Starke, Florida to George Edward and Margaret (Kelly) Pace. He was the oldest of eight children. While born in Florida, he lived his first four years in Nova Scotia, Canada with his mother and maternal grandfather. After the Civil War, he and his mother returned to Florida. His father was a Methodist, but Pace was raised Catholic. He attended local elementary school in Starke and Duval High School in Jacksonville until 1874. He attended St. Charles College in Ellicott, Maryland, graduating in 1880. He continued his studies at the North American College of Rome. He received his Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1883 and Doctorate of Sacred Theology in 1886. He was ordained a priest in 1885 in Rome.

While studying in Rome, Pace became a protogé of Monsignor Francesco Satolli, the foremost Thomist scholar at the College of Propaganda and future Apostolic delegate to the United States. Pace distinguished himself as a student of Thomistic philosophy and represented the North America College in Rome in a scholastic debate held in the presence of Pope Leo XIII. Following his ordination, the bishop of St. Augustine called Pace back to the become the rector of the Cathedral in St. Augustine, FL in 1886. He continued in that position until 1888. At that time, the first Rector of The Catholic University of America (CUA), Rev. John J. Keane, invited Pace to become the first professor of Psychology at the newly established university. Pace needed to complete his education in Psychology and returned to Europe in 1888. He studied under Wilhelm Wundt at the University of Leipzig and received his doctorate in 1891, writing his dissertation on Herbert Spencer's theory of evolution. ("Das Relativitatsprincip in Herbert Spencer's Psychologischer Entweicklunjslehere"). During that time, he also studied biology and psychology at the Universities of Louvain and Paris. Pace became a professor of psychology and philosophy at CUA in 1891 and remained in Washington, D.C. until his death in 1938. He retired from active work in 1935 and entered Providence Hospital. However, Pace maintained close ties to the university and often returned to CUA for special occasions.

Throughout his long academic career, Pace occupied many roles within the university and beyond. He was dean of the school of Philosophy from 1895-1899, 1906-1914, and from 1934-1935. He taught classes in philosophy and psychology and established the first psychological laboratory at CUA. He became Director of Studies at CUA in 1912, General Secretary in 1918, and Vice-Rector September 23, 1924.

While an active administrator of CUA, Pace continued to contribute academically in the fields of philosophy, psychology, theology, and education. Pace helped to establish several academic journals, including the Catholic University Bulletin, the Catholic Education Review, New Scholasticism, Studies in Psychology and Psychiatry, and Psychological Monographs. He distinguished himself as a Thomistic scholar and many of his publications dealt with St. Thomas Aquinas. Pace also continued to publish articles on psychology and he integrated questions of Catholicism into his work on modern psychology. Pace wrote extensively on religious and higher education. His scholastic efforts in philosophy and theology led to his work on the pastoral letter for the American bishops in 1919.

Pace became involved in education and the development of Catholic University as well as Catholic higher education throughout the United States. His writings which included various philosophical and psychological matters also touched upon educational theories. He helped establish various scholarly journals pertaining to education, such as the Catholic Education Review, New Scholastism, and the Catholic Encyclopedia of which he was the editor. He was the Vice President of the American Counsel of Education in 1924 and president in 1926. He worked with the Catholic Education Association, later the National Catholic Education Association, and the Department of Education of the National Catholic Welfare Council/Conference.

Pace's devotion to higher education led to his role as co-founder of Trinity College. He was particularly invested in higher education for women and taught at Catholic Sisters College. His dedication to Trinity College made him a particular favorite among the graduating classes, who repeatedly ask Pace to speak at the commencements and baccalaureate masses. Pace was also the dean of the Institute of Pedagogy in New York City. This institute was devoted to the education of Catholic school teachers in public and private institutions.

Among the many honors Pace received during his life, he was awarded the Papal Medal Pro Ecelesia et pontifice and was elevated to Monsignor in 1920. Georgetown University decorated Pace with the Camillo Cardinal Mazzella Academey of Philosophy award in 1935.

Monsignor Pace died April 26, 1938 at Providence Hospital, Washington, DC.

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Scope and Contents

The Edward Aloysius Pace Collection consists primarily of documents from Monsignor Pace's academic and professional career in education. The papers are made up of correspondence and related documents from Pace's work with the Catholic Education Association (later the National Catholic Education Association), the NCWC Department of Education and his tenure as General Secretary and Vice Rector at CUA. The papers also contain Pace's academic and professional writings on education, psychology, philosophy, and theology.

The Pace Collection is divided into four series: Professional Papers, Personal Professional Papers, Professional Writings, and Oversize Papers. Pace did not leave very many personal papers; a few items are found within Series 3 and 4. Series 1, the Professional Papers, contains four boxes covering the years from 1890 to 1930. The majority of the papers from this series revolve around education and the development of educational standards for Catholic institutions and educators. This series has information on the CUA Institute of Pedagogy in New York City, the American Council on Education, the Catholic Education Association, and the Department of Education of the National Catholic Welfare Conference. Finally, there is one box containing official correspondence which includes the years of his time as Vice Rector.

Series 2, the Personal Professional Papers, consist of three boxes. There is one box of correspondence and two boxes of miscellaneous personal memorabilia. The correspondence, organized by year, are primarily invitations to speak and requests for information. While the correspondence span Pace's years at CUA, the majority of the letters are from the nineteen-teens and the first half of the nineteen-twenties. The remaining two boxes of Series 2 contain personal memorabilia, such as invitations, programs from ceremonies, Pace's diploma from the University of Leipzig, and various newspaper clippings.

Series 3, Professional Writings, include seven boxes of Pace's academic and professional work. The first box in this series, Box 8, contains the notes and rough draft of a proposed edited collection of Edward Pace's writings compiled by John K. Ryan, School of Philosophy. Ryan attempted to publish Pace's writings in the 1960s. There is a rough draft of an introduction to this edited collection. The box also includes Ryan's notes. Ryan was also responsible for a bibliography of Pace's work. The remaining six boxes of Series 3 consist of Pace's school notebooks, books and dissertation from his time in Europe (Box 9), his academic professional writings (Box 10-11), his numerous publications, lecture notes and speeches (12-13), and his writing on the development of education at CUA (Box 14). The writings cover several topics: education, religious education, psychology, and philosophy. Series 4, Oversize, consists of five personal items.

The Pace collection does not contain a large amount of personal items. There are no personal correspondence and the few items found in these papers are related to Dr. Pace's long teaching career. The strengths of this collection are the education and philosophy files. Pace's writings on Thomas Aquinas and higher education are particularly helpful.

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Arrangement

The Edward Aloysius Pace Collection consists of four series:

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

There are no access restrictions

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Collection was donated by Monsignor Maurice S. Sheehy, Monsignor John K. Ryan, and the Very Rev. Walter J. Schmitz in 1957, 1965, and 1970.

Processing Information

Processing completed in February 2000 by Mary Beth Fraser. EAD markup completed in February 2006 by Leslie Knoblauch.

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Related Material

For additional information on Monsignor Pace, consult the Archives of Trinity College, Washington, D.C. This archives possess some papers and writings of Monsignor Pace relating to his connection with the college.

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Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Persons:

Organizations:

Places:

Subjects:

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Detailed Description of the Collection

All contents copyright 2004 - , The Catholic University Of America. All rights reserved.