TABLE OF CONTENTS

Descriptive Summary

Biographical Note

Scope and Contents

Arrangement

Restrictions

Administrative Information

Related Material

Index Terms

Bibliography

Detailed Description of the Collection

Series 1: General Correspondence, 1942-1980

Series 2: Business Records, 1968-1980

Series 3: Subject Files, 1913-1980

Series 4: Photographs, n.d.

Series 5: Manuscript and Marginalia, 1937-1939

Patrick W. Skehan

An inventory of the Patrick W. Skehan 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

Patrick W. Skehan was born on September 30, 1909 (feast of St. Jerome) in New York City. He attended Fordham University, receiving his B.A. in 1929, and St. Joseph's Seminary (known as Dunwoodie), where he was ordained on September 23, 1933. He studied in The Catholic University of America's Department of Sacred Science (later School of Religious Studies). Much of his course work was done in the Department of Semitic and Egyptian Languages and Literatures, where he was instructed by Henri Hyvernat, Arthur A.Vaschalde, and Romain Butin. His dissertation for his doctorate in Sacred Theology was entitled The Literary Relationship Between the Book of Wisdom and the Protocanonical Wisdom Books of the Old Testament and was directed by Dr. Edward P. Arbez. His dissertation was published in the Catholic University monographic series Studies in Sacred Theology (no. 54).

Skehan was appointed to teach in the Semitics Department for the 1939-1940 academic year. For the next twenty years he taught courses in Hebrew, Aramaic, Syraic, and special Scripture seminars for graduate students in the Department of Sacred Scriptures. Skehan became head of the Semitics Department on November 23, 1951. He was named Professor Emeritus when he retired in August of 1980. He died shortly thereafter on September 9, 1980.

Skehan was appointed member of the Committee of the Institute for Christian Oriental Research (ICOR) by Rector McCormick on July 6, 1943. Three years later he was appointed Secretary of the Advisory Committee for the Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium (C.S.C.O.).

In 1947 when William Foxwell Albright went on archeological exploration in Egypt, he asked Skehan to be a visiting lecturer in his place at Johns Hopkins. He agreed and did this for Albright at other times between 1947 and 1956. Skehan was also a visiting professor for the 1969 - 1970 academic year at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome.

Skehan was involved with many organizations and their projects including the Catholic Biblical Association, the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, the American Schools of Oriental Research, the American Oriental Society, and the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

In 1953, Skehan was chosen as a member of the Dead Sea Scrolls editorial team, along with Frank Moore Cross, John Allegro, John Strugnell, Dominique Barthélemy, Jean Starcky, Claus-Hunno Hunziger, and Josef T. Milik. Roland de Vaux was the project director.

Skehan's work and contribution to the study of Scripture was recognized and honored by the Holy See. He was named Monsignor by Pope Pius XII on June 17, 1954, appointed Domestic Prelate by Pope John XXIII on December 2, 1958, and awarded Benemerenti Medal by Pope Paul VI on December 29, 1964.

Skehan had the respect and friendship of his students and colleagues. In 1974 The Catholic Biblical Quarterly issued a festschrift in his honor, edited by one of his students, Roland E. Murphy, O.Carm. One of his students, Alexander A. Di Lella, O.F.M, wrote a tribute to him published in The Catholic Biblical Quarterly. Of his teacher Di Lella says: "He was more than a dedicated teacher and scholar. He was above all a loyal churchman and devout priest, a Christian gentleman, and a superlative human being."

Return to the Table of Contents

Scope and Contents

There are five series within the Patrick W. Skehan Papers: (1) General Correspondence, (2) Business Records, (3) Subject Files, (4) Photographs, and (5) Manuscript with Marginalia.

Series 1, General Correspondence, includes correspondence to and from colleagues and students. This series contains fifty-four folders arranged alphabetically, contained in boxes 1 through 2. Folders include correpondence to and from William Foxwell Albright, Raymond Brown, Frank Moore Cross, Roland de Vaux, Josef T. Milik, Jean Starcky, and John Strugnell over their work together as the Dead Sea Scrolls editorial team. There is additional correspondence to and from Dr. Edward P. Arbez, Louis F. Hartman, Edwin O'Hara, and Fulton Sheen. These correspondence files contain mostly letters, with only a few postcards, newspaper clippings, and photographs.

Series 2, Business Records contains one folder related to personal affairs, mainly tax returns, medical benefits information, and receipts. This folder is located in box 2.

Series 3, Subject Files, contains additional correspondence. There are 38 folders arranged alphabetically in this series. The material in this series is contained in boxes 3 through 5. (Example: For more correspondence with William Foxwell Albright, see folder 92 "Teaching and Lecture Appointments"). There are also files from organizational meetings, exhibits, clerical appointments, curriculum vitae versions, doctoral disseration abstracts, Palestine, religious studies, lectures, awards, liturgy, the New American Bible, the New Catholic Enclyclopedia, Phi Beta Kappa, and the Semitics department.

Series 4, Photographs, is comprised of two folders. One is labeled "People" and the other is labeled "Dead Sea Scrolls." The Dead Sea Scrolls folder contains photographs of three small Qumran fragments sent to Skehan from John Strugnell. The photographs of these fragments are wrapped in clear plastic. The folder labeled "People" only contains photographs of Patrick W. Skehan, also kept in clear plastic. Both folders are contained in box 5.

Series 5, Manuscript with Marginalia, contains Skehan's annotated, bound copy of The Catholic Biblical Association Proceedings and Quarterly 1937 - 1939. It includes a book review written by Skehan of Ira Eisenstein's "What We Mean By Religion". These bound volumes are contained in box 5.

Return to the Table of Contents

Arrangement

The Patrick W. Skehan Papers consist of five series:

Return to the Table of Contents

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None.

Return to the Table of Contents

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The Patrick W. Skehan Papers were donated by Brother Aloyisius Fitzgerald for the Department of Semitics and Monica Blanchard for the Department of Semitics/ICOR on August 26, 1983, January 9, 1984, and on February 2, 2000.

Processing Information

Processing completed in May 2000 by A. Agnew. EAD markup completed in April 2006 by Cathey Dugan and Jordan Patty.

Return to the Table of Contents

Related Material

The Catholic University Archives also contains:

Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium Collection

The Edwin Vincent O'Hara Papers

The Fulton John Sheen Collection

The Catholic University of America also contains related materials at:

The Semitics/ICOR Library (including Dr. Skehan's personal library and slides of Qumran materials)

Other repositories include:

Rutgers University, Mahon Smith, "Dead Sea Scrolls"

Return to the Table of Contents

Index Terms

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

Persons:

Organizations:

Places:

Subjects:

Return to the Table of Contents

Bibliography

Return to the Table of Contents

Detailed Description of the Collection

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