Fr. James McCabe, C.PP.S., held many positions with the Congregation during his 65 years as a priest: pastor, professor, vice provincial director, college president. But always, always, he made connections among his brother Missionaries and many others to bring them near through the Blood of Christ.

Fr. McCabe, 91, died peacefully in his sleep on August 27, in the infirmary of St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio, where he made his home.

Fr. McCabe was born in Newcastle, Neb., on December 6, 1931, to Lawrence and Helen (Lewis) McCabe. The family moved to Detroit in 1941, and he considered Detroit his second hometown.

He entered the Congregation in 1945 at Brunnerdale, its former high school seminary near Canton, Ohio, and was ordained on June 1, 1958.

Devoted to his family and the Community, Fr. McCabe knew how to make connections with others, and keep them connected. He was the first pastor in the former Cincinnati Province to establish a Companions group (lay associates). In the 1990s, Fr. McCabe helped found the Amici, a group of former members and students of the C.PP.S., to establish or re-establish connections with those who had been educated and formed by the Missionaries. For many, it was an important act of reconciliation in keeping with Precious Blood spirituality. He served as Amici coordinator from 1987 to 2005.

Fr. McCabe served briefly in parishes after his ordination, then became an instructor and librarian at St. Charles Seminary in Carthagena, Ohio, from 1961–65. During that time, he also served as archivist for the Congregation. In 1965, he became the librarian of Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Ind., which is sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. He earned a master’s degree in library science from Catholic University, Washington DC.

He was instrumental in the growth of another college sponsored by the Missionaries, Calumet College of St. Joseph in Hammond, Ind., where he served first as executive vice president beginning in 1972, then president from 1975–80.  

Fr. McCabe returned to parish work in 1982, when he was named pastor of St. Mary of the Woods Church in McQuady, Ky. He became pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Hawesville, Ky., in 1983.

In 1987, Fr. McCabe was named pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Celina, Ohio, where he served until 1992, when he was appointed provincial secretary for the Cincinnati Province. He also served the province as its personnel director and had been a member of its senate.