Father John I. Lane, MM

Born: December 16, 1863
Ordained: June 23, 1888
Died: April 24, 1919

Shortly after the organizers of Maryknoll began their work in the village of Hawthorne, N.Y. an invalid priest offered to give them help, which they were glad to accept. This priest was Father John I. Lane of Boston who was chaplain of the Daly Industrial School. He had already been keenly interested in the beginnings of the Field Afar, having been a member of the small group of priests who, with Father James A. Walsh as their leader, agreed that there should be a mission magazine published in English. This eventually became The Field Afar. Father Lane, as ‘Father Ignatius’ wrote articles for young readers.

At that time Father Lane was not in a position to join Maryknoll, but he served the Society at Hawthorne, Ossining and Scranton, covering a period of about three years. Then he returned to his diocese to take a position as chaplain in St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.

He had scarcely begun his work, however, when he was obliged to give it up due to illness. He died at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland on April 24, 1919.

Father Lane had learned to love Maryknoll and longed to return, hoping to do so up to within a few months before his death. In this hope he asked to be admitted as a priest to the Society. He was received as such by the Superior General of Maryknoll, a life-long friend, who went to Baltimore for the purpose.