Springfield, Ill. – Rev. Hugh Thomas McDermott, C.S.C., 73, passed away on Saturday, July 20, 2024, after a short illness.
Fr. McDermott was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 26, 1950, the first-born son of Thomas and Barbara (Keck) McDermott. He attended Blessed Sacrament and Christ the King Grade Schools and Griffin High School in Springfield, Ill. In the Fall of 1968, he entered the University of Notre Dame and graduated in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in Theology.
After graduation from Notre Dame, Fr. McDermott taught at the Cantalician Center that serves children and adults with disabilities in Buffalo, New York, and in August of 1973, he entered the candidate program at Moreau Seminary for the Congregation of Holy Cross. He entered the Holy Cross novitiate in Bennington, Vermont, on August 14, 1974, and took First Vows there on August 9, 1975. Upon completion of his graduate studies at Moreau Seminary, Fr. McDermott received the Master of Theology degree in May 1977. While a seminarian at Moreau, his main apostolic involvements included staff work at the Holy Cross Justice and Peace Center on Chapin Street in South Bend and team-teaching a theology course at the University of Notre Dame. On August 4, 1978, he professed his Final Vows in the chapel at the Holy Cross Community House on Lake Saka, Uganda. The following year, he returned to the United States to begin work as a deacon at St. Pius X Church in Granger, Indiana, and was subsequently ordained to the priesthood in Sacred Heart Church on the campus of the University of Notre Dame on April 21, 1979.
In January of 1982, he returned to East Africa, this time to take up residence in Dandora, the site of a new Holy Cross parish in the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. During his eight years in Dandora, Fr. McDermott served as Director of the first Holy Cross Formation Program for that part of the world, served as an assistant pastor for Holy Cross Parish, Dandora, and was Director of Youth Ministry for the thirteen parishes of the Eastlands Deanery of the city of Nairobi. In 1990, Fr. McDermott returned to the United States where he assisted at the University of Notre Dame. While at Notre Dame, he was Director of Special Projects for the Office of Campus Ministry. During his four years on campus, Fr. McDermott received the Granville Clark Award for Community Service, the Toohey Award for Preaching, and was chosen as Senior Fellow by the Class of 1994. In the Fall of 1994, he returned to East Africa to become Parish Priest of Holy Cross Parish, Bugembe, in Jinja, Uganda. In 1996, he became Pastoral Coordinator of the Diocese of Jinja and a lecturer and Rector of the Seminary at Queen of Apostles Philosophy Center Jinja, posts he held until his departure in 2002 for a sabbatical at the Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C. In 2003, Fr. McDermott took up residence and part-time service in St. Adalbert Parish in South Bend, Ind., while also serving as a Visiting Fellow at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame until 2007. From 2007-2008, he assisted at St. Ann Parish in Chicago, Illinois before returning to Bangladesh where he served as Assistant Director of Holy Cross Scholasticate in Dhaka, Bangladesh until 2024. From 2020-2024, he also served as Director of Notre Dame University of Bangladesh Language Center in Bangladesh.
Fr. McDermott is preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his siblings Mary Kay (husband, Steve) Bochenek of Springfield, Peg McDermott of Springfield, Sally (husband, Allan) Hamilton of Springfield, Mary Anne (deceased husband, Leo) Clark of Burnsville, Minnesota, Jim (wife, Annette) McDermott of Springfield, and Joe (wife, Kim) McDermott of Burr Ridge. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews and numerous grandnieces and nephews.
Wake is scheduled for Thursday, July 25, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. EDT at St. Joseph Chapel on the campus of Holy Cross College, Notre Dame, IN. The Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, July 26, 2024, at 3:30 p.m. EDT at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, Indiana. You may also join us via live stream at https://funerals.holycrossusa.org
Burial will be in the community cemetery at Notre Dame. Kaniewski Funeral Home, South Bend, is in charge of the arrangements.
Memorial contributions in support of the mission and ministries of the Congregation of Holy Cross can be made to: United States Province of Priests and Brothers, Office of Advancement, P.O. Box 765, Notre Dame, IN 46556-0765 or online at https://donate.holycrossusa.org
