Fr. Patrick McMahon, O. Carm
Patrick Thomas McMahon, O.Carm. comes from Buffalo, New York and entered the Carmelite Order in 1966 at the age of seventeen. After completing theological studies and being ordained he served in parish ministry for thirteen years in various East Coast parishes served by the Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary.
In addition to a Masters degree in Theological Studies from the Washington Theological Union, Father Patrick holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in history from New York University. He wrote his dissertation on the fourteenth century Carmelites of Florence, Italy.
While researching and writing his dissertation, Father Patrick lived at his order’s International House of Studies in Rome. He later returned to the United States and was assigned to Whitefriars Hall in Washington where he oversees the specialized library in Carmelite Studies and teaches in the Carmelite Studies Program at the Washington Theological Union.
From 1997 until 2002, Father Patrick served as the Provincial Delegate for the Lay Carmelites affiliated with the Province of the Most Pure Heart of Mary.
In 2001 he was asked by Prior General Joseph Chalmers to become the Praeses (president) of the Institutum Carmelitanum, the International Institute of the Order in Rome Italy.
Father Patrick combines his duties of teaching, library management, and overseeing the Institute with retreats and workshops in Carmelite History and Spirituality. He does extensive work with the enclosed nuns of both the O.Carm. and the O.C.D. branches of the Order.
In addition to his academic duties and retreats, Father Patrick enjoys helping out weekends at local parishes in the Washington DC area including the Cathedral Church of St. Matthew.