John McAuliffe
John Francis Joseph McAuliffe, also known by his religious name Norbert McAuliffe, was an American missionary known for his work in Uganda. He was born in lower Manhattan, New York, on September 30, 1886. As a professed member of the Institute of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, a Roman Catholic religious community of laymen, he would work in education for more than 50 years until his death on July 3, 1959, in Gulu, Uganda. Childhood McAuliffe was born to an Irish-American working-class family in lower Manhattan. His father, Daniel, was an immigrant from Ireland and worked on the New York City docks. His mother, Elizabeth or Lizzie, was Daniel's second wife and would raise five children – three survived to adulthood – Walter, John, and Elizabeth or Lillian. McAuliffe was baptized at St. Rose Church in lower Manhattan on November 7, 1886. His father died after a short illness in 1893 and he and his siblings would be orphaned with the unexpected death of their mother on October 10, 1895. His sister, Elizabeth, went to stay with their half-brother, Daniel Jr, from their father's first marriage. McAuliffe (age 9) and his brother Walter (age 11) were accepted into St. Agnes Home in Sparkill, New York, on November 13, 1895. After St. Agnes Home was destroyed by fire in 1899, the two brothers were separated, with Walter going to the Catholic Protectory in New York City while McAuliffe went to the new St. Agnes Home established in Troy, New York. In 1902, McAuliffe's life direction would change with a visit to the home by Stanislaus Keating. The brothers' missionary work, especially in orphanages, attracted John's attention. He was discharged from St. Agnes Home on April 30, 1902, and entered the Brothers of the Sacred Heart formation house in Metuchen, New Jersey, on May 1, 1902. Formation and ministry in the United States Already formed by the Dominican Sisters at Sparkill to a pattern of prayer and common life, McAuliffe adapted quickly to the spartan life led by the brothers at Metuchen. McAuliffe received the habit on November 14, 1902, and took the name, Norbert. He made his first commitment, or vows, on November 21, 1903, at Metuchen. McAuliffe took to the brothers' mission of education immediately. He lived and worked with young people in schools in several places and grew more skilled in his teaching, eventually becoming the school principal and superior of the local community. Places he served during this time included Indianapolis, Indiana; Meridian, Mississippi; Muskogee, Oklahoma; and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. He took perpetual vows at Bay St. Louis on July 10, 1910. McAuliffe's expertise as an educator and formator of young people grew with the years and saw him also serve in Vicksburg, Mississippi; New Orleans, Louisiana; Donaldsonville, Louisiana and Washington, Indiana. During this period, the brothers rarely took up full-time studies but instead studied through an internal program and summer courses. McAuliffe completed his high school studies in 1915 and would graduate from the Normal