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The Passing of a Great Man - Monsignor Thomas Bennett

Hopefully everyone has had the opportunity to have a teacher that touched your life and/or affected who you are as a person in a way no other has. For me, one of those teachers was Monsignor Thomas Bennett. To many, he was Father Bennett as he acheieved his title of Monsignor while I was in school at St. Charles Prep in Columbus, Ohio.

Fr. Bennett passed away on Sunday at the age of 76. The story in the Columbus Dispatch can be found here. He taught at St. Charles for 46 years. He was the kind of teacher, priest, man that made you grow up from being a snotty high school kid into a man. He had many quirks which made him all the more lovable.

If you did something stupid or swore in class, Father would make you do pushups at the front of the room. If a woman entered the classroom, everyone must stand (St. Charles is an all boys school). He was a disciplinarian, but a just one. He made you study and work, but not just because. There is a Facebook group called Msgr. Thomas M. Bennett Fan Club with over 750 members. He was famous for his one-liners and tongue-in-cheek dry humor.

"Now gentlemen, let's turn our happy thoughts to the joys of history."
"I was sentenced to St. Charles for kicking the bishop's dog."



Requiescat in pace.

Comments

Lisa Junker said…
Matt, I'm so sorry for your loss. One of my closest friends actually went to St. Charles, and I've heard him talk about Fr. Bennett before--clearly he made a great impact on a lot of St. Charles students. My condolences to you and the many other people he inspired.
September 10, 2008 at 10:00 AM
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