Parte 16 - Letter from Fr. Felix Guihen

John Joseph Guihen was born in Keadue, a small village in County Roscommon, on 12 February 1898. He was received into the Capuchin Franciscan Order in Kilkenny in August 1914 and took Felix as his religious name. He was ordained to the priesthood on 29 June 1923. Following his ordination, he was sent to Rome for further studies and received a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture in 1926 (one of the first Irish friars to obtain such a degree). During his time in the Italian capital, he wrote an article on the Vatican Missionary Exposition of 1925 (‘The Father Mathew Record’, 18, no. 6. June 1925, pp 171-73). On his return to Ireland, he was appointed a lector in theological studies, first in Rochestown Friary in County Cork and later at Ard Mhuire Friary in County Donegal. For twenty years he acted as a lector for clerical students while also holding the office of Vicar in Ard Mhuire. He wrote a series of pamphlets on the Old Testament which were published by the Catholic Truth Society of Ireland (CTSI) in the 1930s and 1940s. He also held the office of Secretary of the Irish Capuchin Province from 1955 to 1967. He died in the Church Street Friary in Dublin on 14 August 1981 and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery.

Baptismal name: John Joseph Guihen
Religious name: Fr. Felix Guihen OFM Cap.
Date of birth: 12 Feb. 1898
Place of birth: Keadue, County Roscommon (Diocese of Ardagh)
Name of father: Martin Guihen (Farmer)
Name of mother: Anne Guihen (née McDermott)
Date of reception into the Capuchin Order: 27 Aug. 1914
Date of first profession: 8 Sept. 1915
Date of final profession: 12 Apr. 1919
Date of ordination (as priest): 29 June 1923
Educational attainments: BA (1919); Licentiate in Sacred Scripture, Rome (1926)
Leadership positions: Provincial Secretary, 1955-67
Date of death: 14 Aug. 1981
Place of death: Church Street Friary, Dublin
Place of burial: Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin