Warren Carroll, R.I.P.

On July 17 Warren Carroll died at the age of 79. A pioneering Catholic educator and a brilliant historian, Dr. Carroll founded Christendom College in Front Royal, VA in 1977. Christendom is one of the "new" Catholic institutions of high education founded in recent decades in what has so far been a laudable and successful effort to counteract the declining Catholicity of so many supposedly Catholic colleges and universities. Georgetown University, Boston College, Notre Dame University, and too many other once-Catholic institutions have become victims of a form of identity theft in which their Catholic identity has been erased by administrations committed to making them no different than their secular counterparts.

Though his founding of Christendom College, Dr. Carroll joined Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, CA, Thomas More College in Marrimack, NH, Franciscan University of Steubenville OH, and many other similar institutions in offering their students a rigorous educational experience while at the same time remaining faithful to the magisterial teachings of the Church.

I never met Dr. Carroll, although we have several mutual friends who all thought the world of him. I had hoped to meet him when our family stopped by Christendom College in the late 1980s while on a trip to visit my in-laws in Florida. Our elder daughter was "college shopping" at the time and wanted to take a look at Christendom. Unfortunately Dr. Carroll was out of his office that day, but we did enjoy our brief tour of the campus. As it turned out our daughter ultimately decided to attend Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California. Subsequently, however, I had the pleasure of being educated by Dr. Carroll through his remarkable and massive (five large volumes) History of Christendom. I've included a link (left) to the first volume of this series. It is a beautifully written history which I recommend to anyone interested in the history of Christendom from its beginnings in Old Testament revelation.

Warren Carroll left a lasting legacy not only in the college he founded, but also in the lives he touched through his writings and, in particular, the lives he touched in the classroom. He will be missed.

Requiescat in pace, Dr. Carroll.


You can read more about Dr. Carroll here: Christendom College Founder Warren Carroll Dies.