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By Sarah Burke Cahalan, Director of the Marian Library

Brother John Samaha, S.M., who worked for many years on projects in the Marian Library and International Marian Research Institute, passed away on Sept. 27, 2019, at the age of 88. Samaha served 70 years in the religious profession as a member of the Society of Mary.

I never had the pleasure of meeting him in person, but he kept active ties to the Marian Library by mailing clippings and other ephemera as recently as 2017. His devotion to the collections and mission here was apparent and is reflected in the many entries he contributed to the Mary Page, now All About Mary. I am sure he was warmly welcomed to heaven by Our Lady. An excerpt from a brief biography from Father Jim Fitz, S.M., illustrates his lifelong commitment to the service of the Blessed Mother and the Society of Mary:

Brother John received a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Dayton in 1952. He served in Marianist schools in the United States and Lebanon. Of special interest to the members of our University community was his devotion to the Marian Library and the International Marian Research Institute, including its first website, the Mary Page. He was involved in the Ecumenical Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Mariological Society of America. 

Other words of tribute

Father Tom Thompson, S.M., longtime Marian Library director, recalled, “Brother John was most active in promoting and forming groups to study together the meaning and value of sound devotion to the Virgin Mary. He was tireless in promoting the work of the Marian Library and the Mariological Society of America. He spent much time writing popular articles so that all could understand the role of the Virgin Mary within their Christian lives.”

Cecilia Mushenheim, professor emerita in the University Libraries and secretariat of the Mariological Society of America, said, “Brother John was a dear man, an enthusiastic and zealous Marianist.”

Gloria Dodd, a lecturer in the University Libraries and the International Marian Research Institute, said, "I knew Brother John, who was a sweet, Marian man."

Henry Handley, a collections librarian in the Marian Library and an assistant professor in the University Libraries, called attention to an article by Samaha titled “Devotions” on the All About Mary website.

Obituary

For more on Samaha, see his obituary.

_{Photo courtesy of the Marian Library.}