He was ordained by Bishop John J. Wright at St. Paul Cathedral (Diocese of Worcester) on May 18, 1950. He was appointed an associate pastor at St. Patrick Parish, Whitinsville’s Our Lady of the Rosary Clinton and St. Joseph Parish, Leicester, before becoming a U.S. Air Force Chaplain in 1954. In military service he followed his older brothers James, Leonard, Joseph and Edmund who served in WWII. His younger brother Billy served in the marines during the Korean war.
Upon his return from the service in 1957, Father McNamara was appointed an associate pastor at St. Pius X Parish, Leicester, until 1961 when he was named an assistant director of Catholic Charities. He graduated from the Boston College School of Social Work with a master's degree in June 1964.
On March 17, 1968 he was granted a leave for service with the Catholic Relief Services on the refugee aid team in South Vietnam. He returned to Catholic Charities in 1969 before being appointed as pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Clinton, in February 1970. In 1973, he was granted another leave to return to CRS as director, serving in Cambodia until 1974.[1][2][3]
While stationed in Cambodia, he was awarded the Medal of the Commander of Sowathara by Cambodian President Lon Nol just before his departure from Southeast Asia in July 1974.[4]
From 1975 to 1979, Father McNamara was assistant director and interim director of Catholic Charities. When the Khmer Rouge regime fell and refugees flooded across the borders, he was asked to return to Southeast Asia, this time, Thailand, to help to establish refugee camps. Later he was asked to serve in Lebanon, also with refugees. He returned to his duties in Catholic Charities in 1982 where he served as assistant director until his retirement August 1, 1993.
^"Catholic agency supplies hope to Cambodia". The Anchor. Chicago. Feb 21, 1974. p. 8. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
^Gray, Denis (Oct 5, 1973). "Part of Cambodia On Its Way To Becoming A Vast Refugee Camp". Lewiston Evening Journal. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Associated Press. p. 6. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
^"Donations can relieve hell of war" (PDF). North Country Catholic. March 20, 1971. p. 2.[permanent dead link]
^ ab"Cambodia Relief Director honored". The Anchor. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Aug 8, 1974. p. 10. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
"Hospital Needs to be Airlifted to Cambodia". The Palm Beach Post. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Associated Press. Sep 18, 1973. p. A4. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
"US to send hospital equipment to Phnom Penh". Danville Register. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Associated Press. September 18, 1973. p. 2. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
McNamara speaking on his work in Cambodia on YouTube
January 01, 1970
philip, mcnamara, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, addin. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Philip D McNamara news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view Please discuss further on the talk page August 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Father Philip D McNamara August 30 1923 November 2 2016 was a Catholic priest who directed the Catholic Relief Services in Cambodia during the Vietnam War Contents 1 Biography 2 Awards and recognitions 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksBiography editPhilip was born in East Boston Massachusetts on August 30 1923 He was the fifth of the six sons of fireman Michael McNamara and his wife Catherine McPhee They later moved to Clinton Massachusetts where Philip attended Clinton High School and then St Charles College and the Seminary of Philosophy in Montreal He completed his studies for the priesthood at the Grand seminaire de Montreal He was ordained by Bishop John J Wright at St Paul Cathedral Diocese of Worcester on May 18 1950 He was appointed an associate pastor at St Patrick Parish Whitinsville s Our Lady of the Rosary Clinton and St Joseph Parish Leicester before becoming a U S Air Force Chaplain in 1954 In military service he followed his older brothers James Leonard Joseph and Edmund who served in WWII His younger brother Billy served in the marines during the Korean war Upon his return from the service in 1957 Father McNamara was appointed an associate pastor at St Pius X Parish Leicester until 1961 when he was named an assistant director of Catholic Charities He graduated from the Boston College School of Social Work with a master s degree in June 1964 On March 17 1968 he was granted a leave for service with the Catholic Relief Services on the refugee aid team in South Vietnam He returned to Catholic Charities in 1969 before being appointed as pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish Clinton in February 1970 In 1973 he was granted another leave to return to CRS as director serving in Cambodia until 1974 1 2 3 While stationed in Cambodia he was awarded the Medal of the Commander of Sowathara by Cambodian President Lon Nol just before his departure from Southeast Asia in July 1974 4 From 1975 to 1979 Father McNamara was assistant director and interim director of Catholic Charities When the Khmer Rouge regime fell and refugees flooded across the borders he was asked to return to Southeast Asia this time Thailand to help to establish refugee camps Later he was asked to serve in Lebanon also with refugees He returned to his duties in Catholic Charities in 1982 where he served as assistant director until his retirement August 1 1993 Awards and recognitions editMedal of the Commander of Sowathara Cambodia 4 References edit Catholic agency supplies hope to Cambodia The Anchor Chicago Feb 21 1974 p 8 Retrieved August 19 2013 Gray Denis Oct 5 1973 Part of Cambodia On Its Way To Becoming A Vast Refugee Camp Lewiston Evening Journal Phnom Penh Cambodia Associated Press p 6 Retrieved August 19 2013 Donations can relieve hell of war PDF North Country Catholic March 20 1971 p 2 permanent dead link a b Cambodia Relief Director honored The Anchor Phnom Penh Cambodia Aug 8 1974 p 10 Retrieved August 19 2013 Hospital Needs to be Airlifted to Cambodia The Palm Beach Post Phnom Penh Cambodia Associated Press Sep 18 1973 p A4 Retrieved August 19 2013 US to send hospital equipment to Phnom Penh Danville Register Phnom Penh Cambodia Associated Press September 18 1973 p 2 Retrieved August 19 2013 Further reading editCatholic Relief ServicesExternal links editMcNamara speaking on his work in Cambodia on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Philip D McNamara amp oldid 1193143981, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
