It is with a mixture of human sadness and Christian hope that we are writing to inform you of the death of Fr. Michael Hall, who died yesterday morning after a long illness. He had been a monk at St. Anselm’s for sixty-seven years, was a graduate of our own school with the class of 1956, and subsequently served both the abbey and school in many ways. We will receive his body into our church on Thursday, May 22 at 4:30 p.m., with the church open for visitation until 9:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian burial will be offered the next day, Friday the 23rd, at 10 a.m., with burial in our abbey cemetery. If you are coming to that Mass, it might be best to park in our lower lot just west of the gymnasium/theatre building and walk through that building to get to the church, as the upper parking lot will be in use by our faculty. If the congregation at the Mass is very large, the entire service will be streamed and shown on a screen in the abbey’s community room (“calefactory”), adjacent to the church. After the service at the cemetery, you are cordially invited to attend a reception back in the calefactory.
Fr. Michael grew up right here in Washington, DC. After finishing elementary school at St. Francis Xavier parish, he began his secondary education at St. Anselm’s, at a time when our school was still called the Priory School. After two years of undergraduate study at Georgetown University, he entered our monastic community, and after making his first vows he continued his undergraduate education at The Catholic University of America. As a highly respected teacher in our own school, he regularly taught courses in both the history and religion departments. Dedicated to professional development, he did further studies in the field of history, including time abroad at the University of Edinburgh and Cambridge University. Not surprisingly, Fr. Michael’s administrative gifts led him to important positions in our school: six years as associate headmaster, followed by a further sixteen as headmaster, during which he saw to our school’s being accredited by the Middle States Association, an expansion of its curriculum, and addition of a sixth grade, Form A.
After retiring as headmaster in 1992, Fr. Michael spent some time at the Benedictine priory in Montreal and subsequently served as chaplain at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. On returning to St. Anselm’s, he resumed teaching in our school but was also active in pastoral ministry, including service at local parishes and at convents of religious Sisters. His confreres’ respect and appreciation for his sound judgment led Fr. Michael to be regularly elected as a member of the abbey’s council and as secretary for meetings of its annual chapter. May he now rejoice in the heavenly life for which he yearned during his many years on earth.
