CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Frederick R. McManus

Roman Catholic priest and academic (1923–2005)

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 28, 2026
Entity authorityQ1452974 ↗
Source-derived summary

Frederick Richard McManus (February 8, 1923 – November 27, 2005) was an American Catholic priest and academic who served as a peritus on the liturgy at the Second Vatican Council. He presided at the first English Mass in the United States in 1964 in St. Louis, Missouri.

McManus was also a leader in opening up Catholic dialogue with the Eastern Orthodox Church and served as dean of The Catholic University of America's School of Canon Law. He published eleven books on the liturgy as well as hundreds of popular articles, spending 40 years as editor of The Jurist: Studies in Church Law and Ministry.

Biography

Early life

Born to Frederick and Mary (née Twomey) McManus, he had a younger brother Charles McManus. He attended Boston College High School followed by the College of the Holy Cross from 1940–42. He went on to St. John's Seminary in Brighton and received a Bachelor of Arts in 1947. He was ordained a priest on May 1, 1947.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Frederick R. McManus” as roman Catholic priest and academic (1923–2005). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Frederick, McManus and Roman.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1923, 2005, 1964, 1940—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1923-02-08. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Frederick, McManus and Roman providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Frederick R. McManus”, the useful work is to connect “roman Catholic priest and academic (1923–2005)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1452974. VIAF identifies the subject as 115489884. The Library of Congress control number is n87936995. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1923, 2005, 1964 and 1940.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Frederick R. McManus”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Frederick R. McManus primary sources, Frederick R. McManus archive and Frederick research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Frederick R. McManus”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Frederick R. McManus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.