Horace B. McKenna, SJ Project Collection

Joseph K. Hines (1957-) was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Dolores M. (1930-2014) and William J. Hines (1929-2009) alongside brother William P., Jr. (1960-). He graduated from Scranton Preparatory School in 1975 and subsequently entered the Society of Jesus at Wernersville (1975–1977). Hines completed his philosophy studies at Fordham University (1978–1979, 1981), with a year at the University of London (1980), and fulfilled his regency at Gonzaga College High School (1981–1985), where he lived with Fr. Horace McKenna. While in Washington, DC, after McKenna’s death, Hines launched the “McKenna Project” to gather reminiscences from those who knew McKenna with the goal of compiling them into an anthology. In 1986, he began theological studies at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley; although he eventually left the Society in 1988 he later collaborated with John Dear to co-edit and publish “Christ Is with the Poor: Stories and Sayings of Horace McKenna, S.J.” (1989) based in part on recordings done by Hines.

Fr. Horace B. McKenna (1899-1982) was born in New York City to Charles F. McKenna (1861-1930) and Laura J. O’Neill McKenna (1860-1900). He was the sixth of eight children who survived to adulthood, alongside Mary E. "May" (1886-1976), Daniel M. (1889-1969), Charles F., Jr. (1890-1967), Helen (1893-1976), William "Bill" A. (1894-1946), Laura M. (1900-1950), and Elizabeth "Betty" (1906-2003). McKenna attended Fordham Preparatory School (1913–1916) before entering the Society of Jesus at St. Andrew-on-Hudson, where he completed his novitiate and juniorate (1916–1920). He then studied philosophy at Woodstock College (1921–1923), followed by a regency that included teaching assignments at Ateneo de Manila in the Philippines (1924), Boston College High School (1925), and St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia (1926). Returning to Woodstock for theological studies (1927–1930), he was ordained in 1930.

Following ordination, McKenna was stationed in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, where he served from 1932 to 1953 at St. Michael’s Church in Ridge. From there, he ministered to the Black Catholic community at nearby St. Peter Claver Church. He also served as superior of the St. Michael’s Jesuit community from 1936 to 1946. McKenna’s later ministry centered in Washington, DC, where he was assigned to St. Aloysius Church (1952–1958, 1964–1982), with an interim period as assistant pastor at the Church of the Gesù in Philadelphia (1958-1964). At St. Aloysius, he played a key role in developing several community initiatives: he helped establish the Sursum Corda Cooperative in 1968, a low-income housing project just north of the parish; he founded SOME (So Others Might Eat) in 1977, which began as a soup kitchen and grew into a comprehensive service center offering food, medical care, and counseling for the poor and homeless; and he co-founded Martha’s Table in 1980, serving low-income families in the Columbia Heights neighborhood.

The basement of St. Aloysius became a hub of social outreach, housing the St. Vincent de Paul Society--where community members could seek assistance--and hosting McKenna’s informal Sunday afternoon "coffee klatsch." After his death in 1982, the outreach center at St. Aloysius was renamed the McKenna Center in his honor.