Hugh F. Blunt

Monsignor Hugh Francis Blunt (January 20, 1877 – March 22, 1957 ) was a Catholic priest, author, poet, and apologist. He was born in Medway, Massachusetts, to Irish immigrants Patrick Blunt and Ann Mahon. Blunt began writing while attending St. Laurent College in Montreal.

After his graduation in 1896, he attended St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts, to become a Catholic priest, and was ordained on December 20, 1901. He was appointed to churches in Stoneham, Dorchester, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and did a great deal of writing over the course of his career. His best-known books include The Great Magdalens: Famous Women Who Returned to God Following a Life of Sin, The Great Penitents and Great Wives and Mothers, all of which are still in print. He also served as chief editorial writer for The Pilot newspaper and editor of the Sacred Heart Review.

Blunt received the Marian Poetry Prize in 1919 and the Catholic Press Poetry Prize in 1929. In 1920, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Notre Dame for his contributions to Catholic literature.

Published works

Additional sources Paul R. Clancy and Shirley Elder, Tip: The Biography of Thomas P. O'Neill, Speaker of the House John A. Farrell, Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Century Paula M. Kane, Separatism and Subculture: Boston Catholicism, 1900-1920 J. Gordon Melton, Religious leaders of America: a biographical guide to founders and leaders Francis O'Neill, Irish minstrels and musicians: with numerous dissertations on related subjects John Drane and Piers Paul Read, The Gospel of St. John: the story of the Son of God George E. Ryan, Figures in our Catholic History