Remembering the Life of Fr. Beauregard, OMV
Beloved priest and Oblate, Reverend David Napoleon Beauregard, OMV, age 86, passed into the loving arms of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Easter Monday, April 1, 2024.
Fr. Beauregard was born on May 1, 1937 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, one of 4 children to the late David A. and Mary T. Beauregard.
After high school, Fr. Beauregard received his Bachelor of Science at Loyola University. He pursued a Masters of Arts degree from Ohio State University and received his PhD in English Renaissance Literature, while he was a teaching assistant at Ohio State University from 1960 to 1967. Once he completed his academic studies, he taught at the University of Nebraska as an Assistant Professor in the department of English Literature from 1967-1973.
Answering the Call
In 1973, Fr. Beauregard answered God’s call and entered the Oblates of the Virgin Mary. He professed his final vows in September of 1979 and was ordained into the priesthood on June 14, 1980 in Boston Massachusetts.
Fr. Beauregard was Director of Our Lady of Grace Seminary, as well as Dean of Studies, from 1978-1999. From 1996-2000 and 2004-2010 Fr. Beauregard was an Adjunct faculty member of St. John’s School of Theology in Boston. He continued his service with the Oblates at St. Mary’s Parish in Alton, IL from 2011 until his passing.
In his spare time, Fr. Beauregard loved to spend time with his close friends at St. Mary’s. He was an avid Green Bay Packers fan and a golfer. In Boston he belonged to the Socrates Society. Through these social circles, Fr. Beauregard met people like Tom Howard, Ted Rebard and Peter Kreeft, all whom he recruited to teach at Our Lady of Grace Seminary. He loved academics and teaching. He had a great love of reading and was a firm believer that William Shakeaspeare had a Catholic bent in many of his plays.
Fr. Beauregard was an author who had two book publications, “Virtues Own Feature: Shakespeare and the Virtue Ethics Traditions” (1995) and “Catholic Theology in Shakespeare’s Plays” (2007). He also wrote numerous articles for various publications.
Wake and Memorial
Fr. Beauregard is survived by his beloved sister Barbara Beauregard and brother Paul Beauregard. Besides his parents, he is predeceased by his sister Karen (Cole).
Fr. Beauregard will be deeply missed by his fellow Oblates, parishioners, and all people whose lives he has touched.
Fr. Beauregard’s wake will be on Tuesday, April 9th, at St. Mary’s Church in Alton, IL from 9am-12pm. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 12pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to Our Lady of Grace Seminary, 1105 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02215.
Turn to Prayer
In times of grief, reach out to us to honor your loved ones with a mass, memorial, or candle to offer comfort and prayers.
With grief I learned of your passing. May the Lord prosper the work of your hands (Psalm 90:17). God bless Fr. B.
A good man who loved and servedJesus.
I will never forget the rainy day in May 1988 when Father Beauregard interviewed me to teach Thomistic philosophy at Our Lady of Grace Seminary College starting in the Fall, thanks to a recommendation by Prof. Peter Kreeft, under whom I had studied in the Philosophy Department at Boston College. Then, after a lapse of 16 years when I thought that the regular House of Studies had been permanently closed in May 1993, he called me out of the blue one afternoon in August 2009 (when my mother lay dying) to request that I return to teach in September, because the Order had a fairly large group of postulants as a result of recently instituting perpetual Eucharistic adoration (thus showing the power of PEA for renewal of fervor in the Church). I am morally certain that Fr. David B. is enjoying his reward of everlasting bliss in the Beatific Vision.
Many years ago I taught a first year latin course at the Oblates seminary. Father Beauregard was my supervisor. It was a wonderful experience thanks to Father Beauregard and I am forever grateful for his warm smile of welcome and his kindness and support. I am so sorry to hear of his passing butI know that he is with the Lord whom he loved.
I’ve only just come upon this notice of the passing of Fr. Dave, but I, too, was influenced by him. I was in the Oblate seminary in Boston as a postulant and novice from 1986-89 (in fact, I had Dr. Lang – who commented above – as a teacher in that time). I arrived already having received a BA and so didn’t get to study with him as I only needed the philosophy curriculum, but I remember vividly his work as Dean and the encouragement that he gave me in my time in the seminary. As it turned out I didn’t have a vocation, but the mentorship that I received from Fr. Dave and the professors he gathered to teach us was decisive in helping me find my life’s work as a seminary professor and as a founder and professor with the Augustine Institute. I remember most vividly the honor of being included in a dinner group that included just some of those people mentioned above, Tom Howard, Ted Rebard, Fr. Dave Beauregard, along with one other seminarian who, like myself, was a convert and late vocational discerner. All of us went out to the Harvard Club on Commonwealth Ave at the invitation of Phil Crotty. Just the affirmation of being included in that group gave me the confidence to think that I could be a teacher like these wonderful men of faith and learning. I can still see Fr. Dave rushing off to a class lecture with his short brisk steps and with a book or papers tucked high up under his arm, always with that warm smile and a glint in his eye that suggested that he had discovered something wonderful that he was going to share. May he rest in the peace of Christ.