In Memoriam: Dr. Christopher J. Kauffman

Dr. Christopher J. Kauffman 1936–2018

Editor of U.S. Catholic Historian, 1983–2013

Catholic Daughters of the Americas Chair in American Catholic History at The Catholic University of America, 1989–2008

Dr. Christopher Joseph Kauffman, educator, scholar, mentor, husband, father and family man, passed into the hands of God, surrounded by his loving family on January 30, 2018. In his 81 years, Kauffman, through his teaching, numerous publications, both articles and books, and his editorship of the U.S. Catholic Historian, made an indelible mark on the education of future scholars as well as advancing the study of American Catholic history.

Born on October 9, 1936 in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest of four children of Dr. Daniel Emmanuel Kauffman and Bernice O'Brien, Kauffman was raised by his mother and maternal grandfather, Christopher O'Brien, due to the premature death of his father when he was only an infant. He was greatly influenced by his grandfather who, while serving as a surrogate father, provided the guidance and mentorship his grandson needed in many aspects of his life, including faith. As a youth, Kauffman daily observed his grandfather praying the rosary on his knees. Kauffman was totally devoted to his family, beginning with his mother, whom he visited regularly until her death in 1987, and his three siblings, Margaret Abel and Jack Kauffman, who preceded their brother in death, and his eldest brother, Daniel Kauffman, presently residing in Georgia. While his mother kept the home fires burning as a principal distributor of Catholic school uniforms, young Chris attended parochial schools, including the Christian Brothers Academy, in Clayton, Missouri. As a youth he was an avid reader and, recognized by his teachers as one with exceptional aptitude, he thus was encouraged by his teachers to read books which were advanced for his age. While attending high school, he encountered his great academic mentor, Justus George Lawlor, who encouraged him to attend St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, from which he graduated in 1958. Lawlor continued to serve as a mentor for Kauffman throughout the latter's career. Returning home, Kauffman completed master (1961) and doctoral (1970) degrees at St. Louis University.

After completing his master's degree, he began his career as an educator, initially for several years at Mercy High School and then for short periods of time at Fontbonne College for women, Marillac College, and St. Louis University. In the early fall of 1966 he met Helen Schaberg. After a short courtship they married on December 26, a convenient time since both were teachers enjoying the Christmas holiday. Together they brought into the world their three children Jane Kauffman Marinelli, Christopher Justus Kauffman and Katie Kauffman. Over the years their family expanded with seven grandchildren. From Kauffman's perspective, one of the truly great joys, especially from the influence of his grandfather, was being called "Grandpa."

Christopher Kauffman's first significant foray into American Catholic history was through a series of institutional histories that he was commissioned to write. His first monograph in this genre was a two-volume history of the Alexian Brothers (1976). Moving to Connecticut, he next produced a centenary history of the Knights of Columbus (1982), plus an update and addition ten years later. The family's last move took them to Baltimore, where he completed a history of the Society of St. Sulpice (1989). As his career continued he penned an authoritative history of the Catholic Health Association of the United States (1990), a biography of William Howard Bishop, the founder of the Glenmary Home Missioners (1991), and a history of the Marianists in the United States (1999). While these monographs were significant, arguably his greatest contribution in this scholarly format was his editorship of two multi-volume works which encompassed a broad range of topics associated with American Catholic life. His award-winning six-volume Bicentennial History of the Catholic Church in America (1989) authorized by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) was followed, beginning ten years later, by his nine-volume American Catholic Identities...