Francis Scott MacNutt (April 22, 1925 - January 12, 2020)) was an American former Roman Catholic priest. Associated with the

Catholic Charismatic Renewal The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church that is part of the wider charismatic movement across historic Christian churches. The Renewal has been described as a "current of grace". It began in 1967 when Cath ...

he was an author of books on healing prayer, including as ''Healing'', ''The Healing Reawakening'' and ''Deliverance from Evil Spirits''.

Biography

MacNutt grew up in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

.About
christianhealingmin.org, accessed 4 July 2009 He earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1948, and a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in speech and drama from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

, Washington. In 1950, MacNutt joined the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

and was ordained to the priesthood in 1956. He gained a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree in theology. He taught at a seminary in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

, for several years before moving back to St Louis in 1966 to become executive director of the National Catholic Preaching Conference. MacNutt learned of the charismatic movement through Pentecostal Protestant friends. As a young

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priest, he was prominent and influential in the charismatic renewal in the 1960s, and during the 1970s he became associated with the practices of

speaking in tongues Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is a practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of sp ...

and

faith healing Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...

and appeared on television with Ruth Carter Stapleton, the sister of President Carter. In the late 1970s he was director of the Thomas Merton Foundation in St. Louis. He left the Dominican Order to marry Judith Carole Sewell, a therapist, in February 1980 and they settled in Clearwater, Florida, where they established Christian Healing Ministries that same year. His decision to marry was controversial in the Catholic charismatic movement. From the beginning of their marriage, the MacNutts traveled widely, speaking and ministering together. In 1987, at the invitation of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida, they moved to

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, and expanded Christian Healing Ministries into a healing center for prayer ministry and teaching. In 1993, MacNutt received a dispensation from Church authorities, and their marriage was celebrated with a ceremony officiated by the Most Reverend John Snyder, Bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine, at Marywood Retreat Center in Jacksonville. MacNutt and his wife have two grown children, Rachel and David. In 2007, the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service in the Vatican co-sponsored an international conference with Christian Healing Ministries (CHM) for 450 Catholic leaders from 42 countries. This conference was held in Jacksonville, with the purpose of bringing the MacNutts' teachings to the worldwide Church. In 1974, he wrote ''Healing'', which has become a classic. His other books include: ''Power to Heal'', ''The'' ''Prayer That Heals'', ''Overcome by the Spirit'', ''Deliverance from Evil Spirits,'' ''Homosexuality: Can It Be Healed?'' and ''The Healing Reawakening.'' He and Judith also co-authored ''Praying for Your Unborn Child.'' In 2008, MacNutt named his wife, Judith, to succeed him as President of CHM, while he took on the position of President Emeritus. Francis MacNutt died on January 12, 2020, aged 94.

References

External links

Christian Healing Ministries
*
Obituary, ''Charisma News''
January 29, 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Macnutt, Francis Spiritual writers 1925 births Clergy from St. Louis Military personnel from St. Louis Writers from St. Louis 2020 deaths American Dominicans Harvard University alumni Catholic University of America alumni 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests American Charismatics Laicized Roman Catholic priests Former Dominicans Writers from Jacksonville, Florida United States Army soldiers Catholics from Florida

Biography

See also

References

External links