MacLeod, Xavier Donald, 1821-1865

MacLeod wrote to Archbishop Purcell in 1857-1858, who offered him a place on the faculty at Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West. He arrived in Cincinnati in February, 1858 and taught English, French, Latin, Rhetoric, and belles lettres. He occasionally contributed articles to the Catholic Telegraph, as well as studying for his own ordination. He was ordained a priest in the Seminary Chapel by Archbishop Purcell on October 15, 1861. Father MacLeod was appointed chaplain to the Sisters of Charity, a position which he held until his departure from the Seminary.

The death of Father William J. Barry, the young Rector of the Seminary, in 1863, left a void in the noble heart of Father MacLeod that was never filled. Kelly and Kirwin write: "The beautiful characters of these two professors, so unlike in many things, and so similar in others, one gentle quiet and retiring, the other stern, aggressive, and impulsive, are among the best treasured traditions of Mt. St. Mary's. They found in each other, traits which bound one to the other in bonds of manly friendship. Father MacLeod preached the funeral oration over the body of his friend, and after the burst of tears in which he concluded his eloquent eulogy, his friends noticed a decided change in his character. The sad death left something wanting in his life, something that time never furnished."

Soon after the library fire of 1863, Father MacLeod quit his posts at the Seminary and settled permanently as the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul in Sedamsville.

He died from the results of injuries received in a railroad accident near Cincinnati. Ohio, June 30, 1865.

McLEOD, Xavier Donald, author, was born in New York city, Nov. 17, 1821, son of Rev. Alexander McLeod, a Presbyterian clergyman, and was educated at Columbia College. Much to the regret of his family, he took orders in the Protestant Episcopal church in 1845, and was given charge of a parish in the country, where he spent 5 years as rector.

In 1850 he decided to visit Europe and continue his studies, especially directing them to the establishment of his mind as to the historical claims of the church of his adoption. Two years in Europe resulted in his conversion to the Roman Catholic faith, and on his return to American he connected himself editorially with the St. Louis "Leader," a prominent and influential Roman Catholic journal.

He was afterwards ordained a priest and appointed professor of rhetoric and belles-lettres in the Roman Catholic College of Mount St. Mary [Cincinnati, O.]

He died from the results of injuries received in a railroad accident near Cincinnati. O., July 20, 1865.