A Life of Service to God and Country—Father Francis X. Wallace ’44

Francis X. Wallace did not come to Saint Anselm College from Fall River intending to enter the priesthood, but he nevertheless found his vocation here on campus. After graduation he studied for the priesthood in Baltimore and was ordained in 1947.

Desiring to serve his country as well as the church, he was commissioned a U.S. Army Chaplain in 1950 and served for 27 years—in Korea, in Vietnam, and finally in Europe. Retiring in 1977, he was assigned to work and reside at Saint Patrick Parish in Falmouth, where he served faithfully until his death in 2018 at the age of 96.

Father Wallace loved Saint Anselm College deeply and wanted to help needy students obtain the benefits of the Anselmian foundation for life that he had received. Dozens of deserving undergraduates have been supported by the Father Francis X. Wallace Endowed Scholarship Fund, which he created and funded during his retirement years and to which he bequeathed most of his estate.

Serving his God, his country, and his college, Father Wallace will always be remembered on the Hilltop.

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