The StFX Community Remembers Father Stan

On Friday, October 17th, the campus community gathered to celebrate the life of Father Stanley MacDonald, known to most students as Father Stan.

Father Stan has long been an iconic figure on the StFX campus. I remember my first meeting with him was outside his residence of Mockler Hall as I was on my way to grab a bite at meal hall. We chatted and I learned he was once working as a priest in community that neighboured my hometown. We had departed with one of his signature fist-bumps, which he commonly used to greet everyone, and went on our own ways.

Students all over the campus have similar stories about knowing Father Stan. He was revered not only as a friend to everyone on campus but also something of an icon within StFX’s sport scene.

I asked some people around Campus about Father Stan,

The Xaverian Weekly Co-Editor in Chief, Bastien MacLean, explained, “I don’t remember meeting Father Stan- but I feel like I always knew him. I’d always rush up to meet him in meal hall to fist bump him. If there was one person who always made people on campus smile, it was him. It’s sad that he’s gone now”

Lexi Hubbard, a 4th year Forensic Psych student, talked about the celebration of life event, “It was a really lovely ceremony. It was essentially a celebration of life for all the things Father Stan did on this campus and did for this campus, all of the lives he touched on this campus. And generally, just how he made everyone around him feel, which of course was lovely. It was really nice to hear the stories about Father Stan and how much everyone on this campus loved him.”

I also asked her about her experiences meeting him, “When I was in first year, like most people I ran into Father Stan in Morrison Hall. I was new to campus and new to Nova Scotia as a whole, and sat down and chatted with him about things I missed about home, particularly my dog. There was a few times I ran into him weeks later, and he said ‘oh hi Lexi, how’s [your dog] Jasper doing today?’ We’d spoken maybe three times, and he knew my dog by name. It solidifies how he remembers things and how he really sees people.”

Lily Trudel, a 4th year English student and the SCA of Governors Hall, explained “He was like a grandfather figure, when I met him [in first year] he was the first person who really felt like a part of the campus community. If you went up to any stranger on campus and asked about Father Stan, you could have a 20 minute discussion about him.”

Another student I approached gave their take on Father Stan, “I feel like his kindness was extended in the ways in which oftentimes he didn’t personally know students, but he was always too happy to see everyone and engage in conversation regardless. He was a pillar of the Xaverian model.”

In my discussions with the people I’ve interviewed, everyone seemed to hint at disappointment that the newest generation of Xavierians did not have the chance to meet Father Stan. This is saddening; however the University has made an effort to memorialize him in a few different ways. It is difficult to go about campus without seeing a Father Stan ‘GO X GO’ laptop sticker, the design of which was put up as a mural overlooking the football field from the Bloomfield Center. It is for these reasons that I am confidant that Father Stanley MacDonald will be known for many generations of Xaverians to come.