Fr. Richard Gribble, C.S.C., Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies from Stonehill College, recently wrote the first major biography of Servant of God Columba O’Neill. The book is titled The Miracle Man of Notre Dame: The Life and Legacy of Br. Columba O’Neill, C.S.C., and is being published by Ave Maria Press, which is a ministry of the U.S. Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross. It is set to ship on 11 September 2026.
The biography chronicles the life of John O’Neill (1848-1923), who would later take the religious name of Columba upon his entry into the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1874. For most of his religious life, Br. Columba served as a cobbler at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana in the United States. There, to students and other visitors alike, he would distribute images of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and cloth badges of the Sacred Heart of Jesus along with instructions to pray a novena.
Quickly, word spread about favors and healings that people professed to have received through Br. Columba’s intercession to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Thus, in his lifetime, he became known by many as the “Miracle of Notre Dame”.
Watch the documentary In Kind Love: The Life and Legacy of Br. Columba O’Neill, C.S.C.
The Most Rev. Kevin C. Rhoades, Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, officially opened the cause for beatification of Br. Columba O’Neill on Divine Mercy Sunday, 27 April 2025. The investigation at the diocesan level into his life continues at the time of the publication of this article.
Over the course of his long career, Fr. Gribble has published many books and countless articles, covering a wide range of topics from spirituality to Catholic Church history and biographies. Two of his previous publications are biographies of other Holy Cross religious in the process of beatification: American Apostle of the Family Rosary: The Life of Father Patrick J. Peyton, C.S.C., and Vincent McCauley, C.S.C.: Bishop of the Poor, Apostle of East Africa.
The book is available for purchase in the United States via the website of Ave Maria Press. It is also available internationally in many countries through other distributors with whom Ave Maria collaborates.
If you were to receive a favor through the intercession of Servant of God Columba O’Neill, we would invite you to share your story with the Congregation by writing to saints@holycrosscongregation.org