John Luke McDermott (September 29, 1946-August 15, 2018) was a graduate of the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, the U.S. Navel Academy, and Georgetown Law School. Before becoming a priest, McDermott was a Navel Officer and Country Officer in Defense Intelligence. McDermott attended Holy Apostles College and Seminary, Cromwell, Connecticut, in preparation to become a priest and a member of the Society of the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles. During his time in Connecticut, McDermott published How American Law Lost God in 2012. On April 25, 2015, McDermott was ordained a priest at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury, Connecticut.

We are grateful to have known Father McDermott’s kindness, company, and perspective for which he is fondly remembered among friends and family. Father McDermott and his writings remain with us, a faithful guide in restoring God’s Law in America.

Father McDermott’s book, How American Law Lost God, published in 2012, is a meticulously researched and well documented volume surveying how the American Founding Fathers envisioned the matters of Church and state in the beginning, and how far America has strayed from its originally publicly stated reliance on God and His Law.

How American Law Lost God may be purchased online through New Hope Publications, click here.

Prayer composed for the intention that Father McDermott be in heaven among the saints & for his intercession overcoming legal injustices:

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, Christ Our King, victory of all who trust in thee, grant us the graces of patience, wisdom, and courage to stand fast for truth in the example of Father John Luke McDermott who so clearly outlined the manner in which the law of man must be in accord with the Law of God. We ask for Father McDermott’s intercession to overcome adversity and for the restoration of God’s Law in America. I petition you, dear Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Thy Most Holy Mother, to deem Father McDermott’s lawful defense of truth and goodness worthy of sainthood.

Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of America and hope of all nations, graciously come to my aid in this time of need. Accept my prayers and sacrifices as roses for your crown and in thy love, obtain for me my request. I ask this through Your Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, Who with the Father lives and reigns, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, One God, in the fullness of time. Amen.