We at The Fatima Center are greatly saddened to learn of the passing of our long-time and dear friend, Professor David Allen White, who died yesterday, February 11th (the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes).
Dr. White was a widely renowned educator, writer, and speaker whose deep faith permeated all aspects of his life and work. His remarkable insights into world literature made his lectures an unforgettable experience. He was a cherished speaker at numerous Fatima Center gatherings
Born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 1948, he received his B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1970, and his M.A. from the University of Wisconsin just one year later. After earning his Ph.D. in English Literature from Indiana University in 1981, he began his teaching career there at Indiana. He taught next at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, then at Temple University, and finally (for 29 of his total 38 years behind the podium) in the English Department at the United States Naval Academy.
Dr. White was a frequent lecturer at the Dietrich von Hildebrand Institute in Gardone Riviera, Italy. He was an avid lover of drama, and with rare skill he directed and/or acted in more than 100 theatrical productions.
Dr. White was the editor of the essential Shakespeare encyclopedia Shakespeare A to Z and the author of The Mouth of the Lion (about Bishop De Castro Mayer) and The Horn of the Unicorn (about Archbishop Lefebvre). He also wrote substantial prefaces to The Death of Christian Culture and The Restoration of Christian Culture by Dr. John Senior.
Raised as a Protestant, Dr. White was received into the Catholic Church as a young man in 1979.
Editor’s Note: I was never privileged to meet Dr. White personally. However, he was instrumental in bringing me to a deeper understanding of my Catholic Faith. My wife and I were planning to go skiing with some friends over the Christmas holidays in 2006. However, she came down with a flu and had to stay in house. She took this opportunity to read The Mouth of the Lion by Dr. White. She is a voracious reader and read the whole book in less than two days of bed rest.
I had been out visiting family and when I returned she informed me that she wanted to begin attending the Traditional Latin Mass. This caught me by surprise. We then began a series of very long discussions with priests and others who knew more about the Faith and the liturgy than we did. The rest as they say is history.
But what about Dr. White’s book impressed my wife so profoundly? She converted to the Catholic Faith from Protestantism when she was nineteen. Two points from this book left an indelible impression upon her.
(1) Dr. White reproduced letters written by Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer in which he taught his flock Catholic doctrine and compared it to the modernist’s twisting of the Catholic Faith. My wife was stunned. What she had been taught as ‘Catholicism’ was what the good Bishop had labeled modernist heterodoxy. This helped us both realize that we had much to learn about our authentic Catholic Faith. We took the deep dive and, twenty years later, are still on that journey.
(2) As a convert, my wife delighted in being introduced to the saints. They were true heroes, full of virtue and the spirit of Christ. She had never read about Protestants who lived the evangelical counsels or had the zeal of the great bishops, like Athanasius, Augustine, Alphonsus Liguori, Anthony Mary Claret, and many others. But she wondered, where were these saintly bishops today? Why did she not hear similar contemporary stories? Her modernist Catholic professor, in the presence of two priests, actually had the audacity to tell her that in addition to the four marks of the Church (One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic), the Church has a fifth mark, namely, she is sinful. This is heresy! However, when my wife read Dr. White’s biography of Bishop de Castro Mayer, she recognized a truly saintly bishop fashioned in the mold of our heroes from centuries past.
My wife and I, as well as all our family, will always be indebted to Dr. Allen White for inspiring us to learn more about our Catholic Faith and leading us to a deep appreciation of the Traditional Latin Mass. He never met us and he never knew he had this influence upon us. But this is how God’s grace works through the communion of saints. So, although we never had the honor of meeting him in this life, we pray that we will all spend eternity together in Heaven.
May the soul of Dr. Allen White, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Ave Maria gratia plena… Sancta Maria Mater Dei… Amen.
See Dr. White’s Presentations at The Fatima Center’s Conferences:
2006 Fatima Conference
“Fatima: Last Chance For World Peace”
“The Errors of Russia Predicted in Russian Literature”
2009 Fatima Conference
“Fatima: Faith, Fidelity, and Your Future”
“To Obtain What They Promise: The Glorious Mysteries”
“To Obtain What They Promise: The Joyful and Sorrowful Mysteries”
Questions & Answers
(Fr. Gruner, John Vennari, Dr. David White)
2015 Fatima Conference
“Save Washington”
“The Links in Our Lady’s Rosary from Fatima to Washington, D.C.”
Dr. White’s Writings:
An Unweeded Garden, Bemoaning the State of Higher Education.
Dr. White Shares His Conversion Story