Finn, Francis

FINN, FRANCIS. - American Jesuit and storyteller, b. in St. Louis (United States) on 4 Oct. 1859, d. in Cincinnati on 2 Nov. 1928. After a brief period of teaching literature at St. Francis Xavier College in Cincinnati, from 1899 he devoted himself to spiritual ministries in the parish of the same name, above all directing the Marian Congregation.

He left twenty-two stories, which won the sympathy of the world of boys both in the United States and in many other nations, for the immediate art of portraying their life, of making them masters of themselves, of making them look to the future as a conquest to be achieved with their own energetic will, and for the serene religious spirit, not at all exaggerated, but always vigilant and effective, that pervades them. The editions and translations have multiplied in almost all languages.

Here are some titles: Tom Playfair, New York-Cincinnati 1890; Percy Wynn, ibid. 1899; Harry Dee, ibid. 1891; By Thy Love and Thy Grace, ibid. 1891; Claude Lightfoot, ibid. 1892; Mostly boys, ibid. 1893; Ethelred Preston, ibid. 1896; That Football Game, ibid. 1897; The Fairy of the Snacks, ibid. 1913; The Cupid of Campion, ibid. 1916; Lucky Bob, ibid. 1917.

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