Colonel Father Martin Franklin McGuill, JCD

Father Martin F. McGuill, Colonel, United States Air Force (Ret.), entered eternal life on April 21, 2026, at the age of 87. Born May 5, 1938, in Refugio, Texas, he was the son of Charles J. McGuill and Ollie Lee Curbello. He traced his roots to some of the earliest settlers in Texas. His father, Charles Joseph McGuill, was a member of a pioneer Irish South Texas family, and his mother, Ollie Lee Curbello, was a direct descendant of don Juan Franklin Curbello, one of the Canary Islanders who founded the first civil municipal government in Texas and the San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio. The Curbello line was decreed by the King of Spain to be "an Hidalgo family," a heritage of honor, faith, and resilience that Father McGuill carried with deep pride throughout his life.

Spanning nearly 62 years of priestly ministry, Father McGuill served with a rare combination of pastoral wisdom, intellectual rigor, gentle humor, and a gift for meeting people exactly where they were. He graduated from St. John's Seminary in San Antonio in 1956, where he completed his early formation. He then continued his theological studies at Assumption Seminary, also in San Antonio, which served as the major seminary for priestly formation. He was ordained for the Diocese of Corpus Christi on June 6, 1964. His lifelong commitment to learning shaped every chapter of his ministry: he earned a divinity degree from St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee; a master's in religious education from Loyola University in Chicago; a master's in church administration and a licentiate in canon law from The Catholic University of America; and a doctorate in canon law, magna cum laude, from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas (the Angelicum) in Rome.

Father McGuill's early ministry included serving as the first chaplain of the Corpus Christi State Supported Living Center. After his incardination into the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia in 1977, he served in the diocesan tribunal, including as adjutant judicial vicar and as a judge of the interdiocesan tribunal of the Province of Baltimore. He later became pastor of St. Rita Catholic Church in Alexandria, VA and, in 1992, pastor of St. Luke Catholic Church in McLean, VA where he served for nineteen years. Parishioners remembered him for strengthening parish ministries, supporting sacred music, and guiding a community of more than 4,600 families with steadiness, kindness, and pastoral clarity.

For more than 40 years, Father McGuill ministered to families at Arlington National Cemetery. He served as U.S. Air Force Catholic Chaplin during his time and retired with the rank of colonel. There, he was a beloved figure among families, honor guard members, and colleagues — a steady presence of pastoral care in moments of profound grief. One colleague wrote, "On each of the hundreds of services we were on together, I watched as he was able to connect with each family in a compassionate and meaningful way."

After completing his ministry at Arlington National Cemetery, Father McGuill returned to San Antonio, a place he loved deeply and the home of his family's earliest Texas roots. He spent his final years at Padua Place, an assisted‑living residence for retired priests and a ministry of the Missionary Servants of St. Anthony, where he lived among brother clergy and was cared for with devotion by the sisters and staff who serve there. There, in the city shaped by his ancestors and the faith of the Canary Islanders who helped found it, he lived out his days in prayer, companionship, and peace.

He was known for small moments of kindness — the quiet conversation before a service, the gentle humor that eased tension, and the blessing he often offered at the close: "May your love soar on eagle's wings to touch the face of God, hallelujah, hallelujah." He frequently quoted St. Francis of Assisi: "Preach the Gospel, when necessary, use words," a line that reflected the way he lived his vocation.

Father McGuill presided over thousands of military funerals, reminding families that while many services at Arlington National Cemetery were marked by sorrow, "this service is different, it is a big T for triumph." His ministry touched thousands, yet he remained humble, often joking that he had been at the cemetery "since before Moses' beard grew long." He leaves behind a legacy of faithfulness, scholarship, compassion, and quiet strength — a priest who walked with families in their hardest moments and whose presence brought comfort, dignity, and hope.

Father McGuill is preceded in death by his parents and siblings: Charles Patrick McGuill, Margaret Anne McGuill Hawkins, Virginia Ruth McGuill Marquis, Robert Louis McGuill, Mary Helen McGuill Duchek, Michael Allan McGuill, and Mary Madeline McGuill Gerald.

He is lovingly celebrated by his 28 nieces and nephews, who carry forward his example of faith, humor, and service.

A Holy Rosary will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 18th at St. Anthony de Padua Catholic Church in San Antinio, followed by a Memorial Mass at 11:00 a.m.  There will be a Marty McGuill luncheon in the parish hall following the mass.  He will be laid to rest at the McGuill Cemetery in Blanconia, close to his childhood home and the ancestors he cherished, at a private burial to be scheduled later.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Father McGuill's memory to:

OLR Altar Society, Our Lady of Refuge Catholic Church, 1008 S. Alamo, Refugio, Texas 78377

or Assumption Seminary, San Antonio, Texas at www.assumptionseminary.org.