Br. Lewis of Gonzaga

James Joseph McGiverin was born on April 25, 1864, in Bellevue County, Jackson, Iowa, and at age sixteen entered the Novitiate on September 2, 1880, at Carondelet, Missouri. There he received the habit and religious name of Brother Lewis of Gonzaga. In 1881 he was assigned to St. Mary's in New Orleans and in 1883 at Memphis and in St. Paul, Minnesota. From 1885 to 1897 he was assigned at Feehanville, Illinois; St. John's and St. Patrick's in Chicago, St. Bridget's and St. Malachy in St. Louis, Missouri; St. Patrick's and CBC in St. Joseph, Missouri; Las Vegas, Bernalillo, and Santa Fe in New Mexico. From 1903 to 1908 he taught at De La Salle in Minneapolis, St. Pat's in Chicago, CBC in St. Louis and at Santa Fe again. In 1910 he became the first American born CB missionary. From 1910 to 1938 he was stationed in the Channel Island - England, Kawloon - China, and was one of the founding Brothers in Manila. He was nicknamed "The China Clipper" because of his travel to and from the Philippines. He died at age seventy-four, having been a De La Salle Christian Brother for fifty-eight years.