“Mary Jane and I strongly believe that our faith and the religious foundation of our education at John Carroll shaped who we are today.” 
John G. ’56, ‘97H and
Mary Jane ’91, ’94G Breen    

Breens support Catholic values, traditions

Mary Jane and I strongly believe that our faith and the religious foundation of our education at John Carroll shaped who we are today. Our family values, our closest friends – who, after 50-plus years, are our extended family -- and the causes we value the most, all stem from our Catholic upbringing or link back in some way to John Carroll.

We have supported John Carroll all these years to help ensure the future of the university’s true Catholic nature. We hope to help cultivate, in the current generation of students, a perspective on the world that is rooted in the authentic Catholic faith, its teachings, and traditions.

Equally important to us is introducing students and the community-at-large to the great wealth of Catholic intellectual tradition.

We are happy to support the university and its mission and hope that our gift to endow a chair in Catholic Systematic Theology will fund an outstanding Catholic scholar to further enhance John Carroll’s Jesuit Catholic tradition.

Editor’s note: Mary Jane and Jack Breen are among John Carroll University’s leading benefactors. In June, they announced a $2.5 million gift to endow a chair at John Carroll in Catholic Systematic Theology. In 2002, the Breens made a gift of $3 million to establish the John G. and Mary Jane Breen Endowment for Catholic Studies, including an endowed chair in the university’s Institute of Catholic Studies, and established The Breen Family Catholic Lecture Series and the John G. and Mary Jane Breen Learning Center at the Grasselli Library. A long-time trustee of John Carroll, Mr. Breen served as the university’s chairman of the board 1991-1995, and remains active today. He was awarded John Carroll’s Alumni Medal in 2005. Mrs. Breen, who graduated from St. Vincent Charity School of Nursing in 1957, earned her undergraduate degree from JCU in 1991 and her master’s degree in humanities here in 1994.