Chris and Molly McMahon
Molly and Chris McMahon
“Are we doing enough? What do we do with the time we have left?”
Those are questions Chris and Molly McMahon keep asking themselves.
The McMahons have been married for 33 years; they have five grown children. They joined the local Legatus chapter, thinking of it as “Catholic date night.” It led them to commit to living the faith with more courage, energy, and purpose—“faith is critically important,” says Chris.
Faith is what drives them to service.
Chris is vice chair of the Legatus board. He’s on the board of their alma mater, Duquesne University, where he and Molly met. They actively support the Sisters of Mary in Mexico (founded by Father Al Schwartz) and the Sisters of Life.
They founded Mary’s Place, a home for pregnant and parenting women in Pittsburgh, to save mothers and babies and “protect the dignity of human life,” Chris says.
Chris also established MFA Wealth, an investment advisory firm in Pittsburgh, and Aquinas Wealth Advisors, to provide wealth management in harmony with Catholic moral teachings along with solid returns.
Chris and Molly found that they kept bumping into Franciscan University, metaphorically, as their faith deepened and their service expanded. Legatus friends had sons and daughters attending Franciscan. Many interns at Mary’s Place were from Franciscan.
The McMahons found themselves drawn by the mission, energy, and commitment of Franciscan, and they wanted to support what they see as vital work. True to form, they’ve stepped up, most recently with a generous contribution to Christ the Teacher Hall.
“Franciscan University is what’s needed in society,” says Chris. “We’re trying to get more involved.”
Last year, Chris and Molly started a new Catholic evangelization conference called Catholics at the Shore; this summer, Father Dave Pivonka, TOR ’89, will be one of the speakers at the New Jersey event.
“It’s relaxed and comfortable,” says Chris. “People who are on fire, it feeds them. Lukewarm folks come, too, and get set on fire.”
That’s what the McMahons do—they let themselves be set on fire, and they’re spreading that blaze in every facet of life and society that they can.
Dan McBane ’09, MBA ’13
Dan McBane ’09, MBA ’13
The McBane family has been taking care of families and businesses since 1900, when James McBane founded McBane Insurance and Financial Services in Bergholz, Ohio.
Jim McBane is the third generation of McBanes in his family’s business. His son Dave ’92 joined the team in 1994. Twenty years later, Jim invited his younger son Dan into the business.
Dan hadn’t always seen himself picking up that mantle, but his father highlighted the importance of a good insurance agency.
“We are the first person people call when some of the worst things happen,” Jim told him. “If we do our job right, we’re able to take care of them.”
Dan really appreciated his father’s view and decided to join the family business in 2014, where he serves as vice president alongside his brother Dave as president.
The family’s generous support of Franciscan University’s mission is a McBane tradition, with contributions to scholarships and capital campaigns through the decades. Dan attended four Steubenville Youth Conferences at Franciscan’s main campus and then attended Franciscan for his undergraduate and graduate degrees. Dan also met his wife Clare (Smith ’12) while finishing his undergraduate degree.
Dan didn’t grow up Catholic; but at one of the youth conferences, during adoration, he began to understand and believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. A seed was planted. During his early years at Franciscan, he joined a household, began attending Mass regularly, and enrolled in theology classes. However, he wasn’t positive where the Lord was calling him until a pivotal conversation.
“I was talking to Father John Ignatius—Aron Little ’02 at the time. He grabbed me by the shoulders and said, ‘If I was in the Church because of the people, I would’ve left a long time ago. I’m in the Church because of Jesus.’”
After that, Dan says, “It was painful to go to Mass and not receive Jesus.”
The McBanes support Franciscan because it helped to make them the people they are today through formation, education, and rock-solid friendships with people all over the country.
“We fully and enthusiastically support the mission, and we want to give back so others can have the experience we did.”
