William Hart McNichols (born July 10, 1949) is an American Catholic priest and artist from the United States.

In 1971, McNichols was a member of a group of 27 Jesuit seminarians who denounced the Selective Service System in a joint statement.

They had been inspired by Robert Drinan, a Catholic priest turned Congressman, who was elected on a platform opposing the war, as well as fellow Jesuit activist, writer, and poet Daniel Berrigan.

[4] In the planning, it was decided not to allow worshipers to drink from the communal chalice, but to instead dip the host into the consecrated wine.

[4] This required the Eucharistic ministers to place the hosts into the mouths of communicants, thus risking touching their tongues and saliva.

[5] The Spirituality of the AIDS period is further documented in the 1993 book "Aloysius" by Clifford Stevens and William Hart McNichols.

[6] In 1990, McNichols moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to study the technique, history, and spirituality of icon painting with Russian-American master Robert Lentz.

"[8] At the end of 2002, McNichols left the Jesuit order after 35 years but with permission from his archbishop remained active as a priest.

[14] In 2016 McNichols granted filmmaker Christopher Summa permission to produce an independent film on his life and art, The Boy Who Found Gold.

The film focuses on McNichols's life as an iconographer and journeys deep into the prayers and stories behind his work.

[15] McNichols had a small speaking role with Academy Award Winning actor J. K. Simmons in the 2003 film "Off The Map".