Reflection #74 (Only 1002 to go): That Time of Year

         Reunions at Ignatius happen all year round, but, from February through June, there’s a surge.  There’s the Law Luncheon, the Athletic Hall-of-Fame Induction, the April Reunions, the Jubilarian Reunion and the Golf Classic.

           Related to these, I want to give a shout-out to Christine Cesak, a member of the Development Staff, and, for me, the “lynch pin” in the department.  Her official title is Alumni Events Manager, and at each of these events, and many more than I’ve listed here, you can see her, clipboard in hand, scurrying around, making sure everything is going as planned and “putting out the proverbial fires”.  Additionally, she treats grumpy old men…me…with patience and dignity, and if the solution to a problem is not in her domain, she will direct the issue to the right person.

          Christine’s degree is a master’s in Social Work, but if she had known what her job would be like, she might have chosen Abnormal

Psych.  Anyway, thanks, Christine, for all you do at 1076.

The Jubilarian Reunion had previously occurred on the last Friday in May as a part of the end-of-the-year school Mass.  This year it will take place on Saturday, May 23.  This reunion is for alumni who graduated more than 50 years ago.   For details and registration, as well as information about the St. Ignatius Golf Classic, contact Christine Cesak at christine.cesak@ignatius.org.

Finally, it’s time again to celebrate Frank Raispis’ birthday.  On May 1^st, Frank turned 88 and was joined by several members of the class of ’63.  Also joining them was fellow retired Classics teacher, Don Hoffman. 

Frank has some physical limitations, but his mind and spirit are still fine.  His one concession to his age is that he tends to repeat stories, but then so do I…or, at least, that’s what my wife tells me.  When I tell Frank what an inspiration he is to me in how he handles his challenges, he dismisses that suggestion with a grunt.  To him, that’s all a part of life’s challenges.  Quoting Shakespeare, it’s what he refers to as the “slings-and-arrows of outrageous fortune”.

Reflection #73 (Only 1003 to go): Fr. George Lane, SJ

I’ve come to the conclusion that Fr. George Lane is a great man and a fine priest.  For the last few years, each Thursday, he would make the trip from downtown Chicago to the western suburbs to see Frank Raispis and, before she passed away, Joan Terracina, God rest her soul.  He would visit with them, then say Mass.  He stopped his visits when, because of physical limitations, he was no longer able to drive.

            I never knew Fr. Lane very well.  He was a Jesuit scholastic teaching English and moderating several activities when I started teaching at Ignatius in the early ‘60’s.  I saw him only occasionally following his ordination.  He spent 40 years at Loyola Press, the last 20 as president.  During most of that time, he resided at the Holy Family Church rectory

Prior to the mid-70’s, students may recall walking through the “tunnel” that led from the school to Holy Family for Mass. In the late 60’s, I can recall walking out onto the choir loft of the church with Carmen Pintozzi, and realizing that, as we moved, so did the choir loft.  We beat a hasty and cautious retreat.   Not long after that, it became apparent that there was serious deterioration occurring, and in 1984 the main sanctuary was closed.   Masses for the parishioners were held in a chapel at the north end of the building.

            In the last week of 1990, Fr. Lane appeared on a news broadcast, saying that, if the goal of 1 million dollars in contributions for its restoration was not reached by Dec. 31, Holy Family Church would be torn down, and replaced by a smaller church.  It would have been an inglorious end for a structure that had survived the Chicago Fire.

Suffice it to say, Fr. Lane, along with the other members of the Holy Family Preservation Society, succeeded.  It has become known as the “Miracle on Roosevelt Road”.

In January of this year, Father participated in his last Mass at Holy Family, during which, the pastor, Father Mike Gabriel, said someone had told him “Father George was a person who achieved goals that others thought were unreachable”.  Following that last mass, there was a reception which was attended by several of Fr. Lane’s students from the class of ’63.

It is worth noting that, along with his many successes, Fr. Lane has been the recipient of the Gutenberg Award, presented by the Chicago Bible Society.  The first recipient of that award was General Douglas MacArthur.

In a very nice article written by Dr. Joseph Paprocki, class of ’77, who works (or worked) at Loyola Press, whenever Father Lane was given some good news about “the Press”, he always responded, “Thank you Jesus!”. 

Joe ends his article with, “Thank you Jesus, for Fr. George Lane, SJ!!!”

Reflection #72 (Only 1004 to go): Men and Women for Others (Pt. 1)

            While it’s always enjoyable for us old-timers to reminisce about our early years,…mine would be the ‘60’s and early 70’s…more fascinating are the changes that have occurred from then to now.    The December “Reminiscence” spoke of school activities being more service-oriented.

           All of the credit for the information presented here goes to recently retired English teacher Ray Kizelevicus.  Ray not only shared his personal experiences for this blog, but did the research.

I asked Ray when the “service projects” started, and when did he first get involved. 

           Ray responded, “We had social action groups and community service programs, especially tutoring both in school and at the local grade schools, when I started at Ignatius in 1970.  Indeed, CTA (Community Tutoring Alliance) still exists today.”

             I had actually been wondering about the summer service projects in which, during the summer prior to their senior year, students headed off to different regions, both in the USA and in South and Central America, to work to improve the facilities of the less fortunate.

“The Summer Programs did not start until the summer of 1986.  Fr. Arrupe coined the famous motto “…Men (and women) for others” in 1973.  It took us a little while to really embody that motto and realize it fully.” 

            Ray tells us, ”I did not start in the program until the summer of 1993.  My older daughter decided that she was going to sign up for one of the sites.  I was a little surprised when she told me, but I thought she would enjoy the experience.  Then she looked me in the eye and said, ‘And what about you?’  When your teen-aged daughter challenges you, you can’t back down.  So the next day I went to school and signed up for Caritas Mission (as it was known then) in central Pennsylvania.  Long story short, I still go back to that mission, now known as Young People Who Care.  I am on the list to go again this summer.

            In those 21 years I have also worked in Kentucky once and have had the privilege to serve the people of San Lucas Toliman Mission in Guatemala three times.”

        “In the summer of 1985, Ignatius sent 7 students (Chris Bobeck, Katie Christensen, Jimm Dispenza, Mary Farrell, Jen Flynn, Joanne Gerich, and Mark Luedtke) and 1 teacher (Fr. Gino Donatelli, S.J.) to Peru for six weeks as part of the Loyola Academy service program.  For those 8, the summer of 1985 will last forever with the meanings of poverty, oppression, love, and neighbor written indelibly on their hearts. The impact of the trip changed their lives and their level of awareness and concern about the third world of the entire Ignatius community.” (PREP 1986)

There is much more to the story, but that will have to wait for now.

Reflection #71 (Only 1005 to go): Father Joe Bowen SJ

Reflection #71 (Only 1005 to go):  Father Joe Bowen SJ

In early November, the graduating class of 1963 presented Saint Ignatius with the plaque shown above.  Father Joseph Bowen, S.J., was a member of that class.

When Fr. Bowen took the helm as president, our school was perilously close to going out of business, and in fact, some folks in the community had all but written us off.  Trust me when I say that, for a married man with 4 kids, this was a scary time…and I didn’t realize how close we were to closing.

As the plaque states, Fr. Bowen was “the youngest Jesuit to be President of St. Ignatius”.   At 30 years old, he may have been the youngest president of a Jesuit institution ever, but that I can’t confirm.  Through his years as president, he was plagued by heart problems which, at the age of 41, took his life.

The plaque mentions enlarging the board of trustees to include laymen, among which were several of Chicago’s business and political leaders.  Where the plaque says, “renewed the spirit of our great school”, I would have to include bringing Bob Hope to Chicago to perform a concert on our behalf.   From that moment on, I could feel the change in the attitude of the school’s community.  There was a vitality that had previously been declining.

I heard some say that he was head-strong and had a fierce temper.  I can certainly vouch for the latter, but who’s to say that this wasn’t a part of his success.   In the spring of ’78, I was a member of a committee that Father Bowen convened to decide if we would go “co-ed”.  The committee meeting ended with the decision to table a resolution until a more complete demographic survey could be taken. 

That was close enough for Fr. Bowen.  In the summer of ’78, he announced the decision to allow young women to take the entrance exam for the ’79-’80 school year, as well as permitting young women to transfer into the upper classes. 

                             “WELL DONE, JOE”

As an interesting side-light, I recall several alumni at the time being dead-set against our going co-ed, but, when the decision was made, they were the first in line to enroll their daughters. 

A special thanks to Mike Berkery, one of Fr. Bowen’s classmates, for providing much of the information that I have included in this article.

Reflection #70 (Only 1006 to go): Mass at Holy Family

                  This Sunday (Jan. 11), I went to Mass at Holy Family Church.  It was the last Mass that Fr. George Lane, SJ, would be celebrating before he headed out to his new assignment at Columbiere in Michigan.  In a couple of months, I intend to write about Fr. Lane, but this article is about my experience at Holy Family.  I assume that the reader knows that Holy Family is the church next to St. Ignatius.  The Mass was lively, spirited, filled with energy and great joy, and it could hardly have been more different in tone and energy from the Masses that I usually attend in my home parish. 

When I was a youngster, the canon of the Mass was said in Latin, and Sister Agnes justified it by telling us that no matter where in the world you attended Mass, it would be the same   After Vatican II, in 1962, the canon would be said in the vernacular.  Some folks I know make a real effort to go to a Latin Mass.

                  The Mass at Holy Family had all of the critical parts, the offertory, the consecration and the communion, and, in that respect, was the same as all other Masses.  However, in the parish I attend, the Masses are relatively quiet and serene.   The dress-code is more “relaxed” than when I was a kid…walking-shorts, athletic jerseys and flip-flops.  Low-volume talking seems to be permitted before the Mass starts now, and even (gasp) applause during the service when a baptism or renewal of vows is celebrated.

                  Mass at Holy Family had a high level of energy throughout the service.  The kiss/handshake of peace took over 10 minutes, with conversations carried on, and parishioners walking up and down the aisles greeting and hugging.  The music was magnificent and energizing, reminiscent of the church services in the south.  This wasn’t surprising considering that a large portion…not all…of the parishioners were African-American.

                  If the opportunity, and the spirit, moves you, consider attending Mass there on some Sunday.

                  Attending this Mass reminded me of some very interesting Masses that I have attended over the last couple of years.  In County Mayo, Ireland, Islaneady Church (It’s real name is “St. Patrick’s”, but the locals call it “Islandeady Church”.) celebrates Mass in the parish cemetery on the appropriately named “Cemetery Sunday”.  It was a highlight of our most recent visit to the Emerald Isle.  High on the hill at the center of the cemetery, there was an altar and the parishioners stood or sat near the graves of their departed family members.  It was done beautifully, tastefully and with great respect.  It truly was one of the most moving Masses that I have attended.

                  This past fall, my wife and I took a trip to Quebec City, and while we were there, we went to the Shrine of St.-Anne-De-Beaupre.   A memorial Mass was just starting, so we stayed and attended.  It was lovely, and all in French.  There had to have been over a dozen priests concelebrating, and we are pretty sure that the person for whom the Mass was being said was not a priest.  Again, while we don’t speak or understand French, we recognized all of the parts of the canon, and it was very inspiring.  Viva la difference.

                  I guess my point in this narrative is that, while the Mass itself is a beautiful celebration, the variety in the way it is celebrated can be inspiring and up-lifting.