 |
|
IN 1209, POPE INNOCENT III approved a plan by Francis of Assisi for a new way of religious life. This year, Franciscans around the world are marking the Eighth Centenary of the founding of their Order. In 1859, the entity that became St. John the Baptist Province in Cincinnati was formally erected as a “custody.” This 12-part series, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the province, celebrates the lives and contributions of the friars.
|
Remember when report cards were divided in half? On the left were grades for classes; on the right were impressions the teacher had of things like, “Works well with others” or “Exercises self-control.” In the long run, “The things on the right side may end up being more influential” in your life, says Fr. Pat McCloskey, a former teacher and chaplain at Roger Bacon High School, a major ministry of the friars since 1928. That fairly well encapsulates 150 years of educational theory of St. John the Baptist Province. Grades are important — but they don’t alone build values or character. |
|
“I have always believed that I came into my own in this world in part because of the secondary education I received there,” says Bacon graduate Fr. John Bok, who spent 18 years as a science teacher, Dean of Discipline and Principal. “The inscription above the main entrance of the school is, ‘In sanctitate et doctrina,’ which translates to, ‘In holiness and learning.’ The students at Bacon were always being challenged to grow in knowledge, but to also grow as good people by carrying good values with them throughout their lives.” And that works both ways. For John, the students “touched our lives as much as we faculty touched their lives.” |
 |
|
preacher, ” says Fr. Jim Bok, who succeeded his brother John as Principal at Bacon. “I learned pretty quickly that I needed to take all the doctrine and theory and somehow make it understandable and palatable to kids.” Moreover, “Not taking yourself too seriously and having a good sense of humor goes a long way in making one effective in relationships with others. It worked with the kids and has served me well for 35 years of priesthood.”
 |
Educational ministry is “an ancient tradition” in the Franciscan Order, says Fr. Don Miller, a former university chaplain and professor. “Back to [John] Duns Scotus and St. Bonaventure, we’re always been in the intellectual field, sharing the charism of our community.” When friars from the Tyrol formed a custody in Cincinnati in 1859, one of their first priorities was opening a school for neighborhood boys. For many high school students, St. Francis Seminary, operated by friars from 1924 to 1980, was a launching pad to religious life. But “we’re been committed to Franciscan education far beyond vocations,” says Don. Teachers, chaplains, administrators: The impact of SJB Franciscans has been felt in dozens of schools around the country. For decades, young friars of St. John the Baptist Province were routinely assigned to one of two high schools they staffed: Bishop Luers in Fort Wayne, |
|
Ind. (where friars served from 1958-1992), and Roger Bacon. At both, “Our approach to theology and life came through in our teaching,” says Don. “The whole influence of Franciscanism on the dignity of the person and the sacredness of the person has a subtle but direct influence on the way we teach.” It also influenced the decisions made by the province and individuals about where and how they would serve. Friars went west at the request of St. Katharine Drexel and supported her desire to build schools for the Navajos. They pioneered educational ministry in Louisville and Kansas City by opening African American parishes and schools. And they stared down a segregationist when he attempted to block the integration of Catholic schools in Louisiana in the 1960s. In the 1940s Roger Bacon’s athletic director brought a black player to a Southern school for a basketball game. When the opposing team objected, Bacon pulled out of the game and went home. |
 |
 Students will tell you: A Franciscan school has its own indefinable spirit. At Roger Bacon, “I think people got it by osmosis,” says Fr. Dan Anderson, who graduated from RB and returned as a teacher. “You couldn’t not catch it.” Graduates of a Franciscan school should know “that they were cared for personally, that they were challenged, that they’re better aware of their own personal gifts and how those can grow, that they’ve come to respect one another,” says Bill Farris. For Pat McCloskey, a by-product of working at Roger Bacon was becoming more compassionate. “One of the 
things that surprised me was that there were a lot of trips to the hospital and funeral home. If you’re not shoulder-to-shoulder with students in those times, you can’t be credible at other times.” At a retreat in 2003, then-Provincial Minister Fr. Fred Link said: “Roger Bacon should be a place of the heart. This makes it distinctly Franciscan...So Bacon possesses a strong academic program which challenges all students, even the most struggling, but which also judges its success by whether the fruit of the study is a bigger heart, |
|
one big enough to encompass a love for God, a love for others, a love for life, a love for all creation.” Years after graduation, he says, “One of my students reminded me that he still remembered the words, ‘The world is charged with the grandeur of God,’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins, from my standing on the teacher's desk and reciting this glorious poem. If he goes through life knowing that the world is basically beautiful, good and holy, then it seems life might be easier for him. I will have done my job.” NEXT: MESSENGER OF GOOD NEWS Previous stories |
Fr. Bonaventure Buc (1910-1966): He was “very intelligent, very simple,” Fr. Richard Portasik says of a gifted friar who spoke eight languages and taught many of them in his native Slovakia. Bonaventure fled Europe in the Communist takeover of 1949 and settled with friars in Easton, Pa., later joining the faculty of Notre Dame High School.
Fr. Celsus Griese (1928-2008): He brought out the best in kids in his classes and the band he developed at Roger Bacon with a mixture of tough love, honesty and compassion. The turnout at his funeral — it was enormous — was a tribute to a flamboyant friar who “gave and gave and gave for the little ones,” said homilist Fred Link.
Fr. Andrew Fox (1911-1992): Known for tough but creative discipline, he was respected and admired by generations of Roger Bacon students. In 27 years as a teacher and Principal, Andy supervised construction of the athletic stadium and the 1958 building addition.
Fr. Nicholas Lohkamp (born 1925): “A great, great teacher,” Fr. Mike Lenz says of the friar whose personal integrity and passion for his subject made Moral Theology one of the most memorable classes at St. Leonard Theologate. “He was demanding,” Mike says. “He made you think.”
Fr. Donnul Suttmann (1926-1998): “I don’t know if I’ve ever met a more conscientious man,” Fr. Fred Link said of the friar he succeeded as principal at Bishop Luers High School. Donnul’s work ethic and his dedication to students at Luers and at Roger Bacon, where he was a teacher and coach, were legendary.