In the Ignatian Public Speaking workshop led by Robert Parmach, Ph.D., director of Ignatian mission and ministry, students learned about the finer points of “SPATE”—stance, projection, articulation, tone, and eye contact.

“We want to help graduate students develop skill sets that link to their Jesuit education,” said Parmach. In his introductory remarks, he invoked a lesson from St. Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus, reminding students that “developing the interior life … animates our spirit and connects us deeper to God and others.”

“Think about it,” he said. “The way you hold yourself in front of an audience demonstrates the kind of person you are and your character … The techniques we teach you provide ways to use your body and voice to motivate, lead, and transform others. It joins the mind, body, and soul to empower others and yourself along the way.”

In the workshop, the students practiced speaking in front of each other. Each was handed a written prompt, then given three minutes to digest it and a minute to summarize it for the group.

Lisa Cummings, a student at the Graduate School of Education currently teaching at the Orchard Collegiate Academy, said she felt “uplifted” by the workshop.

“I’ve been able to gather some useful tips, and it’s motivated me to try to create a workshop for my own students,” she said.

Asked to identify the one area of SPATE she felt she needed the most improvement, Cummings picked articulation. She recalled a mistake she made as an undergraduate at SUNY Morrisville.

“I had the opportunity to speak at my graduation, and I turned that opportunity down because of my fear of not being able to articulate myself well enough,” she said.

“That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me, and having passed up that opportunity, I really have made it a point to push myself to overcome that fear.”

Jay Vaghani, a Gabelli School of Business graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in quantitative finance, likewise found the workshop pushed him beyond his comfort zone. For his speech, he was given a prompt describing how the artist Sting reacted to a negative review of his music.

Vaghani, a native of Surat, Gujarat, India, who moved to the United States with the goal of transitioning from engineering to finance, has been hesitant to speak in public since he was a child.

He found it useful to focus on his tone and articulation. Although he was unfamiliar with Sting before reading the prompt, he said the short time he was given to prepare was paradoxically helpful because it forced him to focus on the content he’d be delivering and not the anxiety he felt.

“It was a great experience,” he said. “I look forward to doing another one.”

Students in the Ignatian Community of Practice participate in an interfaith dialogue on March 29 with  Vinny Marchionni, S.J., Tabatha Holley, lead pastor of New Day Church, and Hanadi Doleh, director of community partnerships at Interfaith Center of New York.

Service has always been a core part of Fordham’s Catholic American Studies concentration, a selective program designed to give undergraduate students of any major a deeper appreciation of the historical, theological, and cultural manifestations of Catholicism.

But this semester, the Curran Center for American Catholic Studies, which supervises the program, partnered with the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL), to expand on what it means to serve others.

“The old Jesuit motto is ‘men and women for others,’ but now at Fordham, we’re more about ‘men and women with and for others,’ said Michael Lee, Ph.D., professor of theology and director of the Curran Center.

“I think that that’s key here.”

In January, a group of eleven students in the concentration began meeting every two weeks as part of an “Ignatian Community of Practice.”

Guided conversations have focused on their responsibilities to their communities, the ways different faith traditions address social challenges, the ethical obligations that come with their academic work, and continuing along a path of discernment.

Lee said the meetings are part of a shift of the guiding philosophy of the concentration’s service requirement—from a “service-learning” model to a “community-engaged” or “community asset-based” approach. Elements from the meetings will be incorporated into the Discernment Seminar, a class that all Catholic American Studies students are required to take their sophomore year. As a result, when they engage in service in the future, all of them will work with community partners from whom they will learn as partners. This could entail assisting at organizations such as P.O.T.S., a community group near the Rose Hill campus, the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth Center, or The Bronx is Blooming.

“I want us to think about our place in the neighborhood and within the wider public, and think about not just a service requirement, but a way of partnering with neighbors and mutually learning,” he said.

Lifting Up Community Voices

Grace Powers, a senior at Fordham College at Rose Hill, is one of 11 students in the concentration who were invited to join the Ignatian Community of Practice. Four years ago, she left a small Kentucky town of roughly 4,500 people to find a more diverse, LGBTQ-friendly populace in New York City. A sociology and history major, Powers says Fordham’s Jesuit heritage has also expanded her perspective of her Catholic faith.

“I’ve come to really appreciate how the Jesuits incorporate Catholicism into daily life,” she said.

“Community engagement and accompaniment focuses more on going into a community and uplifting the voices that are there and listening to their perspectives about what they need.”

She has found particular appeal in the Catholic saying that there are “two feet of justice”: works of mercy and charity, and works of social action. If the first entails volunteering at a soup kitchen, the second might be discussing why a soup kitchen exists in the first place.

From the Bronx to El Salvador

Vanessa Rotondo, associate director of campus engagement and senior advisor for Ignatian Leadership at CCEL, said her partnership with the Curran Center is a natural extension of CCEL’s focus on programs that build community engagement in the Bronx through research projects on health care, housing, and education.

“We saw the students in the American Catholic Studies concentration as the perfect partners, given their intent is to understand emerging Catholic identity as it’s understood by its Greek translation of ‘universal.’”

In one of the meetings, the group covered the underpinnings of Jesuit education; another took place with Frankelly Martinez, program manager at Christian Aid in the Dominican Republic, and Francisco Mena Ugarte, executive director of Christians for Peace in El Salvador. Several members of the community also traveled with Lee to El Salvador as part of his class El Salvador: Revolutionary Faith.

The group’s final meeting will feature Fordham alumni who speak with students about how these lessons and experiences can be applied after graduation.

A Time for Quiet Reflection

Nolan Chiles, a senior integrated neuroscience major, said many students in the group have known each other since their first year at Fordham, so the dialogue tends to be richer than it might be with strangers.

“At the end of our meetings, we do a quiet reflection for a couple of minutes. Sometimes we’ll say a prayer, and then we’re all encouraged to go around in a circle and share whatever it was that came to light for us,” he said.

“It’s a great time to hear other students’ takes.”

Students in the Ignatian Community of Practice participate in an interfaith dialogue on March 29 with  Vinny Marchionni, S.J., Tabatha Holley, lead pastor of New Day Church, and Hanadi Doleh, director of community partnerships at Interfaith Center of New York.

Taking the name Francis, he became the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern hemisphere, and the first from outside Europe since the eighth century.

At Fordham, faculty and staff reacted to the news with words like “shocked” and “an ingenious choice.” Two years later, when the pope visited New York City as part of his first visit to the United States, members of the Fordham community flocked to Central Park to catch a glimpse of him and shared their hopes for his tenure.

“As the first Jesuit to serve as pope, Francis has done the work of St. Ignatius, reminding the faithful of the central values of the Gospels and calling us to action,” said Tania Tetlow, president of Fordham.

“As a Jesuit community, Fordham celebrates the Pope’s tenth anniversary in the chair of St. Peter, and we wish him all the blessings of faith in his holy work.”

On the cusp of his 10th anniversary, Fordham News spoke with experts on the impact Francis has made on the papacy as an institution, race and gender, and the environment.

Thomas Worcester, S.J., professor of history and co-editor of The Papacy since 1500: From Italian Prince to Universal Pastor. Cambridge (Cambridge University Press, 2010)

I think Pope Francis grew into the job. He likes the pastoral side of it very much. Compassion and mercy are what the church should be about, and I think he exudes that himself and the style he has as pope.

He’s not as happy dealing with the Roman Curia. The pope is supposed to be a unifier in the church, and I think he wants to be that. In some ways, his inclination is toward reform, and yet at the same time, there’s a caution in him, which I think all folks have to some extent.

He makes clear that change is not just possible, but desirable. Just the very fact that he understands synodality as something that has an emphasis on listening—that the pope himself needs to listen to not just other bishops, but more broadly than that—is a major change from a style that was more top-down for much of the history of the papacy.

There are some aspects of his leadership that are also very Jesuit. Some have said that those who favor access to abortion for women should not receive communion. Francis is totally against that. He makes clear that the Eucharist is not a “prize for the perfect,” but a “medicine for the weak.” He’s got a good grounding in that. In the past, Jesuits have traditionally been favorable to people receiving communion frequently, with relatively few obstacles. That’s an area where I think Francis is very Jesuit, with an emphasis on access to mercy.

Bryan Massingale, S.T.D., professor of theology and the James and Nancy Buckman Chair in Applied Christian Ethics

He will go down as one of the most consequential popes in modern church history because his signal accomplishment has been to foster a community of open dialogue and discussion.

I never thought I would ever hear a pope say words like, ‘Who am I to judge?’ the way he did in 2013, in response to a question about gay priests.

The phrasing reverses the average person’s understanding of the church’s relationship with gay and lesbian people. Before then, the Catholic church was seen as very judgmental of LGBTQ persons and very hostile and unapproving of LGBTQ relationships. That single question ushered in a whole new era and effectively challenged that stance of knee-jerk condemnation that the Catholic church has been more associated with.

More than any other pope, I think that Francis also has taken on racism as a major challenge to the Christian conscience. After George Floyd was murdered in 2020, that week in his general audience in Rome, he took a very unusual step of praying for him by name. Then he followed that with a statement that was really important. He said, ‘We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form, and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life.’

What’s brilliant about that is how he grounds the opposition to racism within the church’s commitment to a pro-life stance and the sacredness of every human life. He very much put his cards on the table that safeguarding the dignity of Black lives is part of the respect owed to every human life. The fact that that statement was not picked up a lot by the American bishops or pro-life Catholics in the United States shows that Francis has a more prophetic understanding of the implications of being pro-life than many American Catholics are comfortable with, especially when it comes to racism.

David Gibson, director of Fordham’s Center on Religion and Culture

It’s been a remarkable time, and for so many people it’s been inspiring. It’s as though the windows are open and light and fresh air are coming in. For another segment of the church, that’s a very unsettling, even threatening prospect. So his papacy has sparked far more backlash than I expected. But the backlash and the opposition to Francis make you realize how much this was needed in the church. There have been so many decades of quashing dissent or even discussion, and now people are free to speak their minds.

It’s interesting that so much of the fierce opposition has come from a certain segment of American Catholics. I think it’s important to keep it in perspective. The U.S. Church counts for about 5% of the global Catholic population of 1.3 billion. The opposition to Francis is relatively small, but it is very vocal, and very passionate, to the point of even being destructive.

He’s made it so clear that everybody should be free to speak their mind, and that no topic is out of bounds. For a center that is founded on public discussion, that’s oxygen for us. Francis has also stressed the importance of culture as a connecting tissue for different people. I totally agree. Culture provides a rare piece of common ground for discussions. People can come together over the arts and literature and other cultural manifestations.

He’s elevated the role of lay people, especially women. At the Vatican, putting them in offices over clerics—that’s unheard of. But there are still concrete steps that need to be taken in order to have any difference on the ground. Laypeople need to be able to preach. Women need to be able to preach. Women need to be ordained as deacons. Unless there’s some upsurge in priestly vocations, which doesn’t seem likely, there need to be other things that are going to affect changes on the ground in parishes.

Christiana Zenner, Ph.D., associate professor of theology, science, and ethics

One of the things that has continued to surprise and delight me and other watchers of ecological ethics is how Francis’ encyclical about the environment, Laudato Si’ continues to resonate with people of many faiths, as well as those with none. The planetary reach of that document seems to be real. People ranging from secular Jewish feminists to atheist students to “cradle to grave” Catholics have all found things to love in this document.

What’s distinctive to him in the contemporary era is the way that this encyclical is part and parcel of how he walks the walk and talks the talk. Popes can write lots of documents that have different kinds of impact, but it seems to me that Pope Francis has also really tried to embody what’s in this document. He has worked interreligiously on climate change and environmental refugees and migration more generally by talking about global capitalism and its excesses and has by himself modeled a more modest approach, from his domestic quarters to the footwear he chooses. So I think that it is a document with which his own personal charism is uniquely integrated and I think for that reason it will be a lasting legacy of his papacy.

Pope Francis also talks a lot about the wisdom of indigenous cultures and ecological values, and the primacy that ought to be accorded to indigenous communities before major projects are done on their land. This is a pretty radical statement for a historically universalizing, colonizing church.

So I would love to see him and the Catholic church continue to explore what it means to live up to those best ideals.

The project was spurred by a 2018 report by the Society of Jesus that publicly disclosed the names of its members who were credibly accused of sexually abusing minors, as well as a report that year by a Pennsylvania grand jury that found similar findings in diocesan priests. It was funded by a $1 million gift from a private donation.

On Thursday, Jan. 26, the group released its final report, featuring research projects conducted by 18 teams from 10 Jesuit universities. In addition to Fordham, the initiative included lay and clergy faculty from Creighton, Gonzaga, Georgetown, Loyola Chicago, Loyola Maryland, Marquette, Rockhurst, Santa Clara, and Xavier universities.

The research projects addressed topics connected to the Society of Jesus, but were not limited strictly to it. There was often overlap with other parts of the Roman Catholic Church, such as specific parishes. They covered six themes: Jesuits and Jesuit Education; Education; Institutional Reform; Moral Injury and Spiritual Struggle; Race and Colonialism; and Survivors and Survivor Stories.

In addition to team projects, the initiative featured a three-day conference hosted at Fordham in April 2022 as well as eight webinars, four of which were devoted to historically marginalized U.S. communities.

Bradford Hinze, Ph.D., the Karl Rahner Professor of Theology and director of the initiative, said after two and half years, he is more impressed than ever with how much time and energy scholars have devoted to try to address past wrongs and prevent future ones. Their dedication has been “a bit overwhelming,” given how painful the subject is, but is also a source for optimism.

“My big take away is that we need to find ways of building greater relationships of collaboration and more transparency,” he said, “because here we have a lot of lay people—not all are lay people, but most are—who are committed to the Jesuit identity and mission.”

That commitment manifested itself in reports that varied from one about an individual abuser by the team at Creighton University to one examining the best way to tell survivors’ stories by Georgetown University’s Gerard J. McGlone, S.J. A report from Fordham professor C. Colt Anderson, Ph.D., that focused on reforming Jesuit schools noted that “pastoral care principles influence disciplinary processes.”

“There is an emphasis on being patient and merciful that allows for inferior performance and outright misbehavior,” he wrote.

“As a member of a religious order told us, there is confusion between what is simply sinful and what is criminal.”

Key Findings and Recommendations

The report includes six key findings and specific recommendations for learning and action.

The first of the group’s findings is that there is “a divide emerging in research and practice between those focused primarily on “safeguarding” and those focused on what the group is calling “historical memory work.” Safeguarding is focused on preventing present and future abuse, while historical memory work produces research on what happened in the past, in many cases performing a very close analysis of instances of abuse.

Hinze said the group chose to emphasize the importance of historical memory work in response to the forward-facing nature of the Society of Jesus’ most recent Universal Apostolic Preferences, which are in essence the religious order’s list of priorities. He noted that representatives from the Society of Jesus in Rome had been very cooperative, but the group still felt the need to highlight the importance of looking to the past.

“The Apostolic preferences all aim to start from right now and look forward. But if you only do that, you don’t really spend time pondering, reflecting upon, and truly meditating on what were the causes and contributing factors that led up to this, and what were the historical, institutional, and cultural repercussions,” he said.

Another finding highlights the fact that although the first sexual abuse cases in the United States were widely reported as early as 2002, very little research has been done to examine how much abuse was committed against Black, Latin American, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native American populations.

Fordham Faculty Perspectives

Bryan N. Massingale, S.T.D., the James and Nancy Buckman Chair in Applied Christian Ethics at Fordham, contributed in this area; his study, “Clergy Sexual Abuse in African American Communities,” will be published in October. He surveyed the literature about the sexual abuse crisis to see how many church dioceses tracked the race and ethnicity of survivors and found that only one did, and it only started doing so in 2015.

This is a glaring omission, he said.

“We know for a fact that in many cases, dioceses and religious orders deliberately sent priests with problematic histories into Latino and Black communities, precisely because these communities would be the least likely to report instances of abuse,” he said.

It’s for this reason, Massingale said, that although 4% of American Catholics are Black, it’s fair to assume that more than 4% have experienced sexual abuse. Compounding the problem, he said, is the fact that Black people may not relate to the ways others are processing their abuse. In the course of his research, he spoke informally with two Black men who’d experienced abuse, and discovered that they refused to accept the popular “victim survivor” label.

“They said ‘I’m not surviving anything. I’m coping.’ And it struck me that maybe another reason why we need to pay attention to this is because even the language we use doesn’t resonate universally across human communities,” he said.

Lisa Cataldo, Ph.D., associate professor of mental health counseling and spiritual integration at Fordham’s Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, said her future teaching will forever be informed by the work she did with the initiative. In her research project “Bearing Witness When ‘They’ Are Us: Toward a Trauma-Informed Perspective on Complicity, Moral Injury, and Moral Witnessing,” Cataldo attempted to answer a question she asked herself when the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report was published: Why am I still shocked?

“We’ve been hearing about this since 2002, if not before,” she said.

“I realized that this cycle of being OK, and then being overwhelmed with shock and horror, and then having the feeling sort of recede into the background, is the same cycle that a trauma survivor experiences.”

No solution to a trauma-based problem can work unless it addresses the trauma, she said.

“All the safeguarding that has been put in place has been very effective, and it’s absolutely vitally important. I’m not discounting any of that, but you will never heal without addressing the trauma, and that means having accountability, responsibility, dialogue, honesty, and truth telling,” she said.

“It’s like closing the barn door after the horses are out.”

Telling It Like It Feels

Cataldo suggested that a crucial part of the healing process should involve people who Israeli philosopher Avishai Margalit dubbed the “moral witnesses.”

“In order to really stand up for and call attention to the suffering imposed on one group by another group of people, the moral witness has to be someone who speaks the truth,” she said.

“But the moral witness doesn’t just tell it like it is. The moral witness tells it like it feels. To be a moral witness, the person needs to have been either a survivor themselves or have something at stake. You have to have skin in the game.”

The participants in Taking Responsibility fit that bill, she said, by virtue of working for Catholic institutions and working to highlight the painful truth.

The project has inspired Cataldo to do more herself. This fall, she will oversee the unveiling of GRE’s Advanced Certificate in Trauma-Informed Care program. Importantly, she said, the certificate program explores how spirituality can be both a balm for people healing from trauma and a shield that prevents them from acknowledging their own trauma.

“It’s very important to understand how unexamined religious practices and religious structures like the Catholic Church can sometimes re-traumatize or compound the trauma of people if they don’t understand how trauma and faith intersect,” she said.

“Father Sosa is both deeply spiritual and entirely pragmatic. He comes from higher education, so he understands the challenges and opportunities we face,” said Tetlow. “We talked and laughed about all sorts of things, but especially about how we can deepen our Jesuit mission, even as we transition to lay leadership.”

A Personal Endorsement of President Tetlow

The meeting between Father General Sosa and Fordham’s newest president—the first woman and layperson to hold the position—was important for Fordham, said John Cecero, S.J., vice president for mission integration and ministry at Fordham. 

“From the perspective of the Society, it was probably the strongest endorsement of Tania and her leadership that one could possibly get,” Father Cecero said. 

The introduction between the two leaders is not unusual. Over the past two centuries, other superiors general have established relationships with Fordham and also visited the University campus. In 2013, Father General Sosa’s predecessor, Adolfo Nicolás, S.J., celebrated Mass at the University Church. In 1991, Peter Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., delivered the homily at the baccalaureate Mass and the benediction at commencement the next day. In 1966, Pedro Arrupe, S.J., served as the featured speaker at a special academic convocation celebrating Fordham’s 125th anniversary. Finally, and perhaps most significantly, past Fordham president Vincent O’Keefe, S.J., was elected assistant ad providentiam to Father General Arrupe in 1975 and later served as vicar general of the Society.  

From Father General Sosa’s Perspective: Challenges in Higher Education

The luncheon between Father General Sosa and Tetlow took place in his private dining room in the Jesuit Curia, where they were joined by Father Cecero, who has met Father General Sosa several times in his past role as provincial of the Jesuits’ USA Northeast Province. Armando Nuñez Jr., chair-elect of Fordham’s Board of Trustees; and Douglas Marcouiller, S.J., regional assistant for the USA Assistancy at the Jesuit Curia, also joined the meeting. 

Father General Sosa was elected as the 31st leader of the Jesuits in 2016. He has previously served in leadership positions for the Society, including director of a research and social action center and the Society’s provincial superior in his native Venezuela. He also participated in the Society’s 33rd general congregation, where he served as the youngest delegate at 34 years old. He is a scholar, political scientist, and former educator. 

Over a traditional Italian meal, Father General Sosa and the Fordham leaders discussed topics both light and heavy, including challenges facing Jesuit schools today, said Father Cecero.

“The traditional mission paradigm emphasized the delivery of a body of truths and traditions to the university community. Father General challenged us to shift that paradigm, emphasizing instead the need to engage in encounter and dialogue with all university constituents, so that out of that fruitful exchange, we will come together to a much richer understanding of who we are and why we exist,” said Father Cecero. 

An Ongoing Connection with Jesuit Leadership

After the luncheon, Father General Sosa met the entire Fordham delegation on the Jesuit Curia’s rooftop, where he greeted each person and then posed for a group photo in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. Then the delegation toured the Curia itself, including its chapel that contains the relics of Jesuit saints. 

Nuñez emphasized that establishing relationships with leaders like Father General Sosa is important in maintaining Fordham’s Jesuit identity. 

“As someone who is a big believer in the power of Jesuit education, I thought it was an incredible experience to be able to interact in person with the leader of the Jesuits,” said Nuñez, who graduated from the Gabelli School of Business. “Now that we no longer have a Jesuit president, it’s more important than ever for the board and the lay leadership of the University to be aware of the Jesuit mission and identity. I hope that connecting with the Jesuit leadership continues to be an ongoing tradition.”

This article is part of a series of stories about the Rome pilgrimage. Read the original full-length story here. 

All of you have traveled to Rome before. How was this experience different? 

AN: This was my first pilgrimage. Our access to the Vatican hierarchy, our meeting with the head of the Jesuits, the opportunity to bond with other members of Fordham—and the timing of all that with our new leadership—was quite extraordinary.

KB: Eight years ago, I embarked on a pilgrimage with my late husband, Stephen Bepler, the love of my life. Steve loved his Jesuit education at Fordham, and he was fully indoctrinated in how a Jesuit education is a transforming experience. For many years, there was a paperback book on his desk—Ignatius Loyola: Spiritual Exercises by a Jesuit named Joseph Tetlow—and I often saw it, not realizing that someday I would meet his niece, Tania Tetlow. A few months ago, Tania sent me my own copy. I read the entire book before our 2022 pilgrimage and took it with me to Rome. I wanted to see what encouraged Steve about his Jesuit education. I’m glad that I rejoined that extraordinary pilgrimage and spiritual reflection with Father Cecero and, of course, Roger Milici. On the trip, I also met a woman who is agnostic, yet appreciates, admires, and respects what we’re doing. She sees this as an opportunity to understand not only her perspective of what religion is, but to see how people gravitate towards this idea of spirituality and St. Ignatius. 

MJB: I first visited Rome 20 years ago on a vacation with my best friend—my first time traveling outside the country as an adult. During this pilgrimage to Rome, my goal was to have a stronger connection with Fordham and a deeper understanding of the history that the University is built upon. When I became a trustee, I learned a lot of information about the Jesuits. But it’s different to experience something in person, instead of reading about it. This trip was more of a lived experience and it gave me the opportunity to spend time with Tania, fellow trustees, and other friends of Fordham. Overall, the pilgrimage helped me to deepen my love for and commitment to the University and allowed me to look within myself.

What is your relationship with the Catholic faith?  

AN: I am Catholic. I’m the beneficiary of a Jesuit education, between Xavier High School and Fordham, and I continue to experience a deep appreciation for the history, legacy, and continued leadership of the Jesuits.

KB: I was born and raised Catholic. While I don’t necessarily look to the hierarchy of the church, I follow my heart and my spirituality in the journey of my life to understand something that is bigger than I am. 

MJB: I was raised Catholic. I respect many things that I learned from my Catholic upbringing and other faiths, but it took me a long time to understand what I believe in and what’s important to me. I don’t like putting myself in a box, but I would identify as spiritual. 

What was one of your favorite sites you visited during the pilgrimage? 

AN: I’ve visited the Sistine Chapel many times, but every time I walk inside, it feels like the first time. It’s such a powerful experience to see the hand of God through Michelangelo. 

KB: The quarters of St. Ignatius himself. Sitting there and experiencing Father Cecero’s Mass—and then hearing Tania Tetlow, a trained opera singer, sing a hymn—was utter perfection. It was simple, but so powerful that it took my breath away. 

MJB: There were so many sites. When you’re in a place like a church, it evokes the enormity of so much history. It reminds you of how small we are and how big the world is, of everything that’s come before and everything that’s to come after. I loved being in a place where that history felt palpable. 

How do you feel the delegation’s meetings at the Vatican have helped to advance Fordham’s mission? 

AN: It was gratifying and reassuring to hear Cardinal Versaldi talk about how our mandate in Catholic education is global because Fordham itself is global. Nearly 9% of the undergraduate class of 2026 comes from outside the U.S., and we have a London campus and plenty of study abroad opportunities for our U.S. students. We still have room to expand. It’s important that we continue to form relationships with other Jesuit and Catholic institutions around the world. It’s part of the mandate of being Jesuit, of being global. Our new ties with the Vatican will continue to be important as we enter this next exciting chapter at Fordham with President Tetlow. 

KB: It was extraordinary to be brought into the Vatican and to meet the hierarchy of not only our church, but also the Jesuits. This is critical because we are developing new diplomatic ties for Fordham in Rome. I hope that on our next trip there—hopefully a year from now, where more trustees will join us and understand the value of this pilgrimage—that we have a two-way dialogue with Villa Nazareth. 

MJB: I enjoyed our meeting with Cardinal Versaldi, who spoke about respecting the roots and the history of the Catholic church while being able to change with the times. I was pleasantly surprised to hear him bring that into the conversation. 

Why was this trip so important at this particular time in Fordham’s history?  

AN: We are a Jesuit university, but our students come from many different backgrounds. Irrespective of their religious affiliation—or no affiliation at all—the concept of a Jesuit education still resonates with them. As we transition to lay leadership, we as a board have more responsibility than ever to uphold our identity as the Jesuit University of New York. 

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. This article is part of a series of stories about the Rome pilgrimage. Read the original full-length story here. 

“It’s important to combine and integrate the Catholic identity and the capacity for dialogue. We must not abide to extremes, to close our institutions and ourselves, and not just work together with people who have the same faith, the same ideas, the same values,” said Cardinal Versaldi, who has served over the past seven years as prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, where he oversees all Catholic schools and academic institutions across the world. The congregation establishes guidelines for Catholic schools and helps diocesan bishops to supervise schools, train educators, and care for students. 

A Time for Inclusivity 

Members of the Fordham delegation praised the cardinal for his progressive message.

“I’m very impressed. I grew up in a time when we weren’t inclusive, and it’s so nice to hear that while we need to honor our mission, we also need to have respect for people of other beliefs and foundations,” said former trustee Elizabeth “Betty” A. Burns, FCLC ’83, a longtime Catholic who joined the pilgrimage to Rome. “We set a standard, and we invite people to participate, as opposed to requiring them.” 

The meeting with Cardinal Versaldi was part of a Fordham weeklong pilgrimage last June to mark the 500th anniversary of the spiritual conversion of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, who spent 15 years in Rome. The cardinal’s speech, delivered in the heart of the Vatican City, was part of a series of meetings with Fordham and Vatican officials to develop a closer relationship with the highest levels of the church. 

The cardinal addressed three critical topics in his speech to the Fordham delegation, which included President Tania Tetlow, members of the University’s senior leadership, and trustees. His first topic was the importance of dialogue and inclusion in Catholic education. He encouraged the delegation to foster dialogue with potential students from non-Catholic backgrounds and to focus on helping them become well-educated people out in the world. 

Faith, Science, and Reason

Cardinal Versaldi also stressed the importance of the compatibility between faith, science, and reason—a major component of Jesuit education that is sometimes challenging to navigate. 

John Cecero, S.J., vice president for mission integration and ministry at Fordham, said that the intersection of the three is critical when searching for the truth. 

“We live in a world where many people question the value of faith,” said Father Cecero. “They either see faith as irrelevant to contemporary life or as a threat to peaceful co-existence. Some people say it’s because of faith, whether’s it’s Islam or Christianity or any other faith, that members of society are divisive and even incite violence. What Cardinal Versaldi argued for—which is a traditional Catholic position—is that there is a compatibility between faith, science, and reason. Faith that becomes detached from reason and science runs the risk of inciting fanaticism, but faith that informs science and reason leads to truth—the most whole and complete appreciation of what is and what matters to human beings.” 

Finally, Cardinal Versaldi highlighted the global nature of the church, which continues to grow its number of Catholics worldwide. 

Andrea Mennillo, a member of the Fordham delegation and an Italian-born businessman who serves as the globalization council lead on the Gabelli School of Business’ advisory board, said that the Catholic faith is global because anyone can be Catholic. And so is Catholic social teaching—which grows compassion and respect in future leaders who are not only well-informed and analytically trained, but aware of their responsibility to care for the less fortunate, he said. 

Now it’s time for Fordham to expand its global appeal, said Mennillo, who also serves as chair of the Fordham London Advisory Board.

“We have more room to grow internationally. In Europe, it’s easier because the roots of Fordham are here, as we saw together. But Asia is also a great opportunity for us because of its longtime tradition of Catholic education,” he said. 

‘Inspiring and Forward-Thinking’ 

At the end of the meeting, Kim Bepler, a Fordham trustee and philanthropist, said it was “inspiring and forward-thinking” to hear the cardinal’s thoughts on the Catholic identity and the mission of the Jesuits—and perhaps most importantly, to not lose sight of the mission of Fordham, the Jesuit University of New York. 

“We are inclusive, and we are also welcoming,” said Bepler. “As the educational model changes, we change—and it’s for the better.” 

This article is part of a series of stories about the Rome pilgrimage. Read the original full-length story here.

An Invitation From the Second-Highest Ranking Official in the Vatican

In a 20-minute speech, Cardinal Parolin said that concern for education has always been at the heart of the church—something this is “clearly evident” at Fordham, especially through its founder, Archbishop Hughes. 

“Archbishop Hughes had made education a priority, because he believed it was essential if the poor immigrant population that made up the majority of his flock were to emerge from poverty and advance economically and socially in their adopted land,” said Cardinal Parolin. 

He said that the same desire for social justice inspired his predecessor, Cardinal Domenico Tardini, who served as Vatican secretary of state from 1958 to to 1961. One year after World War II ended, Cardinal Tardini founded Villa Nazareth—a Vatican-affiliated residential college for talented students from low socioeconomic backgrounds—to help orphans reach their potential in war-torn Italy. Since then, Villa Nazareth has evolved into a prestigious institution that educates and houses gifted students, free of charge. There are currently about 170 students—college-age men and women who study a wide range of disciplines—including students from third-world countries marked by poverty and social and political strife, he said. 

“In the 76 years since its founding, Villa Nazareth has never lost the spirit with which Cardinal Tardini established it,” said Cardinal Parolin, who supervises the school. “It is our hope that, in our shared journey as church, a recognition of the similarities between our two solid and fruitful educational experiences can lead to a long-term encounter, support, and friendship between Fordham and Villa Nazareth.” 

A Meeting in a Historic Place

The meeting with Cardinal Parolin was part of a summer pilgrimage to mark the 500th anniversary of the spiritual conversion of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, who spent 15 years in Rome. The trip was also an opportunity for the University’s leaders to nourish their spiritual faith and to build new partnerships abroad, particularly with church leadership and educational institutions. 

The Fordham delegation met with Cardinal Parolin in the Apostolic Palace, a grand building with more than 1,000 rooms, including the official residence of the reigning pope and government offices.

“We were one floor below the papal apartments, meeting with the number two person in the Vatican and sitting around a table in a room that is used to sign treaties between the Vatican and countries around the world,” said John Cecero, S.J., vice president for mission integration and ministry at Fordham. “You knew you were in a very unique and special place.”

For nearly a decade, Cardinal Parolin has served as secretary of state of the Vatican, where he works closely with Pope Francis to govern the universal church. As a spokesperson for the Apostolic See, he aims to carry out its goal of working with international organizations to safeguard the basic rights of every person. He is also an expert on the Middle East who has helped to reopen dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. 

“I’m thrilled that Fordham is trying to have a closer relationship with the Vatican,” said Ignacio Fernández de Lahongrais, GABELLI ’87, a member of the Fordham delegation. “We are a major Catholic institution in the United States, and we should be at the center of openness and intellectual curiosity.” 

Expanding Fordham’s Global Footprint

Later that evening, four members of the Fordham delegation visited the campus. They toured the facilities, spoke with current students, and discussed a potential partnership with Villa Nazareth’s deputy president, Archbishop Claudio Celli. 

Archbishop Celli said that an exchange program between the two Catholic schools could be powerful—and Fordham’s senior leadership agreed.

“I would love to think that we could find a way to figure out how to work together and try to enhance both the incredible work that you’re doing here and the mission of Fordham University,” Armando Nuñez Jr., chair-elect of the Fordham Board of Trustees, said to Archbishop Celli and other administrators at Villa Nazareth. “So again, thank you for your inspiring service.”

Father Cecero, who is helping to coordinate a partnership with Villa Nazareth, said the potential partnership will help Fordham to increase its global presence and its connection with the church.

“This relationship will be very important in terms of Fordham’s ambitions to expand our global footprint,” said Father Cecero. “Through Cardinal Parolin, who is a sponsor of Villa Nazareth, we will have an opportunity to stay connected with the universal church.”

This article is part of a series of stories about the Rome pilgrimage. Read the original full-length story here. 

“It was an extraordinary chance to come to Rome, to the center of the church,” said Tetlow, who went on the pilgrimage with family, trustees, and alumni. “It was a chance for the board and other friends of Fordham to commit to the mission and to understand the broader global church, and it was pretty special inspiration for me as I begin the work ahead.” 

A Pilgrimage to the ‘Heart of the Church’ 

The pilgrimage was inspired by the life of Iñigo de Loyola, a young soldier from a noble Basque family in the 1500s who once sought fortune and fame. When his leg was shattered by a cannonball in battle, he spent months recovering at his family home. It was during this crucial time that he began learning about Jesus and the lives of the saints. These stories and this period of discernment in recovery inspired his spiritual conversion. He decided to dedicate the rest of his life to the service of God and humankind. 

Iñigo de Loyola, now known as St. Ignatius, went on to co-found the Society of Jesus in 1540. He and his religious brothers made their first home in Rome, where they lived in a small house between what is now the Piazza di Spagna, the “Spanish Steps,” and the Piazza del Popolo. Today, the Society of Jesus is the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church. 

In honor of the 500th anniversary of St. Ignatius’ conversion, Jesuit communities across the world have been participating in a yearlong celebration, the Ignatian Year, beginning on May 20, 2021. Fordham has hosted celebratory events since last spring and will continue the celebration of St. Ignatius and his legacy until July 31, 2022, the Feast Day of St. Ignatius Loyola. 

The Fordham trip to Rome served as the highlight of the yearlong celebration, featuring the University’s new leader, Tetlow: the first layperson and woman to lead the Jesuit University of New York. 

“The timing of this trip couldn’t have been better as we transition now to our first lay president. It reinforces our responsibility as trustees to ensure the awareness of our Jesuit ideals, mission, and identity, and it’s our firm belief that through all of this, we can be—even with a lay president—more of a Jesuit university than we were previously,” said Armando Nuñez, GABELLI ’82, chair-elect of Fordham’s Board of Trustees.

The pilgrimage was also a “special” experience for the nearly two dozen members of the Fordham community who traveled to Rome, said John Cecero, S.J., vice president for mission integration and ministry. 

“Coming here to the heart of the church, to have these conversations and to generate that awareness, was so special,” said Father Cecero. “To come here and walk in the steps of Ignatius, visit the sites that were so important to him, and meet the leaders of the church has been so precious.”

Exploring the Life and Home of St. Ignatius 

On the first day of the trip, those who were fortunate enough to escape the effects of jet lag explored the beginnings of Christianity in Rome. They first visited the Roman Forum, the ruins of ancient government buildings, where they learned about the Roman context of early Christianity with an archaeologist. Then they visited the Basilica of San Clemente, a set of three tiered churches from the 1st, 4th, and 12th centuries, featuring detailed Christian mosaics. 

The next day, the Fordham delegation immersed themselves in the life of St. Ignatius. In a series of guided tours, they explored the Santa Maria Maggiore, where St. Ignatius said his first Mass; the Gesù, the first Jesuit church in Rome that became the final resting place for St. Ignatius; and the Church of St. Ignatius. 

“The Church of St. Ignatius is a beautiful and central place for us, not only because it contains the remains of the saints Aloysius Gonzaga, John Berchmans, and Robert Bellarmine, but also the architecture, art, and ceiling of the Jesuit artist Andrea Pozzo,” said Father Cecero. “All of this speaks to the Jesuit emphasis on integrating art, science, and beauty as an expression of God’s creation and as a way to reflect back to God our gratitude for his creation and the beauty that surrounds us.”  

In a private tour, Tetlow and the Fordham delegation also explored the building where St. Ignatius directed the Society of Jesus as their first Superior General. It was here that he wrote the Constitution of the Society of Jesus, as well as handwritten letters to Jesuits who lived across the world. 

In a small room, Father Cecero held a group liturgy and Tetlow, a professionally trained opera singer, sang the “Salve Regina.” Later that afternoon, they visited the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the church where St. Ignatius and his early companions made final vows after the founding of the Jesuit order. 

“St. Ignatius is my saint,” said Ignacio Fernández de Lahongrais, GABELLI ’87, whose great-uncle, father, and son all share the same first name. “It was very emotional to have Mass where St. Ignatius gave Mass. It was also absolutely wonderful to be where he lived and to learn more about his life and what he stood for.”

An Inspiring Message From the Vatican Prefect for Catholic Education 

On the third day of the trip, the Fordham delegation traveled to the Vatican City, where they met Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, Vatican prefect for Catholic education, and Monsignor Guy-Réal Thivierge, secretary general of the Pontifical Foundation Gravissimum Educationis. 

In an address to the Fordham delegation, Cardinal Versaldi discussed the importance of teaching about an inclusive faith through Catholic education. He emphasized that schools should maintain their core Catholic values, but continue to respect and welcome people from all walks of life. In addition, he applauded Fordham for its quality of education in a modern world. 

“I’m sure you will continue this communion with the church, keeping your autonomy and your independence, but also the capacity to work together and to offer a contribution to a new world,” Cardinal Versaldi, who prompted the Society of Jesus to create the Mission Priority Examen, said to the Fordham delegation.

The cardinal’s message was inspiring, particularly for those who grew up in a period that was less inclusive, said Elizabeth “Betty” A. Burns, FCLC ’83, a former trustee who was raised Catholic. The cardinal’s speech was also surprising in a positive way, said Robert Smolens, husband to Donna Smolens, FCRH ’79, GSAS ’81. 

“I thought he would be a little more dogmatic and concerned about, as he put it, this secularization that’s going on in the world. It’s not the same place that it was 30, 40 years ago, when my wife and I were in school,” said Smolens, who was raised in a Jewish household and is married to a Catholic. “But he welcomes the challenge of 2022, and that’s what we need to still have a great Catholic university.” 

The overall message from the cardinal and his associates is important to Fordham and its mission, said Kim Bepler, a University trustee and philanthropist who earned an honorary doctorate from Fordham this May. 

“It was so inspiring and forward-thinking to hear what the monsignor and the cardinal had to say about the Catholic identity, the mission of the Jesuits, and that we don’t lose sight of the mission of Fordham,” said Bepler. “We are inclusive, and we are also welcoming. As the educational model changes, we change—and it’s for the better.” 

Meeting the Vatican Secretary of State 

On their final day of the trip, the delegation met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, in the heart of Vatican City. The Fordham delegation awaited the cardinal in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope, where they sat in ornate chairs and were surrounded by elaborate paintings. For a few minutes, the room was silent except for hushed whispers and the continuous ticking of a grandfather clock. When the cardinal arrived from an entrance in the corner of the room, everyone immediately rose from their seats. 

In a 20-minute speech, the cardinal echoed the words of his associates and wished the Fordham delegation well on their trip. 

“It is my hope that on your pilgrimage to Rome, your experience of Christian sites and your visits to places associated with the life of St. Ignatius will prove inspiring and sustain you in joyful and hope-filled love for Christ and one another,” Cardinal Parolin said to the Fordham delegation. 

Tetlow thanked him for his words and offered her own thoughts on the future of Catholic education. Historically, Catholic schools and universities have offered opportunities to students from all different backgrounds, including immigrants and first-generation students, she said. Their core mission has been supported by not only priests, but the lay people, she added. 

Now, in a time when the U.S. and the American Catholic Church are increasingly divided, Fordham’s Catholic identity offers a reminder of our common values and the need to serve the common good, she said. She also acknowledged that Fordham serves students from many faiths, increasingly those who have no religious background. It is important that the University does not “preach to the choir,” but encourage respect for the church, the Catholic faith, and people from all walks of life, she said. 

“We ask students to put aside their own ideas and be willing to think of new ideas and to embrace faith and spirituality, and we teach that openness by modeling it ourselves,” she said to Cardinal Parolin. “It is not an easy task right now, but we work very hard to make that manifest at Fordham, which is one of, as you described, the finest Catholic universities in the world. And so it is a great responsibility for me—for this board, for this community—to do that well, and it is the privilege of our lives to serve the church in this way.” 

At the end of their exchange, Tetlow gifted Cardinal Parolin with a Fordham baseball cap. The cardinal immediately placed it over his red skullcap and waved at the staff photographer, while the Fordham delegation laughed appreciatively. As the delegation filed out of the room, he handed each member a blessed rosary. 

“I love the fact that we’ve got more Fordham baseball caps wandering around Rome,” Kim Bepler later said during a car ride in Rome. 

“We did leave one for the pope, so maybe we’ll see him appear on the balcony someday with a Fordham cap on,” said Father Cecero, chuckling. (Pope Francis was unfortunately unable to meet with the Fordham delegation.) 

A Visit to the Jesuit Headquarters to Meet the Superior General

Later that afternoon, the Fordham delegation met Arturo Sosa, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus, on the rooftop of the Jesuit Curia in Rome—the headquarters of the Jesuits. 

“It was a real treat to meet the Father General. He was wise and wonderful and a lot of fun,” said Tetlow, who shared a private meal with him. “[We talked about] matters big and small: the transition to lay leadership, the state of Jesuit universities in the U.S. and around the world, and opportunities for all of us to partner more with each other across national borders.”

Afterward, the Fordham delegation toured the Curia, including the chapel, gardens, and the dining room, where they sampled freshly picked fruit from the Curia’s own backyard. 

In the delegation’s final outing as a group, Father Cecero held Mass at Sant’ Andrea al Quirinale, the third Jesuit church constructed in Rome, where young novices once studied. People offered prayers—for the people of Ukraine, for Tetlow and her family as they start their new journey at Fordham, and for Father Cecero, who spearheaded the pilgrimage. 

Returning Home with A New Vision for Fordham

Each Vatican official from the pilgrimage affirmed the importance of “service, engagement, and encounter”—three concepts that are critical to the mission of Fordham’s Center for Community Engaged Learning, said the center’s executive director, Julie Gafney, Ph.D., who was part of the Fordham delegation.

“This is so crucial because this is the work that the center does at Fordham. We often talk about our mission internally at Fordham, but to hear these leaders express that this is the bedrock on which our educational tradition is founded—and also an area for innovation in education—was so powerful and something I want to bring back and continue to grow at Fordham,” said Gafney. 

Gafney said that many Jesuit schools have become strong research institutions, but it’s important for them to remember the roots of the Jesuit tradition: educating young people, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds. 

“Our center offers tutoring, mentorship, college access programming, and mental health services to youth-serving nonprofits and local schools in partnership with faculty and students. I’d really like to scale and increase those forms of engagement, since they can be deeply impactful and align powerfully with our mission,” said Gafney, who also oversees programs like Urban Plunge and Global Outreach. “I’d like to have 1,000 Fordham students serve as tutors and mentors. It’s doable. It’s needed. And I think it could be really powerful—both for the middle and high school students and the Fordham undergraduates.”  

Building Relationships Abroad

On the last day of the pilgrimage, several members of the Fordham delegation visited Villa Nazareth, a Vatican-affiliated residential college for talented students from low socioeconomic backgrounds in Italy, where they toured the facilities, interacted with present students, and discussed an invitation from Cardinal Parolin to establish a partnership with Fordham. 

The school was established in 1946, one year after World War II ended, to help orphans reach their potential. Since then, Villa Nazareth has become a prestigious institution that educates and houses students, free of charge. The institution, managed by a nonprofit called the Comunitá Domenico Tardini Association, has received attention from many visitors, most notably Pope Francis in 2016, and is led by Cardinal Parolin.  

The visit was an opportunity for Fordham to expand its global footprint and establish a new relationship with a school in Rome that shares the same mission. 

“The mission of our schools is to deliver cura personalis, and what you have described about what happens here is exactly that—to care for the whole student,” Father Cecero said, addressing administrators at Villa Nazareth after listening to a PowerPoint presentation about the school’s mission. “You’ve given us important seeds to ponder about how we can creatively work with you because we share a very common mission.” 

The visit was also a homecoming for Roger A. Milici Jr., vice president of development and university relations at Fordham, who studied at Villa Nazareth in 1986 and 1987. On the wall of a campus building, Milici pointed to a black-and-white group photo of students from several decades ago, featuring his 21-year-old self. “It feels like yesterday,” he said. 

Archbishop Claudio Celli, deputy president of Villa Nazareth, embraced the potential of a new partnership with Fordham. 

“Your people can be here, and our people can go to Fordham,” Archbishop Celli said to the Fordham delegates in the room. “This is just the beginning—but we can see the future.” 

This article is part of a series of stories about the Rome pilgrimage.

In his role as chaplain, Father Quickley ministered to the Lincoln Center campus community until September 2020. Erin Hoffman, director of campus ministry at Lincoln Center, called him a role model and a friend who could often be heard singing and snapping his fingers along with whatever he was saying. 

“He was so authentic and joyful and brought out the best in others. He had an inner peace and freedom that was contagious,” she said, noting that his deep spirituality grounded him and gave him the confidence and humility that fed such a freedom.  

Carol Gibney, director of campus ministry, solidarity, and leadership, remembered Father Quickley as a “joy-filled soul” who once brought a small group of faculty and staff to tears with a heart-wrenching rendition of the song Amazing Grace.

“He had a thick faith that he wore like a comfortable, comforting shawl and shared with everyone that he met, and his warmth and joy were infectious,” she said. 

“Those of us that were blessed to know and work with him will remember him fondly and close our eyes and hear his deep, powerful voice and imagine him singing with the choirs of all the angels in heaven.”

A native of Baltimore who converted to Catholicism in 1962, Father Quickley entered the Society of Jesus in 1974, studied at Fordham in 1977, and was ordained a priest in 1980. After serving as assistant pastor at St. Aloysius in Washington D.C., he taught subjects such as Latin, religion, and English at Gonzaga College High School and Mackin Catholic High School in D.C. He completed his final vows in 1995.

From 1989 to 1996, he served as the Catholic chaplain for Lorton Reformatory, a prison system outside in Lorton, Virginia. In 1996, he moved to Nigeria, where he served in multiple roles, including Provincial for the Society of Jesus Northwest Africa Province from 2005 to 2011.

When he returned from Africa he lived at Fordham during a yearlong sabbatical. In June 2012, he left to take an assignment as pastor at St. Patrick’s in Oakland. He served on Fordham’s Board of Trustees from 2014 until 2018. In 2019, he assumed the title of chaplain for the Lincoln Center campus and took up residence in McMahon Hall. 

Father Quickley made an impact on many students, including Roxanne Cubero, a senior at Fordham College at Lincoln Center who interviewed him in 2019 for an article in The Observer newspaper. In the Q&A, he talked about his passion for singing and what it was like to be in Nigeria during 9/11.

“Interviewing Father Quickley is one of my favorite things that I’ve ever done for The Observer and I was greatly saddened when I heard of his passing,” Cubero said.

The infectious energy that Father Quickley brought to everyday interactions was matched by a fierce determination to expose racism. In a 2012 interview with Patrick Ryan, S.J., for the series Jesuits in Conversation, he shared how in 1964 he spoke at length with a Jesuit about joining the Society of Jesus. The priest informed him that to be admitted to seminary, he’d have to have been a Catholic for three years. Father Quickley had only left the Presbyterian faith two years prior. But he sensed there was more to it than that.

“I had the impression that he was saying to me, ‘Don’t call us, we’ll call you.’ And I don’t remember him taking my phone number,” he said.

The next decade was a tumultuous one for both the country and for Father Quickley, who grew so disillusioned with racism he experienced in the church that he dropped out of a diocesan seminary he’d entered and taught special education at a public school for three years. 

“But this desire for priesthood never ever went away. So, after a long teacher strike that went on for well over a month, I began to think, ‘Is this what God is calling me to?’” he said.

In 1974, he was accepted at the Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues, in Wernersville, Pennsylvania. He spoke to two other Black men who were studying there.  

“My biggest question for them was, are you at home in this congregation? And they were both very positive,” he said.

Several people recalled Father Quickley’s influence as a Black Jesuit at Fordham.

For Gibney, an 8 p.m. Mass that he presided over at St. Paul the Apostle Church in March 2012 is a particularly vivid memory for her.

“He walked up the long aisle of the church wearing a hoodie under his priest’s robes and chasuble, and when he got up to the altar, he asked the congregation if they knew that even up there on the altar, wearing a hoodie, he could still get shot, simply because he was a Black man,” Gibney said. 

“In the recent aftermath of the killing of Trayvon Martin, his words were chilling. And when he spoke about the tragedy of this young man’s death and his own experience as a Black man in America being profiled multiple times, he opened the eyes and hearts of many of the students that attended that Mass that evening to the racism experienced by so many people of color in the world.”

Hoffman agreed that Father Quickley had a profound influence in his short time on campus.

“I talked with many people of color since we learned of George’s death, and they have remarked on how impactful it was to have a Black Jesuit here on campus and how he helped empower them spiritually and otherwise,” she said.

Father Ryan, who like Father Quickley spent time living in Africa, said he felt honored the two were friends for 26 years. He attended the funeral Mass for his friend on Dec. 1. 

“In the last couple of years, George has been my spiritual director as well. I found his funeral at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Harlem very consoling. George was seven years younger than I, and he has gone before me. I now ask him in the presence of our risen Lord to guide me on the path to join him with Christ and all the saints,” he said.

In the 2012 interview, Father Ryan asked Father Quickley what it meant to be a Jesuit. Quickley cited Decree 26: “Conclusion: Characteristics of Our Way of Proceeding,” a description of eight Jesuit characteristics that the Society of Jesus adopted in 1995. 

“Men on a mission, men with a passion for excellence, men who are sinners but who recognize that they are loved by God, men who have a passion to be with the poor—for me, that’s the ideal,” he said.

“My work, although not in the university, has been intellectual. We are intellectuals. Whether we’re in the parish or working in a soup kitchen, there’s an intellectual dimension. It’s the insight, it’s the discernment that we bring to our work that uplifts the people of God.”

One of his last public acts was to welcome Fordham students back to campus in 2020 in a Fordham Magis Minute video. In the video, which was posted in August, he welcomed them, unsurprisingly, with song.

A recording of Father Quickley’s funeral can be found here. 

Notes of condolence can be sent to Father Quickley’s cousin, Veronda Pitchford, at 5320 North Sheridan Rd., Apt. 2505, Chicago, IL 60640.

Q: Seven years ago you left your position as rector at Fordham to take over leadership of the newly combined USA Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus. What did you learn from your time that you’ll be bringing back to the University?

A: A large part of bringing together the New York and the New England provinces was to focus on the core features that united us. The different missions are all rooted in a common appreciation of how God labors in the world and through each of us, and our response is one of gratitude, love, and generosity.

Having been at Fordham for 15 years, I have a special interest in Jesuit higher education. What is unique about Jesuit higher education is that same spiritual foundation we’re focused on in the province. We’re in the business of not only preparing people for careers, but also informing how they see the world, how they orient themselves toward God and other people. No matter what profession they pursue, they put those gifts at the service of others, and especially the poor, the marginalized, and those members of society who are ignored or overlooked.

I think sometimes we forget to articulate that we’re not here only to introduce people to great ideas, but also to make them “men and women with and for others.” My role is to work with others in the University to keep our focus on why we are engaged in the business of Jesuit education here.

Q: What will be some of your biggest priorities?

A: One of my biggest priorities is working with the Board of Trustees. In 2013, I was asked to coordinate a meeting of the board chairs of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities with Father General Adolfo Nicolás, S.J. He said to them, ‘You are the leaders of the colleges and universities.’ In a legal sense, that’s absolutely true, but it’s also true in a mission sense. The board allocates finances and makes decisions that help people like me and others with overseeing and implementing the mission.

Another is faculty. I was a full-time member of the faculty for 15 years, so I know that faculty are very busy. The challenge is to help faculty have some time to reflect on that key question, ‘Why am I doing this in the context of a Jesuit university?’ That’s going to be through a series of talks and presentations, and through personal reflection and exploration. I’m working closely with Jim McCartin in creating initiatives that will include seminars and retreats.

We also want to expand the work that Lito Salazar, S.J.,  and campus ministry does. We want to serve the Catholic students and those who are interested in explicit religious practices, but there are others who I’m sure would benefit from programs designed to open them up to a spiritual worldview.

We also have the Center for Community Engaged Learning, which Dr. Julie Gafney just took over last year. They’ve increased the number of courses that are offered where faculty engage with students who participate in community engagement projects and integrate that work with academic work. It’s a wonderful opportunity to be of service to the poor and marginalized right here in the Bronx community.

David Gibson has been doing some wonderful talks, discussions, lectures, and seminars with the Center on Religion and Culture. I’m going to be working with him to expand that programming to include topics that would be of particular interest to younger people.

Q: Talk to me about life trap theory, which is your area of expertise in psychology. Is that going to play a part in how you approach your new role?

A: What gets in the way of productively focusing on mission are our personal, and you might say institutional, life traps. One of the life traps is overdependence. So for example, students or faculty might say, ‘Well, mission is the work of others and, I’ll let them do it.’ That’s kind of a trap because it’s shirking a responsibility that is really incumbent on all of us to participate in.

Q: This year is the Ignatian Year, which celebrates the 500th anniversary of the “cannonball moment” of St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits. Why is Jesuit spirituality so important even after five centuries?

A: It was May 20 of this year that was the 500th anniversary of St. Ignatius being hit by a cannonball when he was a soldier. It was a turning point in his life because that wound literally laid him on his back, and during his convalescence, he started to read Lives of the Saints and started to think, ‘Maybe this whole ambition of worldly success is not that important—what’s really important is following Jesus Christ.’

What you might call the “cannonball moment” is what Jesuit education is all about. We’re not going to shoot students with cannonballs, but hopefully in the course of their time in a Jesuit school, their worldview gets shaken, maybe shattered, certainly rocked, and they get opportunities to radically rethink who they are, what they are, and what their purpose in life is, just as Ignatius did. So this year, we’re celebrating a focus on conversion and higher education. That’s the core mission.

Q: Does it feel more relevant given what a tumultuous time this is?

A: Pope Francis [who is a Jesuit]had something to say about that. He did a series of interviews recently and they were published in a book called Let Us Dream (Simon & Schuster, 2020). He says the pandemic is just like the cannonball for the whole world, and he hopes that the new normal will be a more radically transformed world, where we come out of it with a heightened awareness of the needs of others. He sees it as a fertile, if extraordinarily painful, moment for us.