“Fr. Joyce preferred to spend most of his life ‘walking with the excluded.’ Those walks took him into psychiatric wards, a dangerous parish in Kingston, Jamaica, and into the prisons of Northern Ireland, where he reassured isolated, suffering prisoners that God had not forgotten them,” wrote Geoffrey Cobb, a former colleague. “He also served as chaplain in the Tombs, the notorious prison on Lower Manhattan, as well as working with runaway kids and former prostitutes at New York City Covenant House. … Fr. Jim blessed us all by spending a lifetime of giving and never counting the costs.” 

Father Joyce was born on Aug. 22, 1945, to John and Marie (O’Dea Joyce) in Brooklyn. After graduating from Regis High School in Manhattan, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1963. Twelve years later, he was ordained to the priesthood. Father Joyce spent decades of his life in service—as a prison chaplain at Rikers Island, as president of “New Jersey’s Jesuit high school,” and in positions of service beyond the tristate area, including West Africa and Jamaica. 

At Fordham, Father Joyce was an integral part in building the Bronx Irish History Project, a collection of interviews with Irish American members of the Bronx. Father Joyce had previously worked for peace, social justice, and reconciliation in Ireland in the 1970s. 

“Fr. Joyce had a profound love for Ireland and all its people, which I saw throughout our many discussions with the people we interviewed for Fordham’s Bronx Irish Oral History Project,” wrote Cobb, who is BIHP’s research director. “Though Fr. Joyce was dealing with pain from chemotherapy and stage three cancer, he brought humor, warmth, and great stories to our discussions of the Irish in the Bronx.”

Father Joyce also served as superior of Murray-Weigel Hall, a home for retired Jesuits at the Rose Hill campus, from 2009 to 2012. A year ago, he reflected on his time at Murray-Weigel. Father Joyce spent his final years of life in the home that he once led. 

“May he now rest from his labors in peace with Jesus whom he served so very well,” reads his full obituary from the U.S.A. East Province of the Society of Jesus.

Known for integrating prayer with art, Father Gilroy believed that spirituality could be manifested through creative practices like painting. He launched the website, Prayer Windows, more than a decade ago to offer guidance on how to encounter God through the arts.

“Through art, we co-create with God,” he wrote in an article published in the National Christian Life Community of United States’ Harvest magazine in 2000.

Most recently, Father Gilroy, who lived at an infirmary at Murray-Weigel Hall, worked with Campus Ministry to offer spiritual direction. He led retreats and talks focused on art and spirituality at the Westchester campus, where he also had a part-time art studio.

“These [retreats]  were well-received by participants,” said José Luis Salazar, S.J., executive director of Campus Ministry.

Before his death, Father Gilroy was slated to do a number of lunchtime talks on Ignatian spirituality and art at the University, as well as an art and yoga retreat in December at the Goshen Center.

Carol Gibney, associate director of Campus Ministry and for spiritual and pastoral ministry at Rose Hill, worked with Father Gilroy on a Lenten art and yoga retreat this past March.

“He was really gifted at sharing his love and passion for art, and using art as a portal into the sacred to allow us to pause and reflect,” she said.

Though Father Gilroy, who struggled with diabetes, was new to Fordham, Gibney said his energy was magnetic—as was his cheerful laugh.

“He laughed with his whole body,” she said. “It was really joyful. He had what I desired for others and myself—an interior freedom. He allowed God’s light to shine through him.”

In a Facebook post, James Martin, S.J., acclaimed author and editor at large at America magazine, described Father Gilroy as “an amazing friend and Jesuit brother” who was “supportive, interested, generous, thoughtful, caring, funny, wise, and challenging when he needed to be.”

“I’ll miss that irrepressible laugh; I’ll miss his wisdom; I’ll miss his art; I’ll miss his counsel; I’ll miss his gentle presence in the world,” he wrote.

Pictured above, Phil Bedard, Megan Czachor, Katharine Dixon, and Itunu Ademoyo, members of Fordham’s Circle K service organization, celebrate their completion of the race.

The Fordham students were accompanied by Rosemary DeJulio, Ph.D., and Gabelli School staff adviser Susan Brucculeri, two members of Fordham Kiwanis who sponsor Circle K service projects at Murray Weigel Hall and the Rose Hill Apartments.

Fordham representatives helped the event raise over $450,000.

— Mary Awad

Brendan McGuinness, facilities mechanic at the Lincoln Center campus

Brendan McGuinness grew up in the Bronx, and along with his four siblings, attended Our Lady of Mercy grammar school, just across Webster Avenue from the Rose Hill campus. He served as an altar boy at the church there, and although he doesn’t attend church as often as he used to, he says he still believes in God and goes to church on holidays. McGuinness said he hopes Pope Francis’ visit will be a blessing for New York City.

“He took over at a rough time in the church. He’s a humble man and says he wants to still live the humble life he’s lived. He’s not looking for everybody to cater to him because he’s the high priest. He still wants to put on his own shoes. That resonates with me, because it tells me that even in his position, he’s a normal person. Normal people don’t turn around and feel that they’re higher up than somebody, because we’re all on the same page and the same level. We’re all children of God.”

Angela Belsole, grants administrator, Graduate School of Social Service

Angela Belsole calls herself a “cradle Catholic.” Raised in a strongly religious family, she attended Catholic school all through her formative years in Long Island, and graduated from Thomas More College of Fordham University in 1973. She will be seeing the Pope in Central Park next week.

“It is wonderful that the Pope is coming to the U.S. and I think it will have a positive effect not only on Catholics, but on everyone. Pope Francis has an infectious spirit of joy that is hard not to catch. His simple, joyful demeanor, his emphasis on God’s mercy, and his commitment to social justice are all attributes that are so needed in today’s world. Young people, especially, are excited by the obvious delight he takes in living a deep faith in the freedom of God’s love. I hope his visit will inspire these future leaders of our Church and the world to live and share the gospel of Jesus in the same way.”

“Much like Pope John XXIII, when he came in and started Vatican II, and the church renewed itself, I feel like with Pope Francis that is going to happen too. With his emphasis on mercy and love and care for the earth and for one another, I think we will see that renewal again.”

Chastity Lopez, facilities coordinator at Lincoln Center

Chastity Lopez was baptized Catholic but grew up Lutheran, as her father worked as a custodian for the Trinity Lutheran Church in Sunset Park. Even though she grew up outside of the Catholic faith, Lopez is a big believer in the power of faith, and is eager to hear more about Pope Francis’ thoughts on the environment.

“After 9/11, we were all united in one cause, just trying to help everyone. And as that passed on, it changed. It’s like everyone went back to not caring about anything. I’m looking forward to seeing if him coming here can bring some kind of change among the people of New York, to bring back that common goal.

“I feel like New Yorkers, we’re so self involved in our own running to work, then running home, then running for dinner, running to pick up kids. Some of us don’t even have time for church anymore, and we need to clear our minds and focus on one thing, just to know there is some kind of hope, and something to look forward to.”

Anne Marie Kirmse, OP, PhD, research associate for the McGinley Chair

A few years ago, when the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith began an investigation of the U.S.-based Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the sisters were given the option to meet with investigators individually. Sister Kirmse chose to meet with them privately when they came to her religious congregation.

After her meeting was completed, her congregation as well as many other groups of American women religious protested the Vatican’s decision to keep the investigation results and details private.

“In America we’re not like that,” she said. “You can’t have this big study and then have it only go to certain groups in Rome. You have to tell us. Good or bad, whatever the results are, we need to know.”

Eventually the sisters got the published report. This spring, the report was put to rest and several months later the pope from Argentina offered effusive praise for the work of the nuns.

“Pope Francis said, ‘I love the American sisters,’” Sister Kirmse said. “And I thought to myself, ‘Well the investigation is now over.’”

“This pope was ratifying the work that we do. And since he is so involved with social justice work himself, and because he comes from a developing nation, he understands that we sisters are in the forefront of the ecological movement, in prisons, in social work, in education. And that’s God’s work.”

Juan Keller Sarmiento, sophomore at Fordham College at Lincoln Center

Sarmiento was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, like Pope Francis. Although he never attended Catholic school in Argentina, he was heavily influenced by Catholicism, thanks to his deeply religious family. His parents were very fond of Jesuit education. That fondness, plus a love of New York City, brought Sarmiento 5,000 miles from home to Fordham. With the Pope’s arrival to New York City, Sarmiento’s worlds seem to be coming together.

“I have immense pride because the Pope is Argentine. I’m sure Fordham feels the same pride. Going to a Jesuit school and being Argentine, I feel that we have a lot in common and I have a connection to him. I think he’s a good head of the Church because he’s humble and his actions show what he preaches. He is helping us adapt to changing times, and I can’t wait for the Pope to come to New York City.”

Olga Jaime, executive secretary, Development and University Relations

For Jaime, who has a master’s in religious education and is a catechist, the pope is Jesus’ representative here on Earth, and as such, he is a traveling teacher—just as Jesus was.

“The pope is doing exactly the same thing with his visit. He’s walking around and teaching,” she said. “Even the person who is farthest away from him will be affected.”

She cited a biblical passage of a woman in a large crowd who touched the mere fringe of Jesus’s cloak. He perceived her touch and her faith and then cured her illness.

“I know that I won’t be close. But that light that comes with the pope represents Jesus. A look from the pope, it is through the light of Christ,” she said. “So it doesn’t matter where you are because knowing that he’s nearby is enough.”

Clare Deck, senior at Fordham College at Rose Hill and an intern at Spiritual Retreat Ministry

Deck remembers the excitement on campus when Francis was named pope. She said Father Phil Florio made sure that students understood they were part of the Jesuit family and that the pope’s election was a big deal for them.

“He was right, it’s done so much for us and it’s done so much for the way the people look at the church,” she said.

“I’ve never been so interested in the pope as a figure,” she said. “But now he’s someone that I’m actively seeking articles about and looking for news about.”

The primary change that Pope Francis has brought to the church, she says, is “perception.”

“It’s great that we have someone who’s able to change how the whole world looks at the church and at Jesuit traditions, not only for people of faith but for anybody interested in the basic values he holds.”

“This guy is showing that the church isn’t this huge scary thing. He’s humanizing it, and that’s really awesome.”

Robert Reilly, assistant dean for the Feerick Center for Social Justice, Fordham Law School

Pope Francis will be the fourth pope that Reilly has seen on American soil. Reilly was in high school when Pope Paul VI came to New York in October of 1965.

“We all stood out on the street and watched him drive by,” said Reilly, a devout Catholic and a double Fordham graduate (FCRH ’72 and LAW ’75). “Then, when John Paul II came [in 1979]—I was practicing law at the time—I went to the Mass at Shea Stadium. And when Benedict XVI was here [in 2008]I got a ticket to the going-away service held at Kennedy Airport.”

Fortunately, Reilly’s run will continue with Pope Francis, who he says “exudes joy and is a face of compassion.” He and several volunteers from the Feerick Center will attend the Mass at Madison Square Garden on Sept. 25.

“A few months ago, the Archdiocese of New York was merging several of its parishes, and we were brought in as volunteer mediators to facilitate some of the more difficult cases,” Reilly said. “In thanksgiving for our work, Timothy Cardinal Dolan invited us as his guests to the pope’s Mass.”

Father James Smith, SJ, retired professor and Murray-Weigel Hall resident

After 66 years as a Jesuit priest, 85-year-old Father Smith, a retired mathematics professor, recognizes the pope’s Jesuit qualities better than most.

“He’s countercultural actually,” said Father Smith. “The type of life we Jesuits live: this life of celibacy, and poverty of a sort, and obedience, it’s not for the generality of man.”

“The pope’s visit will have a good effect on people, especially the disenfranchised Catholics,” he said. “Take all of this stuff about divorced Catholics. Rather than give stern answers to problems, use your mind and see where people can be given a break.”

But while most Americans will be welcoming, of the pope, the more conservative Americans might not be as happy, he said.

“He doesn’t stay behind rituals and ceremonies and it’s not an act. He’s really concerned about people and their needs, and as a Jesuit he’d be open to changes. His norm is ‘What does God want me to do?’”

“He doing it all because he sees this how the Lord wants him to make his contribution to the world. And what a job! He’s not going to change principles, but he communicates them with real sense of caring. To use the a Jewish expression: He’s a real mensch!”

— Rachel Roman, Janet Sassi, Patrick Verel, Tom Stoelker, and Joanna Mercuri contributed to this story.

Charles Lohr, SJ, FCRH ’47, passed away on June 21 at Murray Weigel Hall in the Bronx just three days short of his 90^th birthday.

The 89-year-old Jesuit, who will be remembered on June 26, had a storied history of narrow misses and huge accomplishments. According to his brother Andrew Lohr, he narrowly missed competing for the U.S. bicyclists’ team in the 1952 Olympics. After placing fourth and failing to qualify for the team (which took the top three), the young Lohr took off to Europe on a solo bike adventure. While he was gone, the third place contender dropped out—but the erstwhile competitor couldn’t be reached to take his place.

Father Lohr went on to spend most of his life in Europe and became one of the world’s foremost authorities on Medieval Western Aristotelianism.

But the seeds for the scholar’s research were planted and nurtured at Fordham, where he would maintain academic ties throughout his life.

Charles H. Lohr III was born in Brooklyn on June 24, 1925 and was raised in Jamaica, Queens. He was the oldest of five children. His mother was a devout Catholic and his father a converted Lutheran.

Steeped in the Jesuit tradition, he attended Xavier High School from 1939 to 1943 and then earned his bachelor’s degree at Fordham. The 1947 edition of the Maroon yearbook describes him as “invariably seen walking out of Duane Library laden down with monstrous volumes in original Latin and Greek.”

He went on to work in his father’s insurance business, but in 1952 he broke the news to his father of his decision to join the Society of Jesus.

“He was afraid to tell dad he was leaving the business, so he waited to tell him on El and chose a crowded car so my dad wouldn’t yell at him,” said Andrew Lohr. “My dad said, ‘You’re joining what?!’”

He was ordained at the University Church in 1961. He taught Latin, Greek, and English at the high school and was a member of Fordham’s philosophy faculty for three years. He received his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Freiburg in Germany in 1967. He lived for 46 years there, eventually chairing the university’s philosophy department and directing the Raimundus-Lullus-Institute.

Father Lohr maintained ties to his alma mater as an editor of the journal Traditio, which is published by the University press on subjects of any topic preceding 500 A.D. Traditio publishes in five languages and Father Lohr edited in three, said Joseph E. Lienhard, SJ, professor of theology and the journal’s current managing editor.

Under Father Lohr’s editorship, the journal benefitted from one of his great academic accomplishments: cataloguing nearly all the Latin commentaries on the works of Aristotle from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. The collection was released serially in the journal and later brought together in four published volumes.

“It was a great intellectual project and became an incredible work of reference,” said Father Lienhard. “He considered the collection to be the scholarly achievement of his life. If someone had a question on the subject his goal was for the response to be ‘Look it up in Lohr.’”

Throughout his life, Father Lohr maintained his passion for bicycling. Father Lienhard and his brother Andy said that he belonged to many bike clubs where he befriended auto mechanics and ambassadors alike.

“He had his university life and his bicycling life,” said Father Lienhard. “Some of them called him at work and they didn’t know he was a priest or a scholar.”

His brother Andrew said Father Lohr may not have even realized his tremendous influence.

“At one point in the 90s I asked him ‘Have you ever Googled yourself?’ So I showed him on the computer. All this stuff he had published was there. He was shocked. He had no idea that his work had had such an impact on the Internet.”

“He was a humble guy.”

Services:

A wake will be held at Murray-Weigel Hall on June 26 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. A Mass will be held on June 27 at 11:30 a.m. in Murray-Weigel Hall Chapel. Burial will take place at the Jesuit Cemetery in Auriesville.