In reflecting upon my High School years in the seminary program for the Diocese of Greensburg I am very aware of how blessed I was to spend those years in an academic program that had such a gifted faculty. In the years from the Fall of 1961 through my graduation in 1965 I was taught by a great group of teachers at Saint Vincent Preparatory School. Most of them were Benedictine priests and monks from the Archabbey along with a number of lay men who supplemented the faculty.
Looking back, there are some subjects that I remember, some teachers that stand out for me, and unfortunately some areas in which my memory needs reinforcement.
I remember our freshman English grammer professor, Father Camillus Long, who was brilliant if not a bit eccentric. He never found a textbook on English grammar that he found adequate. So, he wrote his own! He ran off the pages on heavier stock paper, had them bound, and used them to teach us. Another of our English professors was Father Bryant Halloran who taught us English literature and gave me a great love of reading and appreciation for literature. If I had had my choice in major in college (we had to major in Philosophy) I would have chosen English Lit. I can still recite a number of quotes from Shakespeare that we were required to memorize.
Our other involvements, sports, plays, glee club and so forth helped round our training. I personally enjoyed the work with the forensic competitions between neighboring schools where we competed in areas such as debate, extemporaneous speech and public speaking. It set the stage for what I have been doing in ministry for nearly fifty years.
Latin was a major part of our curriculum, with Father Herman Ubinger laying the foundation in the first two years. He involved us in the "Junior Classical League" where I remember journeying to an event at the Buhl Planetarium in Pittsburgh. We also had Father Leopold Krul (later Archabbot) and Father Augustine Schuetz. It was during a Latin Test being given by Father Augustine on November 22, 1963, that we received word of the shooting and death of President Kennedy. It was one of those "where were you" moments.
Modern languages were limited to French or German (the Benedictine community was originally from Bavaria). I took French and had two years with Father Julian Smith, who had a great wit and nicknames for some of us (Jared Baker he called "boulanger" [a baker] and he called me "fourneau-iak" [a stove is a fourneau].
Father Emeric Pfiester developed our artistic abilities and the annual "art show" found a number of my creations among the exhibits.
I remember Father Arthur Holtz teaching us civics and Pennsylvania history. He also led the music program.
There was math, the sciences, history, religion and the usual gamut of classes.
The thing that set this group of teachers apart for me is their academic background and dedication of profession. In the Benedictine tradition they were committed to excellence in higher education. The fact that many, if not most of these men, were also on the faculty of the Seminary and the College, with advanced degrees in multiple fields, made what the offered a valuable gift - one that I only began to realize later on in life.
How have I been blessed? Let me count the ways - but let it include these years of formation. The Benedictine Community at Saint Vincent has by gratitude.
No comments:
Post a Comment