Fr. Kuzniewski began by defining magis (Latin, greater) as a philosophy of, when presented with a choice, making the choice which gives greater glory to God. Magis has been applied to Holy Cross in the making of its institutional decisions, academically, spiritually and with respect to campus life.
There is always a tension between keeping traditions and making innovations, especially with Jesuits. St. Ignatius of Loyola was filled with a desire to "help souls" and did so by providing schools with consistent curricula. This was called the ratio studiorum, or "plan of studies," which was an exceptional curriculum for a student of the sixteenth century. The ratio studiorum, however, took on a lot of authority, and that authority eclipsed the fact that education must be adapted.
The college's founding is an example of such adaptation. Holy Cross was founded by Bishop Benedict J. Fenwick, S.J. of the Diocese of Boston. Bishop Fenwick suffered a great setback in 1834, when a school run by the Ursuline Sisters was burned down by a nativist, anti-Catholic mob. After this, there were no Catholic schools in the Diocese for nine years, until Bishop Fenwick founded Holy Cross. The new school however, was unorthodox in several ways. While the Jesuits had traditionally established schools in urban centers, Bishop Fenwick wanted the new school to be isolated and away from potential mob violence. Thus, he built the new school in Worcester, which at the time was a small village. Further, he wanted the school to only teach Catholic boys because the presence of Protestant girls at the Ursuline school had contributed to the violence.* He also wanted the new school to foster vocations to the priesthood. The system worked, and was continued under Bishop Fitzpatrick. Not only was violence avoided, but the college fostered significant vocation to the priesthood, and continued to do so into the twentieth century.
The next major change took place under Fr. Joseph Hanselman, S.J., president of the college from 1901 to 1906. By that time, the American education system was the same as it is today, with separate middle schools, high schools colleges and graduate schools. Holy Cross, however, had retained the tradition European model of the lyceum, which was a collection of a junior high, high school and a junior college, going to the equivalent of the sophomore year of college. As a result of this, Holy Cross graduates were not prepared for graduate school, and the president of Harvard, Charles Eliot, refused to accept students from the college.** In response to this, Fr. Hansleman was forced to break Holy Cross into a preparatory school and a college. Later, the college moved away from the fixed curriculum and allowed students to choose majors, although it retained philosophy and classical language classes. This move was very successful: Holy Cross grew into the largest Catholic college in America, and by 1914 it was able to drop its prep school. Holy Cross even earned a campaign visit from Woodrow Wilson in 1912, because he saw it as a way to associate himself with the Catholic population in New England.
After World War II, however, this "Second Holy Cross" had run its course. Many of the Jesuits teaching philosophy and theology did not have anything beyond a Master's degree, and as such those academic areas were struggling. In response to this, Fr. Raymond Swords, S.J. (president 1960-70) dismissed several Jesuits in those departments and hired laity to teach instead. Further, as Fr. Kuzniewski argued, several steps were made to make the college more relevant: parietal rules were abandoned, and compulsory mass attendance was dropped (for St. Ignatius did not want people to be forced to pray, but rather to choose to). Fr. John Brooks, following Fr. Swords, took steps to get African-Americans to attend the college, including future Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Coeducation was introduced in 1972, and in 1969 the Jesuit community separated from the college's administration, handing over much of that task to laity. Fr. Swords wanted to balance both tradition and adaptation, and felt he suffered much for making the choices he made, calling it a kind of martyrdom.
Although it is far too early to tell, Fr. Kuzniewski thinks that a "Fourth Holy Cross" may have begun to form under Fr. McFarland and Boroughs. There a far fewer Jesuits at the college today. As a result, holy Cross has instituted lay chaplains and retreats and formation for the faculty to compensate for this loss. The College is also placing a great emphasis upon mission. Still, whatever course the college takes, a balance between tradition and adaptation must always be sought, and the creation of that balance is a demonstration of magis.
We sincerely thank Fr. Kuzniewski for preparing this very interesting presentation and for teaching us about our school's history.
*The Catholics-only policy led to Holy Cross not being chartered by the State of Massachusetts until 1865. After the Civil war, however, some of the prejudice against Catholics had dropped and the state wanted ot show appreciation for all the Catholics who had fought and died in the war.
**Eliot was also a fierce opponnet of the ratio studiorum, and vocally attacked the Jesuit style of education. His challenge was met by Fr. Timothy Brosnahan, S.J., whose defense against Eliot became the standard of Jesuit schooling for the early part of the twentieth century.
No comments:
Post a Comment