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A comprehensive new history
of Holy Cross is published.
By Margaret LeRoux When Rev. Anthony
J. Kuzniewski, S.J., professor of history and rector of the
Jesuit community at Holy Cross, set out to update the history
of the College, he had no inkling that the task would encompass
more than 12 years and result in
a 516-page volume.
The book, Thy Honored Name, a History of
The College of the Holy Cross, 1843-1994, has been published by The Catholic
University of America Press.
"I found that the original history was a flawed
work. I couldn't build on it, so I started over," says Fr. Kuzniewski.
At the behest of Rev. John Brooks, S.J., then
president of the College, Fr. Kuzniewski's history is a comprehensive one.
"Fr. Brooks wanted the book to take a hard
look at the history of the College," Fr. Kuzniewski says. With this in mind,
the author pulled no punches as the drama of the College unfolded
in his manuscript.
"I wanted to show the individuals involved;
how they dealt with one another's strengths as well as their human failings," he
continues. "The development of the College has been inspired by individuals.
They were called upon to make sacrifices and make judgments without knowing the
outcome of their actions."
Fr. Kuzniewski's own relationship with the College has developed over the past
25 years. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wis., he graduated from Marquette University
and earned a Ph.D. in history from Harvard in 1973. It was not until his graduate
student days that he was drawn to the Jesuits and joined the order. After completing
his novitiate in Cambridge, Mass., he taught immigration history at Holy Cross
for two years, from 1974 to 1976. He then left to complete his theological studies
at Loyola University in Chicago. After ordination, he returned to Holy Cross
to teach in the history department.
During the course of his research, Fr. Kuzniewski says, he thoroughly enjoyed
getting to know the Jesuits who led the College
in its early days. Rev. George Fenwick, S.J., brother of Bishop Benedict
Fenwick, S.J., who founded the College, taught algebra, classics and philosophy.
Beloved by the students, he spent many hours playing checkers with them. His
nickname was "Dad" Fenwick.
Another was the feisty Rev. Thomas Mulledy, S.J., assigned as prefect of studies
in 1854, the same year the anti-Catholic Know-Nothing Party won control of the
state legislature. The Know-Nothings, who spread rumors that weapons and ammunition
for the overthrow of the government were being concealed at the College, sent
a committee to search
for them; Fr. Mulledy conducted the group through the College.
"He must have been in rare form," Fr. Kuzniewski
says.
"When I walk through the cemetery
(where many of the College's early leaders are buried) on
the grounds, there's not a single tombstone that doesn't
give me reason to reflect on their tremendous accomplishments," he
says. And, reflecting on the continuity of their mission,
he adds, "Issues that they struggled with 125 years ago,
are still with us today."
With vivid examples, including excerpts from letters, newspaper clippings,
and minutes of faculty meetings, the book shows how the Jesuits kept the College
true to the ideal of St. Ignatius Loyola. The "magis," free choice of
the alternative that renders greater service to God, expressed in the motto, Ad
Majorem Dei Gloriam, is at the heart of every Holy Cross student's education.
In the pages of Thy Honored Name, Fr. Kuzniewski shows how this principle
shaped the College's history.
He notes two significant events. In 1900, the preparatory school, which
had been considered a part of the College, was separated from it, and
the College
curriculum upgraded. At the time, the College was under pressure to alter
its program of classical studies. Other New England colleges, led by
Harvard, were
abandoning liberal arts in favor of an emphasis on specialized professional
studies. But the Jesuits at Holy Cross held firm to their mission.
The decision to become a coed institution in 1972, wildly controversial at
the time, "has been a spectacular success," Fr. Kuzniewski says. "The
admittance of women to the student body has helped the College achieve
impressive standards
of academic excellence."
The most important factors shaping the character of
Holy Cross, however, have been the religious values and commitment
to educational excellence that have
sustained the College throughout its history.
The book delineates three distinct stages in the history of the College. In
the first 50 years of its existence, the institution was isolated,
strictly regimented, and the curriculum driven by the traditional Jesuit
Plan of Studies.
From the turn of the century until the 1960s, the "second" Holy Cross
opened up more, intercollegiate athletics thrived, and a growing student
body required
an active building program.
By the 1960s, the "third" Holy Cross emerged, with a deliberate
effort to upgrade the academic quality of the faculty, with
lay people fully
integrated into
all facets of the College, and a more diverse range of classes.
The thread that links the modern Holy Cross to its origin
has been the commitment
to religious values and a liberal arts education.
"It's been the important lesson of the College's history," says Fr. Kuzniewski. "Throughout
its existence, Holy Cross has remained true to its ideals; it hasn't compromised
in the struggle for excellence."
Fr. Kuzniewski's history ends with the Brooks administration as the College
entered its 150th year. He invites alumni to send him their own remembrances
of Holy Cross in written or tape format for the College archives.
Thy Honored Name: A History of the College of the Holy
Cross, 1843-1994 by Rev. Anthony J. Kuzniewski, S.J.,
is available from the Holy Cross Bookstore. The retail
price is $34.95 plus $5.00 shipping and handling. Massachusetts
residents add $1.75 sales tax.
Please contact:
C.H.C. Bookstore
P.O. Box H -
Holy Cross
One College Street
Worcester, MA 01610
Phone: 1-800-777-0201 ext. 3393
Fax: 1-800-793-3612
E-mail: bookstore@holycross.edu
Visa, Mastercard, American Express accepted.
Margaret LeRoux is a free-lance journalist from Worcester.
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