I think that among many of the lay and ordained alumni of the Pontifical College Josephinum there is a vibrant sense of "family," of a fraternal bond that unites us and identifies us. I am certain about this special bond among those of us in the Joss Class of 1968. The following examples reveal this. Some of us have traveled to Midwest Joss Reunions in the Chicago area. We hurried to Macomb, IL, to support Frank Fulkerson after his wife Judy died. A few of our classmates headed to Alexandria, LA, to attend Bishop Ron Herzog's installation.
It's this family connection that was dynamically evident recently here in Chapel Hill, NC. Our granddaughter Susan Zeh, who lives in River Forest, IL, came to stay with Chris and me for a few days in July. Susan is a senior in high school this year and she was completing a few college visits during this summer. So, although we knew that Susan wasn't interested in attending the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, we still wanted to show her around the campus a little bit. Ultimately, it ended up that Chris and I arranged for Susan to meet up with A.J. Rechenmacher who is the grandson of Al Rechenmacher, Joss Class of 1957. We, of course, know Al well through the mini-reunions in the Chicago area. When A.J. entered UNC-Chapel Hill as a freshman in 2017, we became acquainted with him through the Newman Center on campus here. In doing so, I discovered that he was Al's grandson. Chris and I treated Susan and A.J. to dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Chapel Hill while they discussed "college life." Like family, we all had a pleasant time together.
These extended family ties illustrate the reaches of the Josephinum family.
No comments:
Post a Comment