I think it was Jim Burke [S.J.]. He was my fourth
year teacher, and the one who mainly influenced me to go in that
direction. He had a Harvard doctorate, probably in history. I
got to know him quite well. He kept my interest in law going.
For recreation, I used to love to play baseball. I was a left-handed
pitcher. I went out for the BC team, but never made. I have been
a life-long Red Sox fan. I loved to go to Fenway Park and sit
out in the bleachers, but I'd come home red as a beet from the
sun.
We got a notice from a Jesuit in theology laying
out a travel program for us. We found traveling very informative
and enjoyable. We traveled for six weeks and covered a lot of
interesting ground. After World War II the military was still
in charge of everything. War scars, even on many churches, were
still quite visible. During Lent all the tertians went to parishes.
I ministered to a different US Army base in Germany on each of
the six Sundays.
Boston College Law School had begun in 1928 in
downtown Boston in the Lawyers Building opposite the Massachusetts
State House. Of course, it then grew bigger, and I never taught
downtown. By 1960 the Law School had gotten well beyond its early
stages. Some of the older members of the faculty were still around
as I began teaching in 1960. I was able to learn a lot from them.
There were some normal changes you might
expect in a large institution. But there was one very important
development that needs to be mentioned. During the late '60s and
early '70s a number of Jesuit colleges and universities were involved
in what was called separate incorporation. This involved a separation
between the university and the Jesuit community on campus. These
were major initiatives. As time went on, such separate incorporation
became the norm in the US. As rector of the Jesuit community at
Boston College at the time, I took part in these negotiations
at BC. There also were some changes as a number of Jesuits were
moving out of St. Mary's for smaller houses.
