A Lion’s Wishes

A mid-January morning came gray and chilly. Through a heavy mist, we set out to walk around the campus. My companion, the Rev. John A. Leies, had just been appointed our University’s 10th president.

Straightforward with a hearty sense of humor, he reminisced about playing on the sidewalks of St. Michael’s Parish in Chicago.

“John A” joined the Marianists at 18. “Brothers Walter Puckett and Ed Goerdt had been my teachers,” he shared, squinting up at the sun, now just beginning to break through.

Following his doctoral studies, he served the provincial in St. Louis and a four-year ministry in Lima. At St. Mary’s, he’s led Campus Ministry, graduate theology and as academic vice president

It was 1986 – and his new responsibilities as president left little time for his favorite things – classical music, detective stories and The Bears.

With the baseball diamond behind us, we headed back up the hill. Suddenly, the campus skyline was bathed in a glorious light, refracting auras of pinks and golds as its massive structures stood proud and permanent. It was like Oz – jettying out of the horizon, beckoning us to hope.

For a moment, John stood still to delight in his community. “What three wishes would you ask of the wizard?” I posed. His responses were firm. “I’d ask to be able to realize our goals for the University. “And that our students would be led to a life within the Society or Daughters of Mary. “And – I’d ask . . . for courage.”

Ah, yes. For John – and for us, pilgrims all.

The Rev. John A. Leies, S.M., Chairman of the Theology Department, has been a Marianist for 58 years.