Coach Donohue with the 2018 ice hockey team
Greeting Pope Francis
With a seminarian in Tanzania
Charism on Ice The Resurrectionist Spirit of Rev. James Donohue, C.R., Ph.D. By Peter Dorsey, Ph.D.
EACH AUGUST, PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS across the nation perform a late-summer ritual of introducing themselves to each other and sharing some personal information. When the Rev. James Michael Donohue, C.R., Ph.D., affectionately known as Fr. Jim, reviewed the roll in his First-Year Symposium class last fall, few present would have expected Lisa Kreke to proclaim “You baptized me!“ More seasoned members of the Mount St. Mary’s community, however, would have grinned in understanding. Lisa’s mother, Patricia Kreke, Ph.D., is a Mount chemistry professor, and Fr. Jim has long played a central role in the spiritual life of the university. 20
FEATURE SUMMER 2022
In Tanzania
A gifted homilist
Fr. Jim has shepherded many Mounties in the classroom, on the hockey ice and in their faith journey. He has lifted us up, calmed us down and consoled us in our grief. An extraordinary, compassionate problem-solver, he has made our community more cooperative, peaceful and caring. Having occupied a unique position at our university for 26 years, Fr. Jim recently announced his retirement as a professor in the Department of Theology so that he can support his order’s building up the Church in Tanzania. Born and raised in the Canadian province of Ontario, Fr. Jim belongs to the Congregation of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, an international religious community founded in Paris by Polish nationals. The order was formally established in Rome in 1842, when seven founding brothers emerged from the catacombs to the sound of Easter bells, inspired to announce and give witness to the Paschal mystery. Although Emmitsburg has been Fr. Jim’s base of operations since 1996, he is a highly valued member of his order and has travelled the globe in its service. He has been a member of many of its committees, including 20 years on the Provincial Council. He served for six years as Vicar-Provincial and hosted one of its candidates for the priesthood at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary. He is his province’s most prolific blogger, and, since 2010, he has published over 200 installments of its “Celebrating the Word“ guides and “Sunday Reflections.“ The Congregation’s charism is hope and affirms, “in his love the Father calls us . . . to personal resurrection in union with Jesus,“ a relationship the order joins with a call “to work together for the resurrection of society.“ Fr. Jim’s long-time friend and Theology Department colleague, William Portier, Ph.D., observes, “He really radiates that spirit of resurrection“ and
