Leonard J. Fick
Encyclopedia
Leonard J. Fick was an American Roman Catholic priest
, scholar and educator, college president, author
in Ohio whose educational career spanned for over fifty years. Fick devoted more than sixty years to the Pontifical College Josephinum
and is considered by many to be its most prominent 20th century graduate, scholar, administrator and leader having occupied more positions of responsibility and leadership than anyone else during that time. Father Fick, as he preferred to be called, at both Ohio Dominican University
, the Josephinum and other institutions and churches, in both the classroom and from the pulpit, inspired generations of English students with his witty insights into the intricacies of the English language - into writing, poetry, literature and theatre and in insights into the life of Jesus Christ and his Church
. Fick's critical and mentoring skills were lengendary and they served to influence a host of college-educated men and women who would go on to be priests, teachers, scholars and leaders in all walks of life.
, on September 6, 1915. He was the oldest of the four sons of Herman and Mary Klebba Fick. His family were German-speaking Catholics. He graduated from Sacred Heart Elementary School in 1928.
, a school founded by a German priest, Joseph Jessing
; Jessing, raised in Germany, distinguished himself for bravery in fierce fighting for his country and eventually founded an orphanage
in Ohio. Out of that orphanage grew a seminary; naturally, Fick was attracted to the Josephinum.
Beginning his high school
studies in the Fall of 1929, Fick arrived at the Josephinum to begin his high school seminary studies. He would distinguish himself all the way through his training as a gifted scholar.
at Berkley and The Ohio State University where he completed his doctoral studies in 1951.
In 1958 Fick was appointed to the first level of Monsignorate by Rome. He would be appointed to the second level in 1967. For twenty-one years, 1948-1969, Monsignor Fick also taught English at the College of St. Mary of the Springs, (now Ohio Dominican University
). Fick was immensely popular among students, introducing them to literary classics, creative writing, research and drama. A Monsignor Fick literary committee still meets at Ohio Dominican in his honor.
He was also a moderator of several literary clubs formed by graduates. He addressed the seminary section at meetings of the National Catholic Education Association and helped other seminaries as a member of various teams that were sent to inspect the status of vocational education by the US Bishops' Committee on Priestly Formation.
Fick was named chairman of the English Department of the College in 1952. In 1958 he was named academic dean. He served as Vice Rector of the combined schools of the Josephinum Campus from 1969 until 1989.
whom he met in a coffee house favored by the literary set in New York City
. Sometimes, to illustrate a point in the classroom, Fick would make references to one of these encounters. When a student grew discouraged at the horrendous amounts of red ink expended on their term papers and essays, Fick would typically tell the student to persist in his or her efforts reminding the student that "Knowledge maketh a bloody entrance," or some other quip that typically went to the heart of the matter. As editor of the The Josephinum Review, he had a standing bet with his students to pay a dollar if anyone could find a single grammatical mistake. Never one to mince words, in the midst of an attack on an alleged grammatical "mistake" in his magazine, he told one student that he "had the tact of a wet noodle
."
At times, various vice Rectors of the Josephinum (the apostolic delegate to the United State was the nominal rector) would feel under the gun to clamp down on the student's access to "worldly literature." One such episode happened after visit of Bishop McShea of Allentown, PA that led to a new vice Rector, Ralph Thompson and some strict new rules, among them a "book policy" that limited what we could read. Beyond spiritual and classroom books, students had to have a permission slip
signed by a professor for any book in their college rooms. One college student went to see Fick and asked him to sign a slip for John Dos Passos
' trilogy "USA" and with great sadness Fick told him that while he was greatly pleased that this student wanted to read such a great work of American literature in three volumes, he didn't want his signature on a permission slip for such an author given the repressive atmosphere then in place at the Josephinum. Fick sadly told the student to wait until summer, buy the book and read it during the vacation period. Former Fick students who appreciated Fick's love of literature can only imagine what it took out of him to thus deny a student who wanted to read a good book. This experience in censorship and mild repression had a profound influence on some students who never forgot what a powerful institution can do to an individual's spirit and went on to fight various institutions throughout their lives remembering Fick's resignation to powers over which a young English teacher had little influence.
In addition to his regular classes, when Fick could generate enough interest and time, he would offer a rare elective college course on the college level, World Literature. He limited the size of the class and required massive readings, though this course Fick opened up to a whole world of literature to that his students continued to enjoy into the 21st Century. The class was so good that students were still referring to their notes more than 40 years later for new things to read when they developed the literary version of the attitude Fick warned them against with the German phrase, "Ich hab schon alles gesehen." (literally, "I have already all things seen"). As late as 2007, one former Fick student reported that next to his bedside table was Gösta Berling's Saga by Selma Lagerlöf
, the first woman and the first Swede
to win the Nobel Prize
for literature in 1909.
, "What about Therese Neumann: A concise background for and analysis of the critical reception accorded Hilda C. Graef's the case of Therese Neumann," Newman Press, 1951 ASIN, B0007H5KMO In November 1988, Fick authored the definitive history of the Pontifical College Josephinum, "The Jessing Legacy, 1888-1988: A Centennial History of the Pontifical College Josephinum," ISBN 10-9998358221 through the Kairos Press.
At his beloved Josephinum, prior to his death and in recognition of his notable service to the Josephinum, the auditorium in the College's 1958 recreation building was named in his honor.
In Memoriam: Msgr. Leonard J. Fick
On Olentangy's banks he lies./
Has death yet claimed another prize,/
Fick's ghost, which passed beyond the pale/
Of human sight where senses fail/
And hope must strengthen blinded eyes?
No more will Fick's tongue fertilize/
The barren brains of those less wise/
Than he, whose flowered speech we hailed/
On Olentangy's banks.
The old man of the ocean dies/
To sail the ocean of the skies,/
A fisher on a grander scale/
Whose marlin streaks within the grail/
Of grace, so cease your tearful cries/
On Olentangy's banks.
This tribute is based upon a phrase often used by Father Fick to introduce the setting of the Pontifical College Josephinum
"on the banks of the Olentangy (river)" as well as his penchant for elevated and elaborate use of the English language and his love of Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Old Man and the Sea" which Fick thought was the greatest piece of American literature ever written. Father Fick met and drank with Ernest Hemingway
in a bar in Havana, Cuba during the course of his lifetime.
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, scholar and educator, college president, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
in Ohio whose educational career spanned for over fifty years. Fick devoted more than sixty years to the Pontifical College Josephinum
Pontifical College Josephinum
The Pontifical College Josephinum is a four-year, Roman Catholic liberal arts college and graduate school of theology founded by Monsignor Joseph Jessing in 1888 and located in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The seminary prepares its students to become priests in the Roman Catholic Church. Students come...
and is considered by many to be its most prominent 20th century graduate, scholar, administrator and leader having occupied more positions of responsibility and leadership than anyone else during that time. Father Fick, as he preferred to be called, at both Ohio Dominican University
Ohio Dominican University
Ohio Dominican University is a private four-year liberal arts institution, founded in 1911 in the Catholic and Dominican traditions. The main campus spans over in the North Central neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, United States. The university has just over 3,100 students and offers undergraduate...
, the Josephinum and other institutions and churches, in both the classroom and from the pulpit, inspired generations of English students with his witty insights into the intricacies of the English language - into writing, poetry, literature and theatre and in insights into the life of Jesus Christ and his Church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
. Fick's critical and mentoring skills were lengendary and they served to influence a host of college-educated men and women who would go on to be priests, teachers, scholars and leaders in all walks of life.
Childhood
Leonard John Fick was born in Rich Fountain, MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, on September 6, 1915. He was the oldest of the four sons of Herman and Mary Klebba Fick. His family were German-speaking Catholics. He graduated from Sacred Heart Elementary School in 1928.
Seminary education
Because of his German background, when young Leonard decided that he wanted to study to become a Catholic priest, it was only natural that he would consider a seminary founded by a German and that was still conducting some classes in German, although the institution had grown into a Pontifical College with a growing international emphasis. This seminary was the Pontifical College JosephinumPontifical College Josephinum
The Pontifical College Josephinum is a four-year, Roman Catholic liberal arts college and graduate school of theology founded by Monsignor Joseph Jessing in 1888 and located in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The seminary prepares its students to become priests in the Roman Catholic Church. Students come...
, a school founded by a German priest, Joseph Jessing
Joseph Jessing
John Joseph Jessing a German-American immigrant, who became a Catholic priest in the United States, and was a pioneer in Catholic orphanage work and Catholic education...
; Jessing, raised in Germany, distinguished himself for bravery in fierce fighting for his country and eventually founded an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
in Ohio. Out of that orphanage grew a seminary; naturally, Fick was attracted to the Josephinum.
Beginning his high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
studies in the Fall of 1929, Fick arrived at the Josephinum to begin his high school seminary studies. He would distinguish himself all the way through his training as a gifted scholar.
Academic career
When he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1941, the young priest was requested to stay on and join the teaching faculty at the Josephinum. So as a student, teacher and administrator, Fick would be associated with the Josephinum for more than 61 years. After graduating from the Seminary College, Fick went on to study English Literature at St. Louis University, the University of CaliforniaUniversity of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
at Berkley and The Ohio State University where he completed his doctoral studies in 1951.
In 1958 Fick was appointed to the first level of Monsignorate by Rome. He would be appointed to the second level in 1967. For twenty-one years, 1948-1969, Monsignor Fick also taught English at the College of St. Mary of the Springs, (now Ohio Dominican University
Ohio Dominican University
Ohio Dominican University is a private four-year liberal arts institution, founded in 1911 in the Catholic and Dominican traditions. The main campus spans over in the North Central neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, United States. The university has just over 3,100 students and offers undergraduate...
). Fick was immensely popular among students, introducing them to literary classics, creative writing, research and drama. A Monsignor Fick literary committee still meets at Ohio Dominican in his honor.
He was also a moderator of several literary clubs formed by graduates. He addressed the seminary section at meetings of the National Catholic Education Association and helped other seminaries as a member of various teams that were sent to inspect the status of vocational education by the US Bishops' Committee on Priestly Formation.
Fick was named chairman of the English Department of the College in 1952. In 1958 he was named academic dean. He served as Vice Rector of the combined schools of the Josephinum Campus from 1969 until 1989.
Teaching
Because Fick had traveled much in his studies, he had the opportunity to meet some of 20th century's great American authors including William FaulknerWilliam Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
whom he met in a coffee house favored by the literary set in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Sometimes, to illustrate a point in the classroom, Fick would make references to one of these encounters. When a student grew discouraged at the horrendous amounts of red ink expended on their term papers and essays, Fick would typically tell the student to persist in his or her efforts reminding the student that "Knowledge maketh a bloody entrance," or some other quip that typically went to the heart of the matter. As editor of the The Josephinum Review, he had a standing bet with his students to pay a dollar if anyone could find a single grammatical mistake. Never one to mince words, in the midst of an attack on an alleged grammatical "mistake" in his magazine, he told one student that he "had the tact of a wet noodle
Wet noodle
A wet noodle is a strip or string of pasta that has become soft and flaccid after being soaked in water. The term is used in a number of non-literal ways, generally based on the visual image of spaghetti noodles that are long and straight when dry, including:...
."
At times, various vice Rectors of the Josephinum (the apostolic delegate to the United State was the nominal rector) would feel under the gun to clamp down on the student's access to "worldly literature." One such episode happened after visit of Bishop McShea of Allentown, PA that led to a new vice Rector, Ralph Thompson and some strict new rules, among them a "book policy" that limited what we could read. Beyond spiritual and classroom books, students had to have a permission slip
Permission slip
A permission slip in the United States is a form that a school or other organization sends home with a student to a parent in which the parent provides authorization for minor children to travel under the auspices of the school or organization for some type of event, such as a field trip.Permission...
signed by a professor for any book in their college rooms. One college student went to see Fick and asked him to sign a slip for John Dos Passos
John Dos Passos
John Roderigo Dos Passos was an American novelist and artist.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dos Passos was the illegitimate son of John Randolph Dos Passos , a distinguished lawyer of Madeiran Portuguese descent, and Lucy Addison Sprigg Madison of Petersburg, Virginia. The elder Dos Passos...
' trilogy "USA" and with great sadness Fick told him that while he was greatly pleased that this student wanted to read such a great work of American literature in three volumes, he didn't want his signature on a permission slip for such an author given the repressive atmosphere then in place at the Josephinum. Fick sadly told the student to wait until summer, buy the book and read it during the vacation period. Former Fick students who appreciated Fick's love of literature can only imagine what it took out of him to thus deny a student who wanted to read a good book. This experience in censorship and mild repression had a profound influence on some students who never forgot what a powerful institution can do to an individual's spirit and went on to fight various institutions throughout their lives remembering Fick's resignation to powers over which a young English teacher had little influence.
In addition to his regular classes, when Fick could generate enough interest and time, he would offer a rare elective college course on the college level, World Literature. He limited the size of the class and required massive readings, though this course Fick opened up to a whole world of literature to that his students continued to enjoy into the 21st Century. The class was so good that students were still referring to their notes more than 40 years later for new things to read when they developed the literary version of the attitude Fick warned them against with the German phrase, "Ich hab schon alles gesehen." (literally, "I have already all things seen"). As late as 2007, one former Fick student reported that next to his bedside table was Gösta Berling's Saga by Selma Lagerlöf
Selma Lagerlöf
Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf was a Swedish author. She was the first female writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and most widely known for her children's book Nils Holgerssons underbara resa genom Sverige ....
, the first woman and the first Swede
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
to win the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
for literature in 1909.
Accreditation efforts for the Josephinum schools
At the Josephinum Schools, Fick could see that the institution's future was tied to its stature academically both within Catholic as well as public educational accreditation institutions. To that end, Fick undertook a long-term effort at attaining accreditation. As a direct result of his work, the Josephinum College was granted candidacy in 1972 in the North Central Association and full accreditation in 1976. This process took sixteen years of sustained and detailed effort including five self-studies and mountains of paperwork. When full accreditation was awarded it also included the Graduate School of Theology.Author and writer
Msgr Fick authored numerous papers, articles and several books. In 1947 Fick edited the school publication formerly named "The Josephinum Weekly," that had been in print since 1916, and renamed it "The Josephinum Review." Fick was editor of this magazine for twenty years and authored the editorial column on the front page as well. Fick wrote "The Light Beyond: A Study of Hawthorne's Theology," ISBN 08-83052075, a book published in 1975 by Norwood Editions. He also authored a book on the German stigmatic, Therese NeumannTherese Neumann
Therese Neumann was a German Catholic mystic and stigmatic.She was born in the village of Konnersreuth in Bavaria, Germany, where she lived all her life. She was born into a large family with little income. She was a member of the Third Order of St...
, "What about Therese Neumann: A concise background for and analysis of the critical reception accorded Hilda C. Graef's the case of Therese Neumann," Newman Press, 1951 ASIN, B0007H5KMO In November 1988, Fick authored the definitive history of the Pontifical College Josephinum, "The Jessing Legacy, 1888-1988: A Centennial History of the Pontifical College Josephinum," ISBN 10-9998358221 through the Kairos Press.
Death in 1990
Fick died from complications of heart disease in 1990. He was buried in the Josephinum Cemetery, on the grounds of the institution after a memorial service attended by over five hundred people including several bishops and over eighty priests.Legacy
Fick touched thousands of people in his capacity as a teacher, scholar, author and administrator. Ohio Dominican University (ODU), where he taught for over twenty years, continues to sponsor the Ohio Dominican Literary Committee that Fick started and hosts Ohio Dominican Literary events featuring guest speakers. ODU also started the Monsignor Leonard Fick Scholarship Fund in his honor for ODU students majoring in English. The school holds an annual Monsignor Leonard Fick Literary Brunch, which honors the late Ohio Dominican faculty member and raises funds for Literary events.At his beloved Josephinum, prior to his death and in recognition of his notable service to the Josephinum, the auditorium in the College's 1958 recreation building was named in his honor.
Poetic tribute
ON OLENTANGY'S BANKSIn Memoriam: Msgr. Leonard J. Fick
On Olentangy's banks he lies./
Has death yet claimed another prize,/
Fick's ghost, which passed beyond the pale/
Of human sight where senses fail/
And hope must strengthen blinded eyes?
No more will Fick's tongue fertilize/
The barren brains of those less wise/
Than he, whose flowered speech we hailed/
On Olentangy's banks.
The old man of the ocean dies/
To sail the ocean of the skies,/
A fisher on a grander scale/
Whose marlin streaks within the grail/
Of grace, so cease your tearful cries/
On Olentangy's banks.
This tribute is based upon a phrase often used by Father Fick to introduce the setting of the Pontifical College Josephinum
Pontifical College Josephinum
The Pontifical College Josephinum is a four-year, Roman Catholic liberal arts college and graduate school of theology founded by Monsignor Joseph Jessing in 1888 and located in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The seminary prepares its students to become priests in the Roman Catholic Church. Students come...
"on the banks of the Olentangy (river)" as well as his penchant for elevated and elaborate use of the English language and his love of Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Old Man and the Sea" which Fick thought was the greatest piece of American literature ever written. Father Fick met and drank with Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
in a bar in Havana, Cuba during the course of his lifetime.