Rev. Frank Haig, S.J., professor emeritus of physics, celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination on June 19, 2010.
Fr. Haig, who joined Loyola’s faculty in 1973, was ordained in the Maryland Province at Woodstock College. He was one of approximately 15 priests ordained at Woodstock that day.
Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Fr. Haig holds an undergraduate degree from Woodstock; a Ph.L. from Bellarmine College; a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics from the Catholic University of America; and an S.T.L. from Woodstock. He joined the physics department at Wheeling Jesuit University in 1963 and served as Wheeling’s president from 1966-1972. He is the younger brother of late United States Secretary of State Alexander Haig, and also had an older sister, Regina Haig Meredith, an attorney who passed away in 2008.
Looking back on his life as a priest, Fr. Haig is grateful for the opportunities he has had to explore his relationship with God and to support others in their spiritual journeys.
“It’s a very profound type of experience,” he said. “As a priest, you are trying to get close to God, to have contact with Jesus Christ, and to lead others in having these types of relationships. It really goes right to the heart of you.”
Fr. Haig, whose ordination occurred just two years prior to the Second Vatican Council, has witnessed an abundance of change in the Church, most recently the growing Latin American influence on the Church in the United States.
“It’s fortunate I studied Spanish in high school,” said Fr. Haig, who celebrates two Masses each Sunday, one in English, one in Spanish. “The wonderful thing is that at the Spanish Mass, the average age is about 15, compared with 65 for the English Mass.”
Fr. Haig remains active in the University community, and continues to enjoy the vibrant energy of campus life. “Being on campus reminds me of the end of Peter Pan, after Wendy has grown up, and she sends her young daughter off to Neverland in her place. The spirit of youth is eternal, it’s just the individual people who change,” he said. “You really get to experience that in education.”
Fr. Haig and the Loyola Jesuit Community will mark this milestone with a private celebration in July, while a larger anniversary event will be scheduled for a later date.
For more information or questions regarding this story, contact Media Relations Manager Nick Alexopulos at nalexopulos@loyola.edu or 410-617-5025.