Father Francis X. Grollig, S.J., 1922-2005.

I never really knew Father Grollig personally, but I knew who he was. During my hospital experiment at Colombiere, I sometimes saw Father Grollig in the dining room during breakfast or lunch, but I don't think I ever exchanged more than a couple words with him; he was a quiet man, and I got the impression he kept mostly to himself. I never knew much about Father Grollig's personal history until I read this obituary on the Chi Prov website highlighting his distinguished career in academia. Jesuits who knew him well report that he was kind and thoughtful, a good community man as well as a fine scholar and teacher. Father Grollig received a moving and dignified farewell from his fellow Jesuits in a funeral Mass this morning at Colombiere. My fellow novices and I attended, as well we should. It's a good thing for Jesuit novices to attend Jesuit funerals, just as it's good thing that we spend part of our hospital experiment in the first year of novitiate at Colombiere. By getting to know our elders and by paying our respects when they die, we come to understand better the span of Jesuit life. Seeing what our lives may be like in fifty or sixty years provides good data for discernment, letting us know what's in store for us if we persevere in this vocation. We all grow old and die, but there's something unique about growing old and dying in a religious order. That's a lesson the novices of the Chicago and Detroit Provinces learn from our brothers at Colombiere. Though long retired from the classroom, men like Francis Grollig continue to teach us. AMDG.