Ministry Then & Now
Then: +Friar John Loftus (1908 – 1969)
Friar John Loftus studied at Mount St. Francis (located in southern Indiana). He professed first vows in 1927, studied philosophy and theology at Rensselaer, NY, and was ordained in Albany NY in 1932. He continued his education at St. John’s College in Toledo OH, the University of Notre Dame, and Catholic University in Washington. For many years he served as an English teacher at Mount St. Francis, interrupting his classroom duties to serve as a military chaplain in Europe during WWII.
In 1950, Friar John joined the staff at Bellarmine College (now University) in Louisville KY, later becoming Dean and Vice-President. He was a good friend of Thomas Merton, the well-known Trappist author. Merton left all his writings to Bellarmine, now permanently held at its Merton Center.
Friar John was an outstanding educator and promoter of the arts. He also was a leader in civil rights and ecumenism. He worked to help achieve integration goals, participated in the 1965 Selma to Montgomery civil rights march, lobbied for a Public Accommodation Bill, and more.
About two months prior to his death, Fr. John wrote the following memo to his students:
The sum of my years: Reading - wondering - puzzling - trying - winning - losing - loving - being loved. Francis - Christ - Pope John - JFK & RFK & Martin Luther King - Merton, and always Horrigan (founding Pres. of Bellarmine Un) - stars in my nights. Friars - fellow priests - teachers - colleagues - the Sacrament of Fellowship. War and race and shame and fear and hope. Friends who understood and helped by silence, most of all, students, how many there have been! Faces blurred in retrospect. But always students - my life - my meaning - my reward - my hope - my promise.
While preparing to take part in a panel discussion on television station WLKY in Louisville, Father John suffered a stroke and died en route to the hospital on January 7, 1969. He was 60 years old.
Now: Friars John Pozhathuparambil and George Munjanattu
Friar John Loftus would be pleased to know that Conventual Franciscans are still present at Bellarmine.
Friar John P. is the Director of Campus Ministry while Friar George serves as a Campus Minister. Both friars come from Kerala, India. Friar Adam Bunnell, working at Bellarmine as the President’s special assistant for international and interfaith relations, initiated a cooperative effort with the friars in Kerala. Franciscan Friars from Kerala arrived in Louisville in 2010 and initially lived and ministered at St. Paul Church on Dixie Highway. (Friar Shaju Puthussery is the current pastor at St. Paul.)
In addition to being the Director of Campus Ministry, Friar John P. teaches in the Theology Department. Friar John P. received Bellarmine’s Hospitality Award (2016), the Interfaith Path to Peace Award (2021), and the Inclusive, Innovative, and Intercultural Teaching Award (2022).
As well as serving in Campus Ministry, Friar George is the pastor at Holy Family Parish in Louisville. In 2023, Fr. George received his PhD in Leadership in Higher Education from Bellarmine University.
