The Cavalier daily :: Tuesday, November 17, 1970 :: University of Virginia Library

For eleven years "the lost professor"
has been roaming the Grounds offering
help and love to the University
community. Just who is this man with
the flowing white beard who pedals his
way into the hearts of so many students
on a three-speed bicycle?

Sure, everyone knows it's Father
Stickle, who is always seen with his
faithful German Shepherd named Star.
But to get a more substantial view of
what makes Father Stickle tick, a couple
of us switched the usual positions, and
got him to confess what is important to
him.

A Different Approach

One student has said that St. Thomas
probably has the largest Jewish
congregation of any Catholic church in
the United States. This statement seems
to me to best illustrate Father Stickle's
approach to the University Community.

It's not as important whether the
students who come to the Father or St.
Thomas are Catholic or Hindu, as the fact
that they have a place where they can
approach their religion on the intellectual
level they are accustomed to.

Religious Education

When he was sent to be Chaplain of
Catholic studies here at the University in
1959, this enthusiastic teacher, who has a
M.A. in history, wanted to create a
religious community based on the
common educational background which
we enjoy here. To him it is highly
unfortunate that most religious education
stops on an elementary or high school
level. He wants St. Thomas to provide
more than that for the students here.

St. Thomas has come a long way since
Father Stickle first held services at
Newman House on Jefferson Park
Avenue. When his congregations grew
larger, services were held at the Red Cross
Center.

It came to the point where he felt he
had to decide whether to become totally
involved within the University or take
some time and build larger quarters. At this
time the Catholic community here was growing
faster than the University community.

St. Thomas Hall

When Father Stickle decided to build a
larger parish he chose the more difficult but
probably more rewarding alternative. If you
haven't seen the parish that was completed in
1967 it would be worth your while to stop by
St. Thomas Hall at Kent and Alderman roads.

Father Stickle has much to do with the
physical design as well as the internal structure
of the new parish. The building embodies many
of his long-held beliefs as to what a church is
and should be.

Altar And Pulpit

He sees the church primarily as a shelter for
the people who come to gather around "the
table of the Lord's supper." Thus the "table"
or alter should be the first thing one sees when
he enters the sanctuary. In designing the
church, he tried to figure out how large the
congregation ("we") would be and find a design
where the "table" would be most accessible to
that number of people.

He sees the pulpit as a place for teaching, so
the teacher should be audible and visible. It is
with these ideas in mind that the triangle shape
for the sanctuary evolved, which places the
altar in the center and the pulpit on one side in
full view of the other two sides but also on an
equal basis with them.

An Interest In People

But I think there are other reasons besides
the unusual beauty of the church which
prompted one student to tell Father Stickle
that this was the first time in his life that he
had ever wanted to go to church.

Father Stickle's attitude towards life seem
to radiate from the pulpit and strike a common
chord with many of the students. Perhaps the
most important and amazing thing to realize
about him is that he does not see his activities
outside the church as being at all separated
from his life within the parish.

As one student said, Father Stickle has
become very close to many people outside the
church. This is due to the fact that, in his own
words, he mixes with people because he is
interested in seeing them, and sharing with
them.

Indeed, he is happy that students will come
up and talk to him for the first time as if they
had known him intimately. He feels for them,
reacts to them, and goes to them.

To Help Another

The basis of Father Stickle's philosophy is
beautiful. To him, going to other people is
doing what he can to make them happier, or
"more aware." This is, therefore, never
something that is carried on "outside" the
church.

He feels that every man comes to a point in
his life when he asks himself whom he has
helped. "Hell" for man, to him, is when no one
has benefited from contact with him. And if
he realizes that he has helped even one person,
thus making the world better, then this is
enough reason to have lived.

Father Stickle enjoys the people here at the
University. He gets an especially warm feeling
when he rides along Emmet Street beneath the
overpass. However, this special warmth may not
be good as far as relations with the rest of
Charlottesville are concerned.

Political Views

There are many people who don't agree with
Father Stickle's political views. Back in 1965
when he went to Selma, Alabama, a
Charlottesville member of his congregation
actually almost had a nervous breakdown
because the Father had gone.

Father Stickle himself regards his ideas as
"cautious and unimaginative." But as we look
at some of them, we find that they are unusual
and creative.

He believes, for instance, that being able to
laugh in church is very important. As he has
pointed out, Jesus brought us joy, and wanted
us to be happy in our worship.

Sensitivity To Social Conditions

One of his favorite examples for this point is
the pictures in most Sunday school books,
which rarely show smiling faces. "Don't let the
children see these," he says.

"Peace" to Father Stickle, or "the peace
movement," or whatever you want to call it, is
a part of the gospel. Therefore it is in the
foundation of the church.

As for the Vietnam war, he can't understand
how we hope to achieve the goals we claim to
want. The way we are doing it now is morally
wrong, find he feels there are many more
effective economic, cultural, and political ways
of achieving the peace we desire.

"If indeed our goal is to provide an
opportunity for freedom, it would be less
expensive to deal with the problem on its own
terms." At the same time, he is not "after
peace," for this is to him just another kind of
war.

It is such concerns about how to achieve the
essence of peace in the world that led Father
Stickle to activities such as the Selma March,
and to be instrumental informations of the
"Candlelight Procession" here at the University
last year.

Father Stickle

Sports Added Growth On Face Now

At Selma he became more sensitive to social
conditions, and had vivid reactions which he
had never felt before. This he feels is a positive
influence, and he wishes more people could
experience an awakening such as this.

Father Stickle has some encouraging
thoughts about how the University has changed
since he came here. He sees the most significant
change in the fact that the University
community as a whole has become more aware
of social problems than it has ever been.

He feels that the Good Neighbor Pledge
Campaign in 1967-68 was a major influence in
this change. The campaign was conducted by
the Fair Housing Committee which grew out of
the Council on Human Relations and involved
about 700 people, mostly from the University
Community. Every house in Charlottesville was
canvassed and there were more people involved
from St. Thomas' than all of the other churches
combined.

Concern For The Future

He would like to see this type of concern
become a permanent characteristic of the
University, and thinks that it will. He hopes
young people will never lose this concern in
their lifetimes. To him failure for them will be
if they forget their commitments when they
are in positions of power.

"The past belongs to no one." Only the
future belongs to you. If you can help shape
something, that makes it to some extent yours.
This philosophy of Father Stickle's can be
illustrated by the situation he feels has
developed with the coming of women to the
University.

The decline in the importance placed on
traditional dress, although in itself an
insignificant matter, seems to him characteristic
of other changes that have occurred. This trend
has happened mostly within the past three
years or so.

Leadership In The Community

He thinks having girls here is a great thing,
and that it makes the environment more real.
But he sees a self-consciousness, which should
wear off, that makes things unnatural for the
moment.

He feels the women admitted here so far are
generally particularly aware of their role, and
are therefore more determined to do well. To
him people who have the nerve to lead
something like this are a definitely different
kind of person from those to whom coming
here didn't make much difference. He admires
the person who is conscious of being involved
in the process of change.

This fits next to his idea about the
leadership of a community. "The leader is one
who perceives a goal, and then articulates it and
sets it up for a number of people. He can make
practical the means to the achievement of that
common goal."

Father Stickle wants to do this not only in
Christian terms, but also in whatever terms are
necessary. To him this is true public service.