A Jesuit Who Left The Society To Be Married, Passes Away

Loyola community mourns the death of John Felice
By: Anthe Mitrakos
Posted: 2/6/08

John P. Felice, founder of the Rome Center and beloved friend, mentor and colleague to many, died Thursday at the age of 84 in his home in Glenview, Ill. Felice had been working with a team of cardiologists at Loyola Medical Center throughout his battle with heart complications. His wife Kate was by his side when he died.

Felice left the Jesuit order so that he could marry his wife Kate Klosterman but carried Ignatian beliefs at heart throughout his life. Born to Paul and Ana Farrugia Felice Sept. 6, 1923, he spent most of his child and adulthood on the small island off Malta, off the coast of Sicily before serving in the British Armed Forces during World War II.

Felice wrote on his Web site of his years spent as a Jesuit: "They crystallized in me the enduring value that the fulfillment of one's life on earth is to be found in the total giving of one's self to others." Felice founded the Rome Center, then known as CIVIS (Casa Italiana Viaggi Internazionali Studenti), in January 1962 on the site of the 1960 Olympic Village. In 1978 the campus was moved to a residential neighborhood on Via Massimi, where it has remained since. Felice dedicated more than 40 years of his life to the preservation of the Rome Center, which celebrated its 45th anniversary in January, and continued to serve as an active steward of the Rome Center even after his retirement in 1998. "It was a miracle that John Felice founded the Rome Center," director of the JFRC, Emilio Iodice, Ph.D., said. For many of the 120,000 JFRC alumni, Felice will be remembered as an influential friend and mentor. "I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say that John Felice was one of the most memorable persons in any of our lives. Who can ever forget his dominant personality, his all-consuming passion for the institution he created and his obvious love for all of the students who came under his protective wing?" said Joe Winter, a CIVIS alumnus of '64. "John Felice was ... is ... and will always be a legend to all of us who went to and fell in love with Rome." "Dr. Felice knew all too well how we were about to have life changing experiences in the Eternal City. Fast forward some 26 years, my wife and I had the pleasure of taking our three children to Rome for Christmas holiday in December 2006," said Vince Driessen a JFRC alumnus of '81. "I e-mailed Dr. Felice several months in advance to get his advice on several details. He personally called me several times, following up to help in any way he could. He was always very gracious and generous with his time and wisdom." Felice will be missed by the Loyola community and his lasting influence remembered by many. "The university lost one of its best educators, staff members, cheer-leader and exemplar of our promise 'to prepare people to lead an extraordinary life,'" said the Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., Loyola University Chicago president. "His was an extraordinary life … of service and love. I truly mean every word of this." "John Felice led an extraordinary life which was filled with action, compassion, courage, creation, planning, building and most of all wisdom, dedication and love for God, his fellow man and the splendid companion who was always by his side," Iodice said. Felice's words of wisdom are kept in mind by the many who had the pleasure of meeting and working with the great figure throughout his time of dedication and involvement in Loyola's Rome Center program. His generous heart, spiritual guidance and charismatic smile will be remembered by those he touched:"Please never forget that as long as I live and even more so after I am gone, you and your loved ones are always in my prayers," Felice said in a letter in 2003, "You are my family, my friends and all that I have." Felice will be buried at Internment Riverview Cemetery in Portland, Ore. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the John Felice Rome Center New Campus Fund or the John P. and Mary K. Felice Scholarship Endowment. "In closing, I simply wish to underline again my great affection for you and my gratitude for our common journey together," said Felice at JFRC's 40th anniversary event in 2003. "In the words of an earlier traveler to Rome, St. Paul: 'There are three things that last … faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.'"Funeral services for John P. Felice will be held Thursday Feb. 7 at Madonna della Strada Chapel on the Lake Shore campus of Loyola University Chicago. Visitation will begin at 4 p.m. and Mass will begin at 7 p.m. A reception following the Mass will be held in Mundelein Theatre. In addition, the Mass will be streamed live on the Web and can be viewed by visiting the Loyola University home page at luc.edu and clicking on the link under the "news and events" section.
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