Michael Doody, S.J., and Bernard Barry, S.J., resigned from their posts at Saint Louis University in May. While their departures leave gaps to be filled in the SLU community, both Doody and Barry made contributions to SLU that will continue to foster the mission of the Jesuits at the University as the two priests continue their work elsewhere.
Doody came to SLU in 1989. Of his 16 years at the University, he spent 11 as the director of campus ministry.
Doody lived in Griesedieck Hall, and he “knew every student who lived in Gries by name,” said Lisa Reiter, interim director of Campus Ministry. At this time, there were no resident advisors or residence life staff living in the building. Doody was the only adult living in Griesedieck, and he “was the go-to person in the middle of the night…he made a lot of trips to the hospital,” Reiter said.
After his first semester at SLU, Doody began the tradition of the 10 p.m. student Mass, which started out in the ballroom beneath the St. Francis Xavier College Church, because the upper church was being renovated. Approximately 20 to 30 students attended the first 10 p.m. Masses, Reiter said. When the renovations to the College Church were completed, the 10 p.m. Mass crowd averaged about 200 students—and when Reiter arrived at SLU in 1992, attendance had grown upwards of 700 students.
Doody is credited with creating the Food Drive, an annual project that involves raising food and money for the hungry as well as awareness of the causes of hunger—a problem that affects people very close to our campus.
Doody also brought the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults to SLU’s campus during his earliest years at the University. The RCIA gives individuals the opportunity to learn about the Catholic Church, preparing them to make the decision to become a part of the church.
Doody was named director of campus ministry in 1991. This appointment was a “transition point in terms of the professionalization of the department,” Reiter said.
“The staff he hired came in with experience and academic credentials, in terms of doing ministry,” Reiter said. “So what you see is an ability, under his leadership, to really reach out to the entire campus…Campus ministry became a place where lots of student groups could get involved.”
Doody’s emphasis on Ignatian spirituality shaped campus ministry programming. He instituted the eight-day and 30-day silent retreats, which take participants through the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius.
While Jesuits are already familiar with Ignatian spirituality, Doody wanted the lay people on the campus ministry staff to have experience with the spiritual exercises and its four themes, which form the basis of the Jesuit mission of becoming “men and women for others.”
Doody was also involved with student groups: He served as the moderator of the rugby club and the moderator of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
Like Doody, Barry lived among the students. He started out in Marguerite, which was primarily a freshman dorm when he arrived at SLU in 1998.
Barry’s strength was “being available and present to students,” Reiter said. “He had a great warmth with the students, and I think they related very very well to him.”
When he came to SLU, Barry had just completed his masters in divinity, and had not yet been ordained.
“It was kind of fun to watch him first be ordained a deacon, to then when he was ordained a priest, and actually being able to preside at liturgy,” Reiter said. “I think he would also say that his homilies improved. Whenever you’re doing something new, it takes a little bit of time to find your stride.”
Barry was involved with student groups as the first and only chaplain for the Student Government Assocation. He was also the moderator of SLU Students for Life, back when the organization’s annual trip to the March for Life in Washington, D.C. was “just four or five students in a van,” Reiter said. “The student leadership in the program has really grown, but it needed the support and structure of a moderator.”
For the past four years, Barry lived in DeMattias Hall, with the same “availability and presence” that he had in Marguerite. “They’re going to miss him,” Reiter said.
Student Sarah Friedman, who was a resident advisor in DeMattias Hall during the 2004-2005 school year, said that Barry’s “dedication to the Greeks was impeccable, and he was always available for any student. He will be greatly missed by DeMatt and all of the Greek community.”
Many DeMattias residents gathered with Barry every Tuesday at 10 p.m. for Mass, and pizza afterward. Barry also said Mass at parents’ weekends and other special events for several fraternities and sororities.
Barry was “a face everybody knew,” said senior Brian Strassburger, president of the Inter-Fraternity Council and a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. “He could relate to us.”
Barry created a retreat to unite the Greek community and help the Greeks realize that “no matter what fraternity or sorority we’re in, we have the common ground of our faith,” Strassburger said.
Barry was also involved in Greek life as the moderator of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity and the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. Delta Sigma Phi member Eric Barr said that Barry was always willing to “go to bat” for the fraternity when they needed him, and that the fraternity has felt effects of Barry’s departure.
“Barry was a good fit for all Greeks. He was not afraid to call them to task,” Reiter said.
And, in the midst of all these things, Barry taught a class in the John Cook School of Business. He will join the business school faculty at Fordham University in New York this fall as an assistant dean, teaching finance and accounting courses.
“I have enjoyed my time here and will miss the students, my fellow campus ministers and many others,” Barry said. “Working with the Greeks was a pleasure. These energetic men and women give a lot to the University and get little recognition for it. This was my first assignment as a priest, and I will always treasure these past seven years. In spite of all that has transpired over the past few months, I wish the best for the University.”
