“At Saint Peter’s, the Jesuit style of education seeks to create a desirable restlessness deep within the hearts of young men and women who study here – a lifelong restlessness caused the by haunting question: Where and how can I with my life provide the greatest service of God and my fellow men and women?”
– Rev. L. Edward Glynn, S.J.
Rev. L. Edward Glynn, S.J., 19th president of Saint Peter’s University, passed away peacefully on January 23 at home in the Maryland Province’s Colombiere Jesuit Community.
During his tenure as president from 1978 to 1990, Fr. Glynn made possible an extraordinary number of advancements that readied the University (then College) to become the thriving institution it is today, including the reestablishment and growth of graduate programs and the opening of the first residence halls. He purchased nearby apartments that converted to student residences.
A forceful advocate for social justice, Fr. Glynn was proud to lead a richly diverse student body and to enhance the diversity of the college community. An academic and an athlete, he demanded integrity and quality in and out of the classroom. While respecting the legacy of his presidential predecessors and the traditions of the then College, Fr. Glynn exerted leadership that steered Saint Peter’s to recognition far beyond the Boulevard.
Born in Clarks Summit, PA, Fr. Glynn studied classical languages at the University of Scranton. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1955, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1967. The Maryland Province Jesuits honored Fr. Glynn for celebrating 60 years in the Society of Jesus in 2015.
He earned advanced degrees from Fordham University, Woodstock College and Yale Divinity School and was awarded his doctorate of theology from the Graduate Theological Union (Berkeley, CA). He taught at Georgetown University and was a contributing editor and columnist for America magazine, as well as director of the Woodstock Theological Center and acting director of the Churches’ Center for Theology and Public Policy.
Fr. Glynn also served as president at John Carroll University and Gonzaga University, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Massachusetts Boston and was provincial of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus. In 2007, the Archbishop of Newark named Fr. Glynn the president of a newly established Cristo Rey high school, Christ the King.
Arrangements
Friday, January 29
Viewing: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
NB: Office of the Dead begins at 7:00 p.m.
Colombiere Jesuit Community (5704 Roland Avenue • Baltimore • Maryland)
Saturday, January 30
Viewing: 9:00 – 10:45 a.m.
Funeral Mass: 11:00 a.m.
St. Ignatius Church (740 N Calvert Street • Baltimore • Maryland)
Luncheon follows at the Colombiere Jesuit Community.
Burial will be at a later date at the Jesuit Cemetery in Wernersville, Pennsylvania.