James Bowler Obituary – Rev. James M. Bowler, S.J., died on March 20 at the Campion Center in Weston, Mass. Fairfield University and Fairfield Prep mourn his loss. He was 84. Fr. Bowler founded and directed our Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality and facilitated Catholic and Jesuit Mission for many years at Fairfield Prep and the University. Fr. Bowler, who arrived on campus as a scholar in 1967, made significant contributions to Fairfield’s energy and spirituality. Fairfield University President Mark R. Nemec, PhD, stated he was first and foremost a friend to so many of us—a spiritual guide and counselor to students, professors, staff, and alumni. We shall miss him, but his spirit and contribution live on in the Murphy Center’s work and in so many of us.”
The Center for Ignatian Spirituality was founded on our campus in 2014 by Fr. Bowler to train Ignatian spiritual directors and provide spiritual direction to the campus community and the Diocese of Bridgeport. The Murphy Center, as it is presently, is vital to our regional university activities. Fr. Bowler taught and led Fairfield Prep before joining the University for 11 years. From 1967 to 1970, he taught history and economics before becoming principal. Fr. Bowler reorganized Fairfield Prep’s administrative structure, instituted its Christian Service program, and implemented the Profile of the Graduate at Graduation (“Grad at Grad”) philosophy, which all Jesuit Schools Network schools adopted as the foundation for Jesuit education.
“Fr. Jim Bowler revitalized Fairfield Prep’s Jesuit mission. From 1977 until 1983, Fr. Bowler embodied the contemporary Ignatian ethos via innovative initiatives and employing exceptional academic and administrative leaders that continue today, said Fairfield Prep President Christian Cashman. Jim’s return to Fairfield as a spiritual guide and mentor was crucial. We at Prep and the Murphy Center will continue his legacy of whole-person care for decades. Born February 28, 1940, in Holyoke, Mass., Fr. Bowler joined the Society of Jesus on August 14, 1965, in Shadowbrook in Lennox, Mass., and was ordained on June 8, 1974
Fr. Bowler attended three extended institutes at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1984, 1987, and 1993, in addition to his Jesuit theology studies. Before returning to Fairfield as facilitator for Faith and Mission in 1999, he worked as director of Campion Renewal Center, executive director of the National Jesuit Retreat and Renewal Ministries, and staff member at Loyola House in Guelph, Ontario, where he trained and supervised Ignatian spiritual directors. He got an honorary Doctor of Laws from Fairfield during its 68th graduation in 2018. The Murphy Center created the Rev. James M. Bowler, S.J., Award in May of that year for a career of service that epitomizes St. Ignatius of Loyola. Fr. Bowler’s funeral Mass will be livestreamed here on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Fairfield University’s Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius Loyola will host a memorial Mass at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, followed by a reception in the Barone Campus Center Oak Room.
