The National Seminar on Jesuit Higher Education especially mourns the loss of Fr. Patrick (Pat) Howell, S.J., who died peacefully from cancer on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 2019. He was 79.
Fr. Howell had served as chair and general editor of the Seminar since 2000 and during his leadership, countless women and men have continued to be formed to be leaders in mission across the AJCU network.
Born in 1940 in North Dakota, Fr. Howell recalled the move from his hometown of Lisbon to Gonzaga University in 1958 by train as the most significant turn in his life. His time at Gonzaga transformed his life and set him on his lifetime trajectory. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1961 in the midst of major change in the church and society.
“Pat was above all a Jesuit of the Second Vatican Council and was profoundly inspired by two great leaders of our times — Fr. Pedro Arrupe and Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen of Seattle,” said his Jesuit classmate Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J., who is current president of Seattle University. “He served the Society and its partners in everything he did and in a special way by his impact on the document ‘The Role of Women in Church and Society’ of General Congregation 34, which was likely the highlight of his Jesuit life.”
Fr. Howell was ordained to the priesthood in 1972. He served as principal at Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane from 1978-83. He earned a Doctorate of Ministry in Pastoral Theology from the Catholic University of America in 1985 and taught pastoral theology at Seattle University for more than 30 years and was the founding dean of SU’s School of Theology and Ministry. Named both a full and Distinguished University Professor, Fr. Howell also served as vice president for mission and ministry, he was the rector of the Arrupe Jesuit Community at Seattle University.
During a yearlong sabbatical following his term as rector, Fr. Howell went to work for America, a Jesuit publication, and was commissioned along with four other experts to translate from Italian into English Pope Francis’ profoundly influential 2013 interview with Antonio Spadaro, S.J. Available to be missioned by the provincial when asked, Fr. Howell was interim executive director of the Loyola Institute for Spirituality in Orange, Calif. He had also been the associate director and interim director of the Seattle University Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture. This academic year, a testament to his commitment to the Jesuit mission, he perceived a need and was missioned to Gonzaga University to work in Jesuit Catholic identity formation.
Fr. Howell with Conversations colleagues at a National Seminar meeting at University of San Francisco.
At the age of 35, Fr. Howell suffered a major mental breakdown which landed him in a Portland, Wash., psychiatric ward. His recovery led to his very personal and revealing book about his break, Reducing the Storm to a Whisper, and a rich ministry committed to bringing awareness and resources to people experiencing mental illness. In the Archdiocese of Seattle, for example, he led a group to ensure that mental illness awareness was a focus of priests and parishes.
Fr. Howell loved to garden and was a good and generous Jesuit brother. He was known for buying tickets to treat friends to the symphony, and loved to converse over a bowl of popcorn. He is remembered with deep affection from many people across the nation who remember his passion for lay-Jesuit collaboration and the warmth of his spirit.
To read Fr. Howell’s official obituary, click here. Seattle University is also gathering a website of tributes to Fr. Howell.