Inducted in 2013
Prep Counselor & Teacher (1970-1989)
Educator & Administrator, Various Jesuit Institutions

Induction Video

For nearly two decades, they called him counselor, teacher, theologian, philosopher-priest and wise man. Some even called him a mystic among us. And in fairness to the Fordham Prep boys of the 1970s and 80s, not one of those appellations missed the mark.

Rev. James Thomas Patrick Griffin, SJ was born in Manhattan on March 16, 1914 to James Griffin, Sr. and Delia Carney Griffin. The Griffins were the parents of three: James, Virginia and Frank. The elder James, a streetcar conductor, died when his children were still young. The widowed Delia moved to the Bronx where she took in boarders to support her family.

Young Jim Griffin attended Regis High School before entering the Society of Jesus on August 14, 1931, beginning his novitiate at Wernersville, Pennsylvania. He continued his studies at Woodstock College in Maryland between 1935 and 1938, and spent his regency studying at Fordham and teaching at St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia. Griffin completed his theological studies in Weston, Massachusetts, and was ordained on June 17, 1944.

After a time in Rome, Father began an eight-year stint teaching theology at Woodstock where he would begin serving Fordham Prep indirectly by teaching theology to a number of Jesuits who would go on to serve the Prep Faculty. Then, in 1956, Griffin was assigned to the Pacific, teaching at San Jose Seminary and Ateneo de Manila University. His work as a seminary teacher in the Philippines, it was noted by the Society, would help to lay the foundation for a “strong native clergy” in that country.

In 1970, Fordham Prep was blessed to have Griffin join the faculty as a member of the Religious Studies Department and a student counselor — positions he held until 1989. Father would also serve as the chaplain for the gridiron Rams, a position in which he took great delight.  Whether in the classroom, his counselor's office, or even at a game, two constant themes of Father's teaching would leave their mark on many a student from the '70s and '80s: the immanence of the transcendent, and the undeniability of human dignity. 

Even as Fr. Griffin’s physical condition deteriorated in his later years, his love of teaching endured. He eventually needed to move to the Jesuit infirmary in Murray Weigel Hall. Undeterred by his limitations and powered by his commitment to his students, Father would have the students in his senior existentialism course assemble with him at Murray Weigel for class.

In the words of former student Matthew Acampora, Class of 1975: “Father was a truly spiritual man of God. He lived on a daily basis what it meant to be a Catholic.”   Acampora went on to recall Griffin and his profound daily presence at the Prep: how he would sit there in the Commons for hours, ”always surrounded by a group of wide-eyed boys” — listening, thinking and asking questions. “I was blessed to have known him," Matt concluded.  Many former students have echoed these sentiments.

When Father Griffin celebrated his Golden Jubilee as a Jesuit in 1981, Rev. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus, wrote to him in congratulations:

Your fifty years of service have been truly edifying and a source of great grace to your brothers in the Lord. The selfless service of yours both at Woodstock and in the Philippines cannot go without special mention. The life a seminary professor is so often unrecognized, and yet, without such dedicated teaching, the work of the Church and of the Society would be impossible.

Despite your untimely affliction, you have continued in the service of Christian youth as a devoted teacher and counselor at Fordham Prep. Your example of courage and determination has been an inspiration to your students and to the Fordham Community.

Fr. James T. Griffin died on August 5, 1993. He is buried in Auriesville, New York.