Rev. James M. Bowler, S.J. to Receive Honorary Degree at Fairfield University’s 68th Commencement | Press Releases

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (May 1, 2018)—Fairfield University has announced Rev. James M. Bowler, S.J. will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at the University’s 68th Commencement undergraduate ceremonies on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Fr. Bowler is the former director of Fairfield University’s Center for Ignatian Spirituality and was instrumental in the Center’s founding.

The Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Fairfield will be recognizing Fr. Bowler on Friday, May 18 for a lifetime of service exemplifying the spirit of Ignatian spirituality and will establish the Rev. James M. Bowler, S.J. Award, and a fund in his name. An event will be held to commemorate this honor at the Fairfield College Preparatory School’s Student Life Center, with a 6 pm Cocktail Reception and 7 pm Dinner . Friends of Fr. Bowler and friends of the Center for Ignatian Spirituality are welcome! Tickets may be purchased at: www.fairfield.edu/bowlerdinner .

Rev. James Michael Bowler, S.J., currently serves as pastoral minister at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Charlotte, NC, focusing on spiritual direction, supervision of spiritual directors, offering the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Bowler is the former director of Fairfield University’s Center for Ignatian Spirituality and facilitator for Catholic and Jesuit Mission. Prior to his 11-year tenure at the University, he was a faculty member and then headmaster at Fairfield College Preparatory School. He served for more than 20 years in the area of spiritual direction as director of Campion Renewal Center, executive director of the National Jesuit Retreat and Renewal Ministries and as a staff member at the Guelph Center of spirituality in Ontario, where he was responsible for training and supervising spiritual directors in the Ignatian tradition. Fr. Bowler currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Loyola University New Orleans.

The Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Fairfield University welcomes those seeking to deepen their relationship with God and enrich their daily lives, and offers spiritual direction in the Ignatian tradition to guide individuals and groups in their journey toward this encounter, as St. Ignatius did, in “finding God in all things.” As part of this outreach, the Center also trains spiritual directors who assist individuals in the discernment of God’s direction in their lives. The Center’s goals are to establish a lasting infrastructure to serve as a repository of the Jesuit values foundational to the culture of Fairfield University. The Center also promotes vibrant expressions of Ignatian spirituality at individual and group levels, both on campus and in parish settings in the Diocese of Bridgeport.

Fairfield University is a modern, Jesuit Catholic university rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from the U.S. and across the globe are pursuing degrees in the University’s five schools. Fairfield embraces a liberal humanistic approach to education, encouraging critical thinking, cultivating free and open inquiry, and fostering ethical and religious values. The University is located on a stunning 200-acre campus on the scenic Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.