Renown Storyteller Jay O'Callahan Performs "Father Joe: A Hero's Journey" at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Archives & Special Collections department at Holy Cross will present renown storyteller Jay O'Callahan at 8 p.m. on Veteran's Day, Tuesday Nov. 11, 2003 in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom. O'Callahan will perform "Father Joe: A Hero's Journey," the story of Holy Cross math and physics professor, Rev. Joseph T. O'Callahan, S.J., Navy Chaplain, who earned a Medal of Honor during WWII. This event is free and open to the public.

Fr. O'Callahan was the first Jesuit from the New England Province to enter the Navy during WWII. On March 19, 1945, he was onboard the U.S.S. Franklin when the ship was attacked by a Japanese bomber. He was injured while rescuing shipmates and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions. O'Callahan left the Navy in late 1946. He later returned to Holy Cross to teach philosophy. In 1956, he wrote a book, titled I was Chaplain on the Franklin, recounting his experiences.

Jay O'Callahan ‘60, Fr. O'Callahan's nephew, is a professional storyteller whose performance credits include Lincoln Center, The Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Winter Olympics, and the Abby Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Hailed as a "genius among storytellers," by the New York Times, O'Callahan writes all of the stories he performs. In 1991, he received a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, in the category of "solo theatrical performance." His audio recordings have won numerous awards, including the ALA/Carnegie Award, the Birmingham International Educational Film Festival Award, the Indie Award, and the Parent's Choice Classics Award.

In "Father Joe," O'Callahan re-enacts that fateful day on the Franklin, interweaving his narrative with personal reminiscences of his uncle during his student days at Holy Cross. O'Callahan draws the audience into the story with his re-creation of "bursting explosions, the bewilderment of the sailors, the flames scudding about as though alive, the sight of smoke and burning flesh, the intense battering and subsequent shaking on that ‘burning city,' the Franklin." The story concludes with his uncle emerging "a figure of extraordinary calm amid chaos who snaps sense into the men, creates order from disorder, and again and again risks his own life to save others."

This event is being presented in conjunction with the College Archives exhibit, Our Greatest Generation: Holy Cross and WWII. The exhibit chronicles the events and changes that occurred on the Holy Cross campus during WWII, and the experiences of the College's alumni and military chaplains. Photographs, papers and other objects from the College Archives, as well as photographs and souvenirs lent by alumni and friends are included in the exhibit. Highlights include the Medals of Honor awarded to Fr. O'Callahan and Marine Lt. John V. Power '41. The exhibit, located in the second floor corridor of Dinand Library, will run until June, 2004. Admission to the exhibit is free and the public is welcome.

Cassette tapes and CDs of the "Fr. Joe" story will be available for purchase after the performance.

The normal hours for Dinand Library are Sunday - Thursday 8:30 a.m. – 1:00 a.m., Friday and Saturday 8:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. For the latest information, see: www.holycross.edu/departments/library/website/hours.html

For additional information please contact the College Archives at 508 793-2506 or visit the department's website at: www.holycross.edu/departments/library/website/archives/index.html