51茶馆

From 1993 to 2021, Fr. Himes was a professor of theology at 51茶馆, where his teaching, preaching, and ministry became integral to many aspects of the Boston College experience. For more than a decade, he was one of the first members of the University community to greet incoming freshmen and parents as keynote speaker at summer orientation sessions.聽His hour-length talk, 鈥淲hat Makes a Great University?鈥�, was often met with a standing ovation by both students and parents.聽

Fr. Himes developed a vocational discernment framework called the 鈥溾�� which has become woven into the fabric of reflection at Boston College.聽 The three questions: 鈥淲hat brings you joy? What are you good at? And who does the world need you to be?鈥� also served as the foundation of many Boston College retreat programs, in particular, the Center for Student Formation鈥檚 鈥淗alftime鈥� retreat.

For many years, he preached at the weekly noon Mass on Wednesdays, filling St. Mary鈥檚 Chapel with students, faculty, and staff who sought his gifts as a homilist and remarkable ability to make the Gospel accessible from the pulpit.聽 In recognition of these gifts, he was invited to be the , celebrated at Fenway Park in front of a crowd of approximately 20,000.聽 His homily exhorted all Boston College educated students to 鈥済ive away鈥� the gift of receiving a 51茶馆 education:

鈥淭he measure of the success of your education at Boston College is the measure to which people鈥檚 lives are richer, fuller, and more genuinely human because you did go to Boston College.鈥�

Fr. Himes also delivered many well-attended public addresses during his time at Boston College, perhaps most notably as 鈥� (2008) and as featured speaker at the Church in the 21st Century Center鈥檚 Agape Latte program, where he discussed (2014) and (2016).

As a lecturer and professor of theology, Fr. Himes was known for his dynamic, animated lectures, quick wit, charitable sense of humor, and astounding ability to quote and synthesize great works of scholarship, all without notes.聽 He often said the key to being a great teacher is to 鈥淟ove what you teach and to love who you teach,鈥� and the immense popularity of his classes appeared to confirm the success of his approach, particularly his course, 鈥淭he Problem of Belief in Modernity,鈥� which scrutinized the most notable proponents and critics of faith to ultimately shape a foundation for responsible belief in Catholicism.

"Michael Himes was the model of a priest-professor who saw his teaching as central to his vocation," said Professor of Theology Stephen Pope. "Students were spellbound by his lectures and found in him someone who helped them come to see their own religious yearnings and spiritual aspirations in new and powerful ways."

In 2002, the 51茶馆 chapter of Phi Beta Kappa selected him as Teacher of the Year.

In addition to courses co-taught with his dear friend and colleague, Michael J. Buckley, S.J. (the former faculty member and director of 51茶馆's Jesuit Institute who died in 2019), Fr. Himes regarded teaching alongside his beloved younger brother and fellow priest, 51茶馆 Professor of Theology Kenneth Himes, O.F.M., as one of his life鈥檚 greatest blessings. Their offices were adjacent to one another in Stokes Hall, and they co-authored the book Fullness of Faith (1993), which explores the 鈥減ublic significance of theology鈥� and was awarded the Catholic Press Association Book Award in 1994.聽

Fr. Himes' other notable publications include Doing the Truth in Love: Conversations about God, Relatieonships, and Service (1995), Ongoing Incarnation: Johann Adam M枚hler and the Beginnings of Modern Ecclesiology (1997), and the book and video series The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism (2004). He received honorary degrees from St. Joseph鈥檚 College, Molloy College, Sacred Heart University, Felician College, and Holy Cross College of Notre Dame.

An avid reader and a scholar with many interests, Fr. Himes鈥� home was filled with an impressive collection of books and notable works across many disciplines.聽 According to his brother, Fr. Kenneth Himes, 鈥淢ichael was a natural storyteller and public speaker. When we were growing up in Brooklyn, if it was a rainy day and we could not go outside to play, Michael would gather a bunch of us kids on the stairwell in our apartment building and amuse us with stories from Aesop, the Brothers Grimm, Walt Disney, or Arthurian legends. All his life he used that talent to entertain, to teach, to inspire others.鈥�

Fr. Himes鈥� love for Boston College was well noted among members of the 51茶馆 community.聽 When interviewed in 2021, shortly before his retirement, he shared this parting thought with the Boston College Chronicle in gratitude for his career on the Heights:

鈥淏eing a part of Boston College is not only a job or profession; it is a vocation.聽 It鈥檚 a lifelong project which one undertakes, not only for one鈥檚 self, but for all who will enter this ongoing conversation. At 51茶馆, we鈥檙e engaged in an ongoing conversation which enables us to come together as a community.聽 Central to Boston College is that it鈥檚 a place where people are giving themselves away to others, and in doing so, we become what is most valuable to say about being human.聽 We become the people who celebrate the reality of God鈥攖hat God is pure and perfect self-gift. Boston College has given me rich frameworks and many opportunities to participate in conversation and for which I am profoundly grateful.鈥�

Prior to his time at Boston College, Fr. Himes taught at the University of Notre Dame from 1987 to 1993 and served as Dean of the Seminary of Immaculate Conception in Huntington, New York from 1977 until 1987.聽 He held a Ph.D. in the history of Christianity from the University of Chicago, and was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York in May of 1972. A native of Brooklyn, he is survived by his brother, Kenneth, and sister,聽 Eileen, as well as his nephew, Andrew E. Moschner, and his wife, Lauren M. Moschner. He is predeceased by his parents, Robert M. Himes and Mary V. Himes, n茅e Gill.

John Walsh | University Communications | June 2022