Jesuit Father Frank Haig, beloved Loyola physics professor, dies at 95

Jesuit Father Frank R. Haig, a beloved professor of physics at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore and a former president of two Jesuit universities, died Feb. 28. He was 95 and had been living in the Manresa Jesuit Community in Philadelphia.

Father Haig, president of what was then Wheeling College in West Virginia from 1966 to 1969, taught physics at Loyola from 1972 to 1981 before leaving Baltimore’s Jesuit university to serve as president of Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. The Philadelphia native returned to teach at Loyola in 1987 and was named professor emeritus of physics in 2005. He continued teaching at the university for another 14 years.

In a video recorded in 2010, Father Haig recalled a story told to him by family members about how at age 5 he had already declared that he wanted to be a Jesuit astrophysicist when he grew up.

“It’s been a human interest from as far back as we can go to look at the sky and to look at the stars,” Father Haig said in the video. “To study physics is to look at a universe that is an explosive world of extravagant spontaneity, a reality bursting with variety and overwhelming originality, a fullness overflowing with a multiplicity of the unexpected and the astonishing.”

Dr. Joseph Ganem, a physics professor at Loyola who knew Father Haig well, said the priest was a driving force behind Loyola’s yearly conference, “Cosmos and Creation,” launched in 1982.

“Frank followed the Jesuit view of the science of astronomy as a way to get closer to God – a way to better understand God’s creation – which was also a principle that was espoused by astronomer Johannes Kepler in his work,” Ganem said.

Father Haig was known for his sense of humor, playing Elton John’s “Rocket Man” at the start of every astronomy class.

“When I was department chair, I had to turn down requests from students who wanted into his classes because they were so full,” Ganem recalled.

He added that Father Haig performed the marriages of some of his students.

“He was a very engaging person,” Ganem said.

Philip Forte, who met Father Haig in 1974 when he took one of the professor’s physics classes, said Father Haig had a commanding knowledge of the subject matter and a sense of compassion for his students.

“As a young adjunct instructor of mathematics at Loyola, I would often see Father Haig on campus, who would make time to chat with this very junior faculty member,” Forte remembered. “In later years, Father Haig would always make it a point to join in on Loyola’s milestone reunions and convocations.”

Forte said his friend concelebrated at his father’s funeral Mass at St. Benedict in Southwest Baltimore.

Teresa Wilkins studied under Father Haig while enrolled in the Modern Studies program and took an astronomy course with him.

“I had written a paper about Pluto and had some tongue-in-cheek remarks included about how Pluto always seemed to be treated as ‘less than’ – before it was removed as a planet,” she said. “Father Haig urged me to publish the paper because he thought it had merit and was funny.”

While Wilkins never followed through with her professor’s suggestion, his encouragement boosted her confidence, she said.

Father Haig entered the Society of Jesus at the Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues in Wernersville, Pa., in 1946. After graduating from Woodstock College in Woodstock, Md., he received his licentiate in philosophy from Bellarmine College in Plattsburgh, N.Y. and his doctorate in physics from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He also earned a bachelor of sacred theology and a licentiate in sacred theology from Woodstock College where he was ordained a priest June 19, 1960.

In 2016, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Washington Academy of Sciences. He also served on the Scientific and Educational Council of the Maryland Academy of Science.

During his presidency at Le Moyne, Father Haig was known for his outreach and sensitivity to indigenous peoples. He was instrumental in establishing an annual lecture on the Iroquois, providing scholarship aid for Native American students, and promoting a 1985 Kateri Tekakwitha conference that brought 2,500 to campus, the university reported. 

Father Haig was the younger brother of Alexander Haig, who served as President Richard Nixon’s chief of staff, President Gerald Ford’s chief of staff and President Ronald Reagan’s secretary of state.

As a Jesuit who took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, Father Haig could not inherit anything from his older brother’s estate when Alexander Haig died in 2010. He did, however, use funds from a $1 million gift to create the Alexander M. Haig Jr. Endowment for Science, Faith and Culture at Loyola.

Father Haig was a former weekend associate at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. He also assisted at other parishes and was involved in ministry to the Spanish-speaking community in the archdiocese.

In a written statement, Loyola President Terrence Sawyer said Father Haig found great joy in teaching, “and he had a love of learning that can be an inspiration to all of us.”

“We are also fortunate to have benefited from the creative and strategic ways in which he and his family contributed to strengthening Loyola,” Sawyer said.

An 11 a.m. funeral Mass will be offered March 9 at St. Matthias Church, Bala Cynwyd, Pa. It will be preceded by a visitation at 10 a.m. A livestream will be available at https://saintmatthias.org/live-stream.

Robert Alan Glover contributed to this article. 

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

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