In Update #29, I covered our filming aboard two museum ships in Massachusetts — the USS Massachusetts (BB-59) and the USS Salem (CA-139) — as well as at the College of the Holy Cross and with Father Joseph O’Callahan’s nephew, Jay O’Callahan. Father O’Callahan, the Catholic chaplain aboard the USS Franklin (CV-13), received the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary actions under fire on 19 March 1945.
In planning those interviews, I focused on three aspects of Father O’Callahan’s legacy: his academic contributions, reflected in the O’Callahan Science Library; his military legacy, carried forward by the O’Callahan Society; and his family legacy, explored with Jay O’Callahan. Yet one important perspective was still missing: I had yet to speak with members of his own order, the Jesuits, to understand his religious legacy.
Wanting to fill that gap, I sought input from Peter, Sarah, and Lisa (mentioned in Update #29) about Jesuits previously or currently associated with the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA who were best positioned to speak about Father O’Callahan, and potentially willing to be interviewed. Acting on one of their recommendations, I connected with Father Earle Markey, S.J., a 1953 graduate of the college.
Father Markey is something of a legend at Holy Cross and in Massachusetts. After an outstanding collegiate basketball career at Holy Cross — including serving as team captain following Bob Cousy — he was drafted by the Boston Celtics.
It was a choice that made headlines: he turned down the NBA to become a Jesuit priest.
You can catch a glimpse of Father Markey in trailers here and here for a documentary about the acclaimed 1940s-1950s Holy Cross basketball team, College Basketball’s Purple Reign.
Father Markey entered the Jesuit Order upon his graduation from Holy Cross and served his regency by teaching and coaching at Ateneo de Zamboanga University in the Philippines, 1957–1960. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1963, he taught Theology for four years at the Ateneo de Manila, another Jesuit university in the Philippines.
Returning to the U.S. in 1971, he taught and served as principal at his high school alma mater, St. Peter’s Prep, a Jesuit preparatory school in New Jersey. In 1976, Father Markey returned to Holy Cross and served in a succession of roles — Associate Dean, Dean of Students, Vice President of Student Affairs, and Associate Director of Admissions, Jesuit Relations — before retiring in 2023 after more than 45 years of service to the college.
Although Father Markey’s illustrious career as a Jesuit gave him decades of experience from which to reflect on Father O’Callahan’s legacy, what made his personal account especially relevant to the documentary was his time as a student at Holy Cross, when Father O’Callahan was still teaching there.
Everybody around Worcester knew about him, you know,” he told us. Though he never had a class with Father O’Callahan, Father Markey would see him regularly. “In ’49, I was a freshman. I had a class in Alumni Hall, and Father O’Callahan was teaching a class on the same corridor. And I would see him three times a week in front of his classroom.”
To Father Markey, it was apparent that the war had taken a toll on Father O’Callahan. “The war left him not complete, not whole. He was maybe 80% of himself. There’s no question that the war hit his nerves or whatever. And we all knew that, and we all had a great reverence for him.”
Father Markey reflected on how Father O’Callahan’s actions aboard the Franklin were a natural expression of the Jesuit philosophy of service. “Every Jesuit,” he explained, “is termed ‘a man for others.’ Our life is to be a life dedicated to the help of other people.” For Father Markey, this was the lens through which Father O’Callahan’s heroism should be understood.
When asked what he wanted viewers of the documentary to know about Father O’Callahan, he was direct: “I would like them to know that his motives were the motives of Saint Ignatius in founding the Jesuits, that the question of service, he could see as a very attractive opportunity.” Father Markey also offered a simple measure by which he judges any Jesuit: “If you say to me, is he a good Jesuit? I say, well, what did he do for somebody? That’s the first question.” By that measure, Father O’Callahan’s actions aboard USS Franklin stand as a compelling example of the service Father Markey described.
Our interview with Father Markey concluded, and I gave him my thanks for his willingness to participate in the documentary.
I also extend my thanks to the Jesuit Superior at the residence who signed the Location Release, and to the Jesuits and staff who arranged a space for the interview and assisted with scheduling and logistics.
We packed up our gear and restored the room to its original configuration. This was our final interview in the production phase of the documentary, a quiet, reflective ending to work that began with the first interview seven years, one month, and 26 days prior. Zach took a selfie to mark the occasion.
We went to a nearby Pho restaurant for a warming lunch on that chilly January day. Then we dropped off the rented equipment at the rental house.
With a few hours before the crew had to go to the airport for their flight, I took them into Boston and asked them if they wanted to see something historical or something unique. They chose the latter.
So I took them to the Mapparium.
Located in the Mary Baker Eddy Library at the Christian Science Plaza, the Mapparium is a three-story tall, inside-out glass globe of the world that was constructed in 1935. The boundaries on the map reflect the countries of the world as they existed when the Mapparium was built. You can learn more about it here.
Visitors enter via a 30-foot bridge that allows them to take in the sphere from different vantage points while experiencing its remarkable acoustics. In the center, your own voice reflects back to you from all directions, and at one end of the bridge, you can hear the faintest whisper uttered by someone standing at the other end.
After that fun, unique, and memorable detour, it was time for Zach and Tim to leave for the airport. I dropped them off at Logan and headed for home, with the film now officially in the post-production phase.