Office Hours…with Rev. Vincent DeCola, S.J.
October 22, 2012
“During the week I get tired from work,” Rev. Vincent DeCola S.J., assistant dean for first year students at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) said. “I take class at night but other than that I really can’t do homework at night since I am just too tired. I work on Saturdays and Sundays to keep up in those classes.” In today’s Office Hours, DeCola tells us about his life of being an MBA student, a Jesuit priest and a class dean at Fordham.
1. Refrigerator
“I like to bring lunch from home. It’s a lot cheaper that way. I never eat breakfast early in the morning, so I walk here and after I’m in front of my desk for a while I will have yogurt. For lunch I often bring broccoli and chicken from home. These are the two things that I like a lot. Sometimes I bring dinner as I have evening classes. ”
2. Formula Sheet
“I’m woking on an MBA from the graduate school of business at Fordham. The two classes I’m taking this semester are my last classes and I will graduate in December. I have to take 24 classes in total in almost three years. Generally I took two to three classes each semester because that is on top of my full-time job. I put up some fomula sheets and things to just keep in my mind some of the things I am studying in the business school. After I graduate I plan to teach at Fordham. I will probably start teaching math.”
3. Pictures of children
“I have seven niece and nephews. Other kids are children of close friends of mine. I don’t have children because I’m a Jesuit. But I have a lot of friends who are young couples having children now and raising children. The biggest difference between other careers and being a priest is that I give up a lot of controls of my own life. I can’t decide where I work. We have leaders in the Jesuit school help us decide where we should work. We can not get married because we feel if we don’t have our own family to take care of we will be more available to work for other people. Many times in my life I had the desire of having my own family. Seeing these pictures must show you that I love kids. That is why I enjoy visiting my friends and seeing pictures of the children.”
4. Gift
“A kid of a friend of mine made this little thing in school, and they sent it to me as a gift.”
5. Picture taken by his cousin
“My cousin took this picture when he found himself literally preparing his own dinner, which was pasta and shrimp. He was about to sit down and eat and he was going to read about Life magazine about Bob Dylan. When he saw the dinner on the table with a bottle of wine and a Life magazine, he just thought it would make a nice picture. To me this photo is sort of like home, so when he emailed me the photo and I just decided to print it and put it on the wall.”
6. Picture of DeCola performing a baptism
“I am the priest in the church across the street or in the chapel on the second floor at Fordham. Sometimes when my friends get married I perform weddings. Also I perform baptisms for their children, or even funerals of someone I know. Regularly, if I work for a church, the church will charge people, but I never charge my friends since I am doing things for people I know.”
7. Gowns
“I have two gowns. The black one is for graduations and formal ceremonies, and then the white one is what I wear when I say a mass. When I was young, I was attracted to the idea of helping others. Growing up in New York City, I saw a lot of poverty around me, so I felt that becoming a Jesusit priest was a good way to make a difference. In my senior year of high school I decided to become a priest.”
“I had actually applied for early admission to Haverford College and I was accepted. However, then in the spring, I decided that since I knew I wanted to be a Jesuit priest, maybe I should do that right now. So I went to a Jesuit school instead of Haverford. The Jesuits has a long process of training. After two years of training, they sent me to Fordham and I studied philosophy and physics here. Two years of Novitiate then it was three years of Fordham. Then I went to teach physics and math in Micronesia for three years. Then I went to study theology in Berkeley, where I spent 4 years doing theology and became a priest when I was 29. So it took me 11 years to join the Jesuits. ”
8. Posters
“I post a lot of posters of a lot of activities going on here at Fordham just because they are colorful and they help decorate. They are basically all the things we do here, you know, different programs of students.”
Margaret Mary Kennedy, OP • Jun 11, 2019 at 1:45 pm
Loved your story. It has been many years since St Andrew’s, but you still are true to your dream of serving others!!! Great Job, fr Vincent!!!
Sr Margaret Mary Kennedy op
Joia Kirby • Oct 24, 2012 at 6:15 am
I wouldn’t mind a visit right now with Vin in his little office!! ( I bet he is there even though it is 6am. Our family feels lucky to be one that has a picture somewhere there on his bulletin board. There are very few people I can think of who have touched and inspired the lives of so many in such a positive way. Vin always makes us laugh and at the same time reflect on what really matters in life.
Can’t wait to find you and surprise you during your office hours!
Kelly Hanlon Rigby • Oct 24, 2012 at 2:39 am
Wonderful synopsis of a wonderfully kind and giving person. Thank you! Fr Vin is “a hero ” AND a great friend to so very many- quietly living his life with the values most of us only aspire to demonstrate daily. And his realness is a refreshing change from the usual interactions and relationships in our lives. I am so blessed to have known Fr Vin for the past twenty years and am constantly amazed at all the lives he touches in a variety of ways!
Paula DeCola • Oct 23, 2012 at 11:39 am
I enjoyed the story about my brother Vin. It certainly captures a sense of who he is and what his priorities are in life. I work with folks who focus on public health matters primarily in low and middle income countries. I am touched by their dedication to those who are in great need. Yet, I have never had to travel far to be impressed by selflessness, or to be humbled by the expanse of warmth, kindness and caring with a brother like Vin. His acts of humanity are done with no fanfare, but rather done with quiet dignity. While regrets are natural, and due to his life choices he is a father to none, I hope he recognizes that he is still a hero to many, of course that includes me. Love you Vin.
Joe DeCola • Oct 23, 2012 at 11:24 am
You captured the essence of my kid brother and his life dedicated to simplicity and working for others. Good job! I hope that people you read this story will be inspired to adopt a small part of his philosophy for life as their own. His life has certainly been an inspiration for me.