The JFRC Tradition
John Felice Biography
(Read the 2008 special edition of Il Bollettino devoted to John Felice.)
John P. Felice, founder and director emeritus of the John Felice Rome Center of Loyola University Chicago, was an educator famed for his remarkable leadership skills, diplomacy, and collaborative spirit, as well as for his warm, charitable, and tireless personality.
Inspired by witnessing war
After serving in the British armed forces during World War II, Felice, a native of Malta, saw the devastation wrought by war as the byproduct of a profound lack of understanding among cultures.
After the war, Felice was received as a member of the Society of Jesus and was ordained to the priesthood in 1957, where he remained active for over 15 years. He then accepted an assistant professorship of theology at Loyola University Chicago in 1959.
Building a better world
While teaching a summer program in 1961, Felice was invited to lunch with Italian President Giovanni Gronchi and American diplomat Clare Boothe Luce. Luce opined that both Italy and America needed a large, permanent study abroad program anchored in Rome. Wanting to seize the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Felice asked Gronchi if the Italian government could help start such a program.
In January 1962, the Loyola University Rome Center of Liberal Arts began with three faculty members and 92 students. Felice’s connections to people in power were a great asset during those founding years. He arranged outstanding opportunities for students, such as meeting the pope, cocktails with the president of Italy in his palace, and academic convocations with cardinals and ambassadors.
A dedication to teaching
Throughout his tenure, Felice was known for taking students on international excursions to expose them to other religions and cultures as a way of strengthening understanding and empathy between people. As early as 1963, students at the center were embarking on university-sponsored tours of the Middle East.
In 1973, Felice transitioned roles and began serving as the Rome Center’s dean of students. Felice continued as the dean of students and in various capacities until 1992, when, rather than retiring as planned, he was reappointed as the Rome Center’s director. Serving as director for another six years, he finally retired in 1998. During his retirement, he remained an active steward of the center until his passing in 2008.
A legacy of faith and learning
In 2004, Loyola President Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., recognized Felice’s commitment to the center, which Felice had nurtured for so many years, by rechristening it the John Felice Rome Center. In 2006, Loyola presented Felice with the “Heart of Loyola” award to honor his extraordinary generosity and lifelong commitment to Jesuit education.
Timeline
The John Felice Rome Center is the oldest U.S. university program in Rome. Since 1962, the Rome Center has provided a world-class education to students from across the U.S. and beyond.
1960s
1961: Loyola University Chicago theology Professor John Felice, S.J., conducts a trip abroad for students. While in Rome, Felice meets with the president of Italy and the U.S. ambassador, and the concept for a permanent American program in Rome is born.
1962: Loyola University Chicago Rome Center for Liberal Arts opens in the Casa Italiana Viaggi Internazionali Studenti (C.I.V.I.S.), a dormitory originally built to house athletes during the 1960 Olympics. The first class is made up of 92 students and eight faculty members.
1966: Having outgrown its quarters, the center moved to its second campus in the Villa Tre Colli on Via della Camilluccia, located on Monte Mario, the highest hill in Rome.
1970s
1972: The Rome Center moves to its third campus, the Villa Maria Theresa on Via Trionfale.
1975: Rinaldo and Nella Fiorini open Rinaldo's, an on-campus Italian coffee bar. They will manage the coffee bar until their retirement in 2010.
1978: The Rome Center moves to its current location, a spacious residential campus on Via Massimi, atop Monte Mario. The converted former convent is a large, U-shaped building, which houses classrooms, student dormitories, administrative offices, a cafeteria, a coffee bar, and more.
1980s
1987: The first all-class reunion takes place in Rome to celebrate the Rome Center’s 25th anniversary.
1990s
1997: The Forza Roma Travel Fund and the John P. and Mary K. Felice Endowed Scholarship are started by alumni.
1998: John Felice retires and becomes director emeritus.
2000s
2004: In December, the then-President of Loyola University Chicago, Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., renames the facility "the John Felice Rome Center" to recognize and honor the tireless efforts of its dynamic founder and Director Emeritus, John Paul Felice.
2008: John Felice passes away.
2009: Loyola purchases the Via Massimi campus.
2010s
2010: The first fundraising campaign benefiting the JFRC, Insieme per il Futuro, is launched.
2011: The state-of-the art library, or Information Commons (IC), is inaugurated.
2012: The JFRC celebrates its 50th anniversary.
2014: Following a generous gift from alumnus Tony Piazza in honor of his late wife, the library is renamed the Anthony and Susan Brazier Piazza Information Commons. Rinaldo's coffee bar, under new management, reopens in its current location.
2015: The new dining hall – known by students as the mensa – opens in the spring semester.
2020s
2020: After more than a decade of fundraising and planning, the JFRC inaugurates its new residential hall and chapel.
The Center continues to bring together students from universities and colleges throughout the United States to study in Europe for a unique living-learning experience.
(Read the 2008 special edition of Il Bollettino devoted to John Felice.)
John P. Felice, founder and director emeritus of the John Felice Rome Center of Loyola University Chicago, was an educator famed for his remarkable leadership skills, diplomacy, and collaborative spirit, as well as for his warm, charitable, and tireless personality.
Inspired by witnessing war
After serving in the British armed forces during World War II, Felice, a native of Malta, saw the devastation wrought by war as the byproduct of a profound lack of understanding among cultures.
After the war, Felice was received as a member of the Society of Jesus and was ordained to the priesthood in 1957, where he remained active for over 15 years. He then accepted an assistant professorship of theology at Loyola University Chicago in 1959.
Building a better world
While teaching a summer program in 1961, Felice was invited to lunch with Italian President Giovanni Gronchi and American diplomat Clare Boothe Luce. Luce opined that both Italy and America needed a large, permanent study abroad program anchored in Rome. Wanting to seize the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Felice asked Gronchi if the Italian government could help start such a program.
In January 1962, the Loyola University Rome Center of Liberal Arts began with three faculty members and 92 students. Felice’s connections to people in power were a great asset during those founding years. He arranged outstanding opportunities for students, such as meeting the pope, cocktails with the president of Italy in his palace, and academic convocations with cardinals and ambassadors.
A dedication to teaching
Throughout his tenure, Felice was known for taking students on international excursions to expose them to other religions and cultures as a way of strengthening understanding and empathy between people. As early as 1963, students at the center were embarking on university-sponsored tours of the Middle East.
In 1973, Felice transitioned roles and began serving as the Rome Center’s dean of students. Felice continued as the dean of students and in various capacities until 1992, when, rather than retiring as planned, he was reappointed as the Rome Center’s director. Serving as director for another six years, he finally retired in 1998. During his retirement, he remained an active steward of the center until his passing in 2008.
A legacy of faith and learning
In 2004, Loyola President Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., recognized Felice’s commitment to the center, which Felice had nurtured for so many years, by rechristening it the John Felice Rome Center. In 2006, Loyola presented Felice with the “Heart of Loyola” award to honor his extraordinary generosity and lifelong commitment to Jesuit education.