This past week I, the Aquinas House community past and present, and the whole Dartmouth community suffered a great loss. Monsignor Bill Nolan, the founder and longtime director of Aquinas House, who retired in 1987, passed away on Monday afternoon. This man has touched my life in many and innumerable ways and yet I never saw more than a picture of him. He will continue to touch generations of Dartmouth students though many of them will never know his name. To understand Father Bill's impact one must begin back at the beginning. Those who knew Fr. Bill personally can better render the story. I only hope I can catch some of his essence as I try to express the gratitude that needs to be expressed.
Back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Dartmouth and the Waspy Northeast were not the most congenial places for Catholics and Irish Catholics in particular. Nevertheless a considerable number of Catholic students began coming to Dartmouth. Their spiritual hunger was not particularly well met at that point. Sure there was the local parish, St. Denis, but something still was lacking. Enter onto the scene a young Bostonian priest recently new to the Manchester Diocese. Fr. Bill had begun his priestly ministry with the Redemptorist Order but for one reason or another felt called to diocesan life. He found himself stationed as an assistant at St. Denis in Hanover and saw young men looking for some ministering. At first the ministry to students was lacking in success. Showing his humor and that he knew his audience, Fr. Bill waited until the pastor of St. Denis was away, ordered a keg, and invited the Dartmouth students over for an informal meeting to spark his ministry. The pastor returned home from his vacation early to find the Dartmouth men and Fr. Nolan in the basement of the church. He ordered them all out and told Fr. Nolan that he could not return until he got permission from the bishop. When the bishop heard about the event, he roared with laughter and gave his permission for Fr. Nolan to return to Hanover.
Soon thereafter Fr. Nolan was made the full-time chaplain to Dartmouth's Catholic students and founded the first Aquinas House. In the formation of Aquinas House, Fr. Bill desired, as he told The Dartmouth in 1954, to help Dartmouth students "become stronger in their religion" so as to make them better Dartmouth students and "better citizens." His vision was for a Catholic Student Center which would "help increase the mutual religious understanding on the campus." That initial vision, nurtured and cultivated by Fr. Nolan through hard work and deep prayer, grew into the current spiritual and intellectual haven which is Aquinas House. For nearly 50 years Aquinas House has served thousands upon thousands of Catholic and non-Catholic students on this campus. Those students have roamed Aquinas House's halls, eaten its food, and found respite within its walls.
In his 37 years as a chaplain Fr. Bill did more than just build an edifice for students. Moreover he touched hearts and souls becoming a father figure to many in their college years and long past their graduation. When one young man's mother was diagnosed with cancer, Fr. Bill consoled him and made all the arrangements for him to return home using the whole Sunday collection to buy his plane ticket. Another young man struggling with his faith came to challenge Fr. Nolan with tough and difficult questions. Fr. Nolan patiently answered his questions and told him to know what he was throwing out the window before actually tossing it out. That young man, Dennis Billy '75, now is a priest and professor of theology. Such stories can be multiplied by many.
And now there are all those students who continue to be deeply touched by the house which Father Nolan built. I find myself among them. And though I never got the chance to personally thank Fr. Nolan for his vision and work, I know I speak for many in expressing great gratitude for the gift of his life -- a life dedicated to guiding and counseling Dartmouth students and setting up a grand idea of faith seeking understanding. Near his retirement, Fr. Nolan said, "I can't account for a lot of things here [at Aquinas House]. It's the work of Jesus Christ. If he's used me to do his work, I'm grateful to him." I am sure many here at Dartmouth are indeed grateful to God for the manner in which he used Fr. Nolan for his work. Fr. Nolan, requiescat in pace.
