Beloved Jesuit history teacher takes his talents to Vatican City
By ZACHARY WOZNAK ’11
Students fortunate enough to have been taught by Father Lawrence Ober, S. J., will remember him as the brilliant Jesuit educator of the history department. His tales of the Huns, Amalasuntha, and the infamous torture known as the necat have become legendary throughout the halls of Happy High. In December of 2009, much to the disappointment of many young scholars and his famed secretary, Ida C. Shultz, Father Ober left his position in the history department for a period of rest and relaxation prior to his sabbatical in Rome, which began earlier this year. Recently, Father Ober provided this reporter with an update of his sabbatical activities.
Father Ober arrived in Rome in early July to begin his work in the Jesuit archives. He has been tasked with researching the history of the Jesuits and preparing information and biographies for young Jesuits to study. His work requires knowledge of six different languages, a task that he says often leaves him confused at the end of the day.
Father has adjusted well to his new home. His residence is a block away from the Vatican in a neighborhood that he describes as \”a dazzling spectacle of international tourists peppered with bandits trying to sell them everything imaginable.”
