As Blue Jays return to Carrollton & banks for the new year, they are seeing a new name along a familiar path. The street that runs through Banks and Palmyra Streets at the entrance to Will Clark Field is now Fr. Pfister, S.J. Way, honoring the life and legacy of Fr. J. Emile Pfister, S.J. ’45.

The new street signs were unveiled in May in gratitude for a generous gift made in Fr. Pfister’s memory by his niece Linda Smith and her husband, Richard Smith ’65. The Smith family’s ties to Carrollton & Banks span generations. Their three sons, Richard ’88, Ryan ’93, and Kennedy “Sandy” ’98, are also alumni, and their grandson Kennedy Smith is a member of the Class of 2030.

For generations of Blue Jays and Catholics throughout New Orleans, Fr. Pfister was known as a gifted teacher, theologian, pastor, and Jesuit priest whose influence extended well beyond the classroom and pulpit.

From Blue Jay to Jesuit

A New Orleans native, Fr. Pfister attended Holy Name of Jesus School before graduating from Jesuit in 1945. He entered the Society of Jesus after graduation and continued his formation and studies at St. Charles College in Grand Coteau, Spring Hill College in Mobile, and Woodstock College in Maryland.

Before his ordination, Fr. Pfister returned to his alma mater for Regency, teaching Latin, Greek, and English from 1952 to 1955. More than seven decades later, members of the Class of 1956 still remember the young Jesuit for his intelligence, preparation, wit, and concern for his students.

Frank Courtenay ’56 remembered him as a knowledgeable instructor whose teaching helped Courtenay advance into the honors class. Bob Saucier ’56 recalled a teacher who was “well-educated, and always prepared for his Latin and Greek classes.”

For Pat White ’56, Fr. Pfister’s influence was even more personal. After struggling academically and taking Greek in summer school under Pfister, White passed the course and was able to continue at Jesuit.

“I passed with flying colors and continued my career at Jesuit,” White recalled. “I am so grateful to him. What a teacher!”

A Life of Scholarship and Service

Following his ordination at Spring Hill College in 1958, Fr. Pfister pursued advanced theological studies in the United States and Europe, eventually earning a doctorate in sacred theology summa cum laude as well as advanced degrees and licentiates in philosophy and theology.

His scholarship led him to Loyola University New Orleans, where he taught theology and philosophy and later chaired the theology department. There, he helped update the curriculum and expand the department while also making himself available to students seeking spiritual guidance.

In 1971, Archbishop Philip M. Hannan selected Fr. Pfister to serve as academic dean of the school of theology at Notre Dame Seminary, making him the first Jesuit to hold such a senior administrative position at the seminary.

Fr. Pfister later served as pastor of two prominent New Orleans parishes with deep connections to the Society of Jesus. He became pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Church in 1974 and oversaw a major renovation of the church. In 1988, he was named pastor of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, where he became known for brief, Christ-centered homilies and for his willingness to bring the sacraments beyond the walls of the church. On Sunday afternoons, he would travel to the Fair Grounds to celebrate Mass for jockeys and racetrack employees.

His devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary also led to his appointment as Marian Theologian for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. At the request of Archbishop Hannan, Fr. Pfister traveled to Medjugorje to study reports of Marian apparitions there. His command of Serbo-Croatian, one of seven languages he spoke, proved particularly valuable during those visits.

A Man for Others

Despite his academic accomplishments and prominent positions, Fr. Pfister’s family remembers him most for the way he made himself present to others.

Through marriages, baptisms, First Communions, funerals, anniversaries, holidays, and countless other family occasions, Fr. Pfister remained deeply involved in the lives of those closest to him. His extended family remembers him as “truly a man for others,” while Linda Smith recalls that he was also “the life of the party.”

His vocation left a lasting impression on generations of his family. Numerous nephews and great-nephews attended Jesuit, including Mike Pfister ’76 and Rudolph “Ted” O’Dwyer III ’65, who later taught speech and television and radio production at Jesuit.

Fr. Pfister’s great-nephew Fr. Ronny O’Dwyer, S.J., credits him with encouraging his own vocation to religious life. Fr. O’Dwyer was ordained a Jesuit priest in 2015 and now serves as president of De Smet Jesuit High School in St. Louis.

Fr. Pfister returned to Notre Dame Seminary to teach in 1994 and later served again at Immaculate Conception Church as associate pastor. He died in 1997 in his 54th year as a Jesuit and 39th year as a priest.

His legacy remains in the students he taught, the parishioners he served, the family he inspired, and the countless lives touched throughout his priestly ministry. Now that legacy also has a permanent place at Carrollton & Banks.

Each day, Blue Jays making their way along Fr. Pfister, S.J. Way pass the name of a fellow Blue Jay whose life embodied the mission of becoming a man for others.