Fr. Phil delivered a speech on Tuesday to a group of students in Keating. Casey Chun/The Fordham Ram
By Erin Shanahan
“I’m giving a bucket list promoting good living as a Fordham student and a student of Catholic and Jesuit Education,” Rev. Philip A. Florio, S.J., assistant vice president for Campus Ministry, said on Tuesday, Jan. 20.
It was the day he was scheduled to deliver his “Fordham Bucket List,” an event that took place in Keating 1st Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Florio continued, asserting that his Bucket List was not your average checklist.
Father Phil has been a priest for 13 years and a Jesuit for 23 years. He began his work at the University of Scranton, Saint Joseph’s University and the University of Pennsylvania prior to beginning working here at Rose Hill in 2010. As assistant vice president of Mission and Ministry, Florio oversees the religious activities presented by the Rose Hill, Lincoln Center and Westchester campuses.
In March 2014, CAB sponsored Rev. Joeseph M. McShane S.J., president of the university, to share his Fordham Bucket List with the student body. His list included points such as, “take in a game at Yankee Stadium” and “go to a Fordham basketball game and make the rafters shake with your cheers.” The past event was very successful and, as a result, the student organization has now asked Florio to put his own twist on a “Fordham Bucket List.”
“My list is not very similar to Father McShane’s, I’m very unique in my own ministry,” Father Phil clarified. “I want it to be my ministry, not somebody else.”
Father Phil’s list consisted of about 21 points. Each point gave a unique piece of advice for all students to consider. “My favorite point in my bucket list is to see the world,” Father Phil remarked, “because the world is full of lessons to learned and wisdom to be gained and mysteries to be had and opportunities to be had.”
The list also seemed to give some insight on Father Phil’s lifestyle. “To write these points I was inspired by what I have tried to do in my own life.” As a result, Father Phil presented a challenge for students.
“Part of the challenge I offered was to create your own bucket list, and I gave points to help students do that.” He stated, “we basically tried to make our own mini bucket lists as part of the program.”
He asserts that aspects of the presentation were to be driven by student participation. “The inspiration for this bucket list was the students. I want to give them what I think is a good way of living. And I really hope this program will be mutually inspirational.”
In addition, Father Phil presented a challenge to students. Father Phil remarked, “I hope that the students realize that faith needs to be important in their own lives.”
Although Father Phil hopes students will respond to his list with faith in mind, he stresses that the bucket list itself is not necessarily religious or spiritual. “I realize that could be a turn off to some people,” Father Phil explained.
“But I would say that, covertly, it is spiritual. There were 21 points that I presented for good living. The last three and four were explicitly spiritual while the other 17 were not. But all of them point to good living- the way a Jesuit would have us live.”
“My list is not very similar to Father McShane’s, I’m very unique in my own ministry,” Florio said. “I want it to be my ministry, not somebody else.”
Florio’s list consisted of about 21 points. Each gave a unique piece of advice for students to consider.
His own personal favorite is the point about the importance of seeing the world.
“The world is full of lessons to learned and wisdom to be gained and mysteries to be had and opportunities to be had,” Florio said.
The list also seemed to give some insight on his own lifestyle.
“To write these points I was inspired by what I have tried to do in my own life,” he said. As a result, he presented a challenge for students.
“Part of the challenge I offered was to create your own bucket list, and I gave points to help students do that,” he said. “We basically tried to make our own mini bucket lists as part of the program.”
He asserts that aspects of the presentation were to be driven by student participation.
“The inspiration for this bucket list was the students,” he said. “I want to give them what I think is a good way of living. And I really hope this program will be mutually inspirational.”
In addition, Florio presented a challenge to students. “I hope that the students realize that faith needs to be important in their own lives,” Florio said
Although he hopes students will respond to his list with faith in mind, he stresses that the bucket list itself is not necessarily religious or spiritual. “I realize that could be a turn off to some people,” Florio said.
“But I would say that, covertly, it is spiritual. There were 21 points that I presented for good living. The last three and four were explicitly spiritual while the other 17 were not. But all of them point to good living, the way Jesus would have us live.”
In its print edition, this article quoted incorrectly Fr. Phil Florio as saying that all of his 21 items point to good living, “the way Jesuits would have us live.” His original words were “the way Jesus would have us live.” Additionally, while the article stated that Fr. Florio has been a priest for 13 years and a Jesuit for 33, he has actually been a Jesuit for 23 years and a priest for 13.
