An Interview with Father James Pierce Cavanaugh, OP

by Gordon Nary

Gordon: What is one of your earliest childhood memories?

Fr. James Pierce: The earliest group of memories that I have is my mom reading to me without fatigue from a very young age, and reading actual books. They were children's books, but children's books well above my reading level, so that I began to read at 18 months. I’ve loved reading ever since, and I appreciate that it’s a gift that comes completely from Mom’s reading to me that way.

Gordon: Tell us something about your family.

Fr. James Pierce: The story above is pretty emblematic of the family. I grew up with two younger siblings, and all three of us learned to love reading; we didn’t have cable, and so TV options were limited. We went to church together on Sundays, and we were all clear that that was something that we had a duty to do. Our family life always included sports; even though my parents weren't particularly sporty, a lot of my favorite early memories have to do with local sports. The earliest single memory with a specific date comes from when I was three years old, and the Colts lost in the AFC championship game to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The whole family got together and watched the game at my aunt's house, and the kids were all sent downstairs so as not to be a distraction. It was probably for the best, as the Colts lost that game in heartbreaking fashion. That and other memories of the Pacers, Notre Dame football, and Indiana basketball go a long way to help explain my love for sports.

Gordon: When did you serve as Bag Room Manager at Hillcrest Country Club and what were your primary responsibilities?

Fr. James Pierce: As for my work background as a bag room manager at Hillcrest Country Club, that's actually an interesting story. That Country Club was the one in Indianapolis that most of the Catholics frequented. The head pro for a number of years in the 70s into the early 2000s was Ed Kynch, a Catholic golf pro, who made sure that clergy could play at the club for free. I got a job there in high school, and worked all the way through college right up to when I joined the Dominican Order. It was good money, good exercise, and just a great experience all around. When I was getting ready to join the Order, I told Ed, and he was very excited and proud. I've actually stayed close his family since then, including doing a wedding for his grandson and my friend, so the time there remains a blessing.

Gordon: When did you attend Indiana University Bloomington, what degree did you earn, who was your favorite teacher, and why was that teacher your favorite?

Fr. James Pierce: I should probably tell the story of how I got to Indiana University. It actually has to do with some of those early memories. In 2002, IU’s basketball team was runner-up in the National Championship game; I remember everyone in the city being wrapped up in that run through March. It was then that I decided that I wanted to go to Indiana, regardless of what I studied. A couple years later, I listened to all of the Pacers basketball games on the radio, and decided that I wanted to go to school for sports broadcasting. Visited IU during senior year of high school, at Bishop Chatard in Indianapolis, and from there the decision was easy. I knew on the visit that if I could get into the school, I would go, and that's the way it went.

My favorite professor there was the director of the sports communication program, Dr. Galen Clavio. Looking back, it's clear just how early the program was in its development. Dr. Clavio had gone to school at IU, gotten a graduate degree from the University of Miami, and returned to Indiana to start the program. His classes were great, and the program’s youth meant lots of opportunity for students who showed initiative. I showed a reasonable amount as a freshman, and was given the position of football beat reporter as a sophomore. That went well, and so I covered basketball as well.

Gordon: When did you serve as Football/Basketball Head Writer at IUSportcom? At that time, who were your favorite Basketball and Football players?

Fr. James Pierce: It was a mixed bag in terms of the athletic success of the football and men’s basketball teams at that time. The 2011 football team is notable, because that year’s team laid claim to a place as one of the worst Big 10 teams of the 21st century. They went 1-11, and in their one win they set the program record for most penalties in a single game. I still have a soft spot for that team, and if I had to pick a few favorite players, I would name Tre Roberson, Stephen Houston, and Shane Wynn; all young players who went onto athletic success at IU and elsewhere. I counted once that I wrote more than 200,000 words on that year's team; in hindsight, that is probably why I was given the opportunity to be the writer for men’s basketball too. IU men’s basketball was much more successful during the 2011-2012 season; that year they went to the Sweet 16, and also won an ESPY – the award given by ESPN for excellent performance in sport – for Christian Watford's buzzer-beating 3-pointer, which knocked off #1 Kentucky at Assembly Hall. Victor Oladipo, one of the stars on that team, was in my freshman class; in fact I recognized him on campus my first week at the university, at a time when very few other people knew who he was. He was one favorite player from that team, which won the big 10 the next year; a couple other favorites would be Cody Zeller, Jordan Hulls as well as Taylor Wayer – a walk-on who was in my graduating class at Bishop Chatard.

Gordon: When you received your vocation, with whom did you first discuss it, and what was their advice?

Fr. James Pierce: It's probably time to tackle the vocations questions; during the time described above, I really wasn't going to church. One family weekend at IU, I brought my family to mass at IU’s Newman Center, and got caught not knowing how the collection was taken. That let to a gut-check, and I decided to start going again shortly after. Once I started going back, I started also going to Confession, and it was a Dominican priest who assigned a penance one day, that I ask God what He wanted me to do. When I asked, I felt a quiet tug in my heart towards priesthood. This very much alarmed me, and I took from that a motivation to examine the career I was pursuing.

Gordon: When did you serve as Volleyball and Softball Broadcaster at Indiana University and what was your favorite game that you covered?

Fr. James Pierce: I knew that as fun as the writing was, I was more serious about broadcasting. I threw myself into that, and got the play-by-play position with the softball team for the 2013 season. I traveled with the team to all the games, streamed them on the Internet, and did the same thing with the volleyball team in the fall. Both of those teams had pretty tough years, but were not without their high spots. There was a walk-off against Ohio State that was particularly enjoyable. In volleyball, there was a game against ranked Michigan State where the graduate assistant, with whom I roomed on the road, was given the scouting assignment. He put together a great gameplan and we won; broadcasting with both teams was a great experience.

As I got to my senior year, and approached graduation, I got into conversation with a Dominican student brother at Indiana; he is actually now the Student Master for our Province. I asked his advice as to how I ought to discern, and whether I could do that in a professional career as a broadcaster. He said that he thought I could, but that I ought to come and visit the Dominican friars’ house of studies at least once, and so I did. One weekend in December of 2013 he and I drove to Saint Louis to visit, and I was so amazed by the experience there that I decided to join that very weekend. The application process and the waiting was about 6 1/2 months, so there was plenty of chance to re-evaluate, but I never turned back from that decision.

Gordon: Why did you choose to be a Dominican?

Fr. James Pierce: It's not as though I did a lot of research; it was only after I discerned a call to join the Order that I came to understand that so many of the things this Order is about – faith and reason, the Eucharist, the Rosary, good preaching – were things that I prioritized in the spiritual life. I chose the Dominicans because I got lucky, but if I had done a lot more research, I still would have come to the same conclusion.

Gordon: What aspect of St. Dominic's life do you respect the most?

Fr. James Pierce: If we think about the charism of the Order, we can get plenty of insight into St. Dominic’s life; study was important to him, the Eucharist was important to him, Marian devotion was important to him, good preaching from scripture was important to him. There are lots of other things besides, but I would say those four things; it’s amazing they're all central to the life of the Church today, so perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that we’re living in a bit of a Dominican moment. Catholics who prioritize faith and reason very quickly find themselves turning to St. Thomas Aquinas, a who followed the path of St. Dominic in the Order’s early days. One of St. Thomas's contributions was is a summary of theology, which is still foundational to Catholic thought. Another contribution of St. Thomas was his theology of the Eucharist; many of the Church’s beautiful eucharistic hymns were written by St. Thomas, and his Eucharistic theology grew out of the mass celebrated by the Dominican Order. Marian devotion is an obvious one; not everyone knows the story of St. Dominic being given the Rosary by the Blessed Virgin Mary, but that story is a key one in the tradition of the Order. It is certain that the Church's Marian piety would look much different if it were not for the Dominicans, and St. Dominic our father. Finally, when St. Dominic took it in mind to found an Order, preaching was only done by bishops. In founding an Order of Preachers, St. Dominic readied the way for the more widespread preaching visible today.

Gordon: Where did you attend seminary, what was your favorite course, and why was it your favorite?

Fr. James Pierce: Dominican formation begins with a year of spirituality & community – novitiate – in Denver, Colorado. Our novitiate began with eight, by the end of it was down to six, and by the time we got all the way through formation we were down to four; three priests and one brother. Our studies took place at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, over the course of five years. In addition to that, we had one year of pastoral ministry at a ministry site of our Province. As for a favorite class, I'll cheat, and name three; over the course of three courses, we took covered the three parts of St. Thomas's Summa Theologiae. It was in those classes that I came to encounter his mind, and gained tremendous respect and appreciation for the depth of his contemplation. I fell in love with his vision of God in the world, and I have spent a lot of time since then trying to continue to build my vision to reflect something like his; that's a great privilege that our order affords us.

Gordon: What is your favorite author and book and why are they your favorite?

Fr. James Pierce: I'll also cheat with your question of my favorite book; I would say the one book in the world that I am most glad exists, excepting the Bible, is St. Thomas’ Collected Works, his Summa prime among them. To the extent that we can think about and contemplate God, and we can say true things about Him, it's hard to do much better than St. Thomas. For one steeped and rooted in his worldview, there is a great deal of richness to be both enjoyed, and shared with the world.

Gordon: When and where were you ordained as a priest and what is one of your favorite memories of that day?

Fr. James Pierce: Our formation began in 2014, and ordination came in 2021; myself and two classmates were ordained priests at St. Pius V Church in St. Louis on May 22nd. It was a beautiful day. Perhaps my clearest memory is the feeling of the Bishop's hands on my head, consecrating me to ministry for the church; he was followed by the priests in attendance, who did the same.

Gordon: You have a special commitment to the Rosary. Please explain why.

Fr. James Pierce: As far a commitment to the rosary goes, the Dominicans’ special connection to it is given the clearest narrative form in St. Dominic’s reception of the Rosary from the Blessed Mother for the sake of distribution to the Church. I have childhood memories of the Rosary; praying it occasionally with my grandmother, praying it in grade school, participating in my high school's living rosary, and praying it more seriously when I began to discern. The more I learned about the Rosary and its place in the Dominican order, the more I came to see it as central. My connection with it now comes from by being tasked, on behalf of the Province, with promoting the Rosary, and the confraternity across the whole of our provincial territory. Each Dominican Province has a promoter responsible for the same task. In a way, my whole life has led up to this task. The territory of our Province, and in fact the whole world, stands to benefit from the treasures that Mary gives through this prayer. Please keep me – and all the work of the Confraternity – in your prayers as we seek to further this mission.

Gordon: Thank tor an exceptional and inspirational interview.