Portland Magazine
May 1, 2023
Yvonne (Lacaillade) Connelly ’70 shares her memories of her favorite spot on campus and shows how we're often moving even when we’re sitting still.
Story by Yvonne (Lacaillade) Connelly
Photo by Chris Brecht
MY STEPS QUICKENED as I left the Commons and bypassed the chapel toward my favorite spot, the bench on the south side of campus that looks out over the Willamette River. I was looking forward to precious time alone with my Creator. I let my words fly away in the wind. I didn’t expect a reply; but, as I had been taught, I believed there was a God who listened and perhaps approved of my efforts to energize the inner strength I had been given. The University chapel of course was a special place. At that time in my life, however, it existed only as an official destination, a place where students attended Sunday Mass. Keenly aware of the changes that had recently been generated by Vatican II, students who arrived on campus with me were aware of the topics still being debated long after Council attendees returned home. Suddenly, centuries of strict adherence to ecclesiastical prohibitions were challenged. Certain changes were welcomed, such as allowing Mass to be said in native languages, but other issues disappointed and confused us. For example, the Council failed to adequately address the status of women in the Church. But other issues did begin to stimulate heightened interest, such as the neglect and harm inflicted on all of Earth’s creatures, as well as to the Earth itself. Our awareness of the birth of the universe and the continuing evolution of cosmic life expanded both scientifically and spiritually.
Perhaps my solitary reflections on that bench on The Bluff, supplemented by significant discussions with occasional benchmates, eventually led me to discover Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. I don’t remember when I first learned about the precocious Jesuit, but I was inspired to discuss his theories when I wrote an essay to accompany my nomination as a Fulbright fellow. Now, many years later, my interest in Teilhard has resurrected, and I pray that our first Jesuit pope will canonize this kind and exceptionally insightful scientist, philosopher, and mystic. I believe Teilhard should be named as a Doctor of the Church. His writings and personal piety have been instrumental in regenerating my personal spiritual searching.
I consider the bench on The Bluff my “transition to adulthood.”
Yvonne (Lacaillade) Connelly ’70 retired from Duke University in 2012, where she worked a variety of administrative positions.
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