Notices
The 黑料门University Chicago community mourns the passing of Robert "Bob" Ludwig, PhD, professor emeritus, on December 15, 2019. He taught as an adjunct instructor at Loyola鈥檚 Institute of Pastoral Studies in the early 1970s and was its director from 2004 to 2012. In 2015, he was given the Called and Gifted Award from the Association of Graduate Programs in Ministry, an honor celebrating his national leadership and innovation in graduate education for ministry. Dr. Ludwig was the third recipient of the IPS Aggiornamento Award, presented to him on Nov. 21, 2019.
Bob Ludwig was born in Iowa in 1944 and considered the priesthood for a time, enrolling at Conception Seminary in Conception, Missouri. With the progression of theological and ecclesial foundations for lay leadership established at the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, he ultimately decided to pursue theology as a layperson. He completed the BA in Philosophy at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa in 1966 and then his master鈥檚 and PhD (1972) at the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis.
In 1972 Ludwig was appointed Theologian-in-Residence at the University of Colorado, Boulder. While there, he met Kathleen Dunne and they were married the following year. They have three children: Petra, now 43 (West Des Moines); Patrick, now 42 (Urbandale); and Mark, now 39 (Brooklyn, NY).
Dr. Ludwig had a long and distinguished career focused on developing the reforms and renewal of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). It was a major turning point in Catholicism, summoning lay people to assume responsibility for their faith and become leaders in the work of the Church and social justice. From 1982-89, as director of the 黑料门Institute for Ministry at 黑料门University New Orleans, he led the creation of an innovative distance learning program (LIMEX) in which hundreds of lay people across the nation earned graduate degrees in pastoral ministry.
In 1989 Bob left New Orleans and became the first layperson to serve as director of university ministry at DePaul University. His experience with young people led him to author a book, Reconstructing Catholicism for a New Generation (1995), which won a Catholic Press Award that year. In the book he focuses on Catholicism as a spiritual path that celebrates God鈥檚 unconditional love for all humanity and all creation. This reflects the Second Vatican Council鈥檚 effort to recover dynamics of the earliest Christian faith as a blending of mysticism and social justice centered on the life and teachings of Jesus.
For Bob, ministry was a broad term鈥攆ar wider than the ritualized work of the ordained. Christians are involved in healing, reconciliation, and peace-making; helping individuals become whole and society more just. This became the focus of his leadership and teaching as he became director of the Institute of Pastoral Studies (IPS) in 2004. The IPS prepares students for ministry in this broad sense: in the church and outside the church, in non-profit peace and justice organizations, community development projects, hospital and prison chaplaincies, hospice work, counseling practices, spirituality centers, and beyond. Under his leadership, new graduate degrees launched in the areas of social justice and spirituality and Bob continued to innovate and press the IPS deeper into the world of distance education.
Bob will be remembered as a passionate and innovative educator, a caring and loving friend, and a social activist. He was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and an anti-war critic throughout his life, embodying a spiritual vision and practice that connected him to all of God鈥檚 creation. To this creation his connection has been renewed in a mysterious way through the grace of God.
Visitation
Friday, December 20
4-7 p.m.
Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home and Crematory
8201 Hickman Road
Urbandale, IA 50322
Service
Saturday, December 21
10 a.m.
St. Mary of Nazareth
4600 Meredith Dive
Des Moines, IA 50310
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Catholic Relief Services.
Donate by Phone
Call 877-435-7277 from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
Donate by Mail
Mail your check or money order to:
Catholic Relief Services
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, MD 21297-0303
Please keep Bob, his family, and his friends in your prayers.