By DIANE SCHLINDWEIN
Managing Editor

Men who were students at Cathedral Boys’ High School in Springfield (which became Griffin High School in 1959) from 1950-1951 and from 1955-1963 might remember a teacher named Father Eugene Lutz, CSV.  What those teens might not have realized during their high school years was the background of how Father Lutz came to Catholicism and eventually the priesthood. His story was both unique and difficult, said Patrick McConnell, area director of Catholic Charities in Springfield, who heard tales about Father Lutz and looked into the priest’s history. 

Gene Lutz was just 19 years old in 1940 when he joined the Marines at the outbreak of World War II. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Wake Island in December 1941, they incurred great casualties. However, over 400 Marines fought for 15 days to defend Wake Island against repeated attacks by Japanese aircraft, before surrendering just days before Christmas. Pvt. Lutz was one of those Marines, and he was taken a prisoner of war. He spent the duration of the war as a POW in Japan. 

A small group of the POWs, led by their commanding officer, Major James P.S. Devereux, gathered every Sunday to pray the Rosary. Pvt. Lutz was among them.  Three years after his release, the future Father Lutz entered the Clerics of St. Viator community and continued his college education, eventually earning his master’s degree in civil engineering. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 5, 1954.

“Prisoner of War camps, especially those operated by Imperial Japan, were an almost hell on Earth type of atmosphere where beatings and slave labor were routine,” McConnell said. “However, even in the darkest of time, God was still present. Father Lutz wasn’t raised Catholic, but it was through the actions of Catholic POWs that he found his calling. He was so inspired and moved that he made God a promise that if he were delivered safely home that he would dedicate his life to God and serving the Church as a priest.” 

While he was still studying for the priesthood and just after he was ordained, Father Lutz served at Cathedral/Griffin as a math and chemistry teacher. But he also had a unique role at the school that stemmed from another aspect of his life. Father Lutz was a championship boxer — a fact that was probably exceptionally interesting to his students. 

“If boys were fighting, he would keep them after school and let them settle it in the boxing ring,” McConnell said. “I am not passing judgment, because it was a different time in a different place. But boxing is a martial art and like other martial arts there are lessons learned that go beyond learning to defend oneself. There is discipline learned and pushing yourself beyond what you thought possible even when you want to give up. I think this mindset is something Father Lutz imparted on countless young men.” 

In addition, McConnell said, “I think that on a faith level, having been through the harshest of harsh/darkest of dark conditions, but still finding God is something that is very powerful.” 

According to a brief online history about Cathedral and Griffin, “One of the most popular (teachers) was Father Lutz. … Father Lutz was one of those men who met the student as a friend but retained their respect in the classroom.”  Another former student, Tom Higgins (Class of 1963) wrote: “For those of us who lives were touched by Father Lutz, the learning was about so much more than academics. He taught us boys something of how men should handle responsibility, with justice, compassion, and grace.” 

Besides teaching and boxing, McConnell said, “Father Lutz shared a love of God to those he encountered because (later) most of his time as a priest was spent as a retreat leader for the Viatorians (at the Villa Desiderata in McHenry).”  Moreover, over 40 years after his release as a POW, Father Lutz also presided at the funeral of Major Devereux, his former commander who led him to Catholicism. 

His years as a POW were profoundly difficult, yet Father Lutz was to suffer once again. In his final years he became ill with lung and brain cancer. The beloved teacher and retreat master was 75 years old when died on June 11, 1996, at the Villa Desiderata, and was buried at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillsdale.