John Flaherty, former associate director of Campus Ministry, current special assistant to the vice president of Mission and Ministry, and interim director of choral activities for LMU Music, was recently honored with a 2023 Madonna Della Strada Award from Ignatians West.
The Madonna Della Strada Award is named after Sancta Maria della Strada, the first church that St. Ignatius and the early Jesuits obtained to serve the urban poor in the center of Rome. The award honors lives that reflect the Ignatian values of direct service to the poor and of working and educating for a more just society.
Flaherty has been involved in music and educational ministry for 43 years as an educator, elementary school principal, music director, liturgy director, campus minister, university administrator, and composer. For 26 years, Flaherty was a member of the Campus Ministry Team at LMU, and is the founding director of the Pastoral Liturgy and Pastoral Music Certification Programs in the LMU Center of Religion and Spirituality.
Reflecting on the honor, Flaherty said, “My greatest joy in teaching music and shaping worship is putting LMU students and alumni in places of opportunity and supporting them in their creative and personal endeavors. In this principle, my call is to in turn, teach, mentor, empower, and give opportunities to others – to strive to work our own selves out of a job so that our students will take what we’ve taught them and do it, make it their own, and in turn make what we entrust to their care even better. To rejoice when they eclipse us and rejoice in the good works they do.”
Flaherty received the award for his extensive and foundational experience in establishing and defining the practical, pastoral, and experiential parameters of comprehensive multicultural and intercultural worship and collaboration. According to Ignatians West, “There is no other person in the United States who assembles and works with choirs, musicians, and ministers who are as ethnically, racially, and culturally diverse as John.”
“John’s receipt of this award is a wonderful recognition of a life committed to the service of faith and the promotion of justice that anchors our university mission,” said Bryant Keith Alexander, dean of LMU College of Communication and Fine Arts. “His commitment to campus ministry in particular, practical, and plural ways has touched countless members of the LMU community and has shaped the lives of diverse peoples and communities locally, regionally, and nationally.”
