Pfeifer, Carl J. 1929–2007

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Some sources cite middle name as Jacob, others as James; born June 22, 1929, in St. Louis, MO; died of complications from Alzheimer's disease, July 12, 2007, in Dubuque, IA. Priest, educator, columnist, and author. Pfeifer was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1961 and remained one for many years, until he realized he was about to fall in love with his colleague and coauthor, a Franciscan nun named Janaan Manternach. They resigned from their religious orders, married in 1976, and continued their partnership as man and wife. They saw themselves as Catholic educators whose mission would reform the traditional, rather stilted "Baltimore catechism" by breathing life and anecdote into the twenty-nine-volume series they called Life, Love, Joy (1968), which was also published as This Is Our Faith. Pfeifer was a lecturer at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, when he met Manternach and began the academic collaboration that would change his life. He had also taught high school and lectured at St. Louis University. Pfeifer was a panelist for the Bauman Bible Telecasts from 1967 to 1992 and wrote several columns, including "Know Your Faith" and "Photomeditations," syndicated by the National Catholic News Service in the 1970s. From 1998 to 2002 he wrote "Core Beliefs" and "Did You Know?" for the magazine FaithWorks. "Photomeditations" enabled him to combine his own photographs with his spiritual musings. Pfeifer wrote several books, often with Manternach. These include The Living Faith in a World of Change (1973), Creative Catechists: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Guide for Training Religion Teachers (1983), People to Remember: Thirty Stories and Activities about Saints and Heroes for Youth Today (1987), and How Creative Catechists Use Stories (2000).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, August 11, 2007, p. B8.

Washington Post, August 4, 2007, p. B6.