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Paul Connelly has dedicated his life to living out the Jesuit ideal of being a "man for others," and because of that, he has been awarded the first annual Fairfield Prep St. Ignatius of Loyola Alumni Award. A Fairfield resident, Connelly, 79, graduated from Fairfield Prep in 1948 and has been an active member of Catholic communities around the region ever since.
The award will be given each year to a Prep alum who exemplifies the qualities of being open to growth, intellectually competent, religious, loving and committed to doing social justice. Connelly will receive the award at a school-wide mass in September.
To say the least I was very surprised and practically speechless. It was a very humbling experience. He also said he had a racing thought through his mind, that this was the nicest birthday present he could ever receive. Ironically, my birthday is July 31 which happens to be St. Ignatius of Loyolas birthday. I will be 80 years old July 31, 2010.
Connelly has worked tirelessly at the Thomas Merton Center in Bridgeport over the past 10 years and was awarded the St. Augustine Medal of Service by Bishop William Lori of the Diocese of Bridgeport. He has been married to his wife Mary Lou for 50 years and has four sons. He is well known in the Fairfield Prep community as the president of the Fairfield alumni group, known as the Latin Scholars, which has generously supported Brazilian missions led by classmates Msgr. Joe Potter and Fr. Ed McCall.
He worked in the insurance industry for 40 years.
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