Fr. Charles Pfeffer:
‘Servant leader’

By CHRISTIE L. CHICOINE
CS&T Staff Writer

More than 1,200 people packed the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul Dec. 27 to honor a beloved priest. Father Charles J. “Chuck” Pfeffer, 53, died suddenly of heart failure on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2004.
Among the bereaved were many young people who had interacted with Father Pfeffer during his stint as director of the Archdiocese’s Office for Youth and Young Adults (OYYA). Others had known Father as director of the Newman Center at he University of Pennsylvania and a parochial vicar of St. Agatha-St. James Parish in Philadelphia.
“He lived for young people and young adults,” said Father Thomas M. Higgins, now pastor of Holy Innocents Parish, who succeeded Father Pfeffer as director of OYYA from 1996-2003. “Young people, young adults felt God’s love through Father Chuck and because of that they knew the Church loved them and they wanted to be a part of the Church and youth and young adult ministry.”
Father Chuck’s passion for life was contagious, as was his laugh, Father Higgins said. “He had the greatest laugh in the world. The depth of his laugh got all of us laughing. Sometimes he would laugh so hard he would fall to his knees. In turn, all of us would kind of fall to our knees laughing with him.”
Father Higgins served as Father Chuck’s assistant director before becoming his successor as director. Although the new regime pursued new ventures, Father Higgins said they often flew on “Father Chuck’s coattails” in ministering to youth and young adults.
Patricia C. Manion, the current OYYA director, concurred. She said many of OYYA’s programs are a result of Father Pfeffer’s “genius and thoughtfulness.”
Auxiliary Bishop Robert P. Maginnis was Father Chuck’s predecessor in what was then called the Office for Youth Activities. “He was a good priest, a man without guile — what you saw was what you got,” Bishop Maginnis said. “When you were working with him in any capacity, there were no hidden agendas. He was a very good and loyal friend.”
His brother, Jack Pfeffer, 49, a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Morton called the death “shocking.”
Father Pfeffer had diabetes but his death was unexpected. His brother said Father Chuck — as he was commonly known — admitted that he was tired but did not mention any health-related concerns when they last saw one another on Dec. 20.
That evening, Father Pfeffer dined at the St. Agatha-St. James Rectory with other resident priests. He was scheduled to celebrate the noon Mass at the Penn Newman Center on Dec. 21, but never arrived. He was found later in his room at the rectory.
“He went to sleep and didn’t wake up,” Pfeffer said.
He described his brother as a buddy. Father Pfeffer helped him recuperate from an accident that disabled him for 22 years, and his recovery subsequently led him to spend 13 years as a volunteer for OYYA, Jack Pfeffer said. He is now the program’s senior accountant.
Father Pfeffer died just prior to Christmas, the holy day that, by all accounts, he loved best.
“God must have said, ‘Father Chuck, you’re going to enjoy Christmas even more now that you’re literally with my Son,’” said Father Higgins.
For years Father Pfeffer had spearheaded OYYA’s annual Operation Santa Claus, a charitable, archdiocesan-wide collection of Christmas toys for needy girls and boys. The 2004 Operation Santa Claus, including the closing Mass held Dec. 24, was dedicated to the memory of Father Chuck, according to Manion.
Father Chuck was also the co-founder and spiritual director of the Catholic Leadership Institute in Malvern. Timothy C. Flanagan, co-founder and chair of the institute, said he was crushed by Father Chuck’s death and remembered him as “an authentic follower of Jesus Christ.”
Father Pfeffer was born July 3, 1951, in Philadelphia, the oldest of the late Charles Joseph Pfeffer Sr. and Winifred Cosgrove Pfeffer Trefz’s three children. He graduated from Holy Child School in 1965 and Cardinal Dougherty High School in 1969.
After high school, he enrolled at La Salle College and studied pre-med before answering a call to the priesthood and transferring to St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood in 1970. He was ordained by the late John Cardinal Krol May 21, 1977, at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul.
According to Father George L. Strausser, a seminary classmate and friend of Father Pfeffer’s who currently serves as a parochial vicar at St. Agatha-St. James, Father Chuck will be remembered for his exemplary liturgies, entertaining homilies and his “joyful presence.” His self-deprecating sense of humor, especially about his size, was also notable.
“There’s no denying Father Chuck was a big man,” Father Strausser said in his homily at the funeral Mass. He recalled that Father Chuck once remarked that his idea of heaven was a place where the laws of gravity would be suspended.
“Even though we don’t understand why Father Chuck had to die at such a young age, all of us here today can thank God for sending Father Chuck our way,” Father Strausser said.
Father Pfeffer’s funeral Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Justin Rigali. Concelebrants of the funeral Mass included Monsignors George J. Mazzotta, Francis X. Schmidt and Daniel J. Sullivan; Fathers William E. Grogan; Thomas M. Higgins; Steven J. Marinucci and Father Strausser.
In addition to his brother Jack (Kathleen), Father Pfeffer is survived by his sister, Marian C. Fletcher (Wayne); three aunts, Marie Piskor, Dorothy Black and Betty Miller; three nieces and a nephew.
Interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to Operation Santa Claus, 222 N. 17th St., Room 200, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103 or Penn Newman Center, 3720 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19104.

CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine can be reached at (215) 587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org