Leo McLaughlin SJ was always interested in trying new things. When the senior class officers made a recommendation to have a special College only graduation ceremony he didn't even hesitate to try it. He named it "Encaenia" which in Greek means "a new beginning". This is what happened on this eventful day.... which almost 50 years later has become a TRADITION of the College... it is the College Senior's own day.

This is the program from the FIRST Encaenia...

This is an article from the March 1955 issue of Tri-F Reporter... which describes the event:

Encaenia

Sounds like Greek, doesn't it. Don't let the terminology confuse you because "Enceania" is as much American as soda pop and hot dogs. It means commencement....

Just about everyone knows that the Class of 1955 will graduate from the University. At first the news was taken hard. But gradually, all concerned became reconciled to the fact, and as Bill Rothschild so ably said at the banquet: "We'll include it in our plans and have fun doing it". And so, the efforts of four years of "hard study" will not have been in vain. For aside from the University graduation ceremony we will have our own "Encaenia".

On June 7th, the day before graduation, Fordham Fifty Five will meet on campus, each man bringing his family, friends and girl to share with him the final to share with him the final undergraduate joy of his career. The even will be marked by an air of informality including such things as a Glee Club concert, selections by the band, dancing and refreshments, not mention the readings of the Class History by the lord of the Manor. Exactly who the Lord will be is still a mystery, to be solved by the sleuths of "55 as they utilize their prerogative as the electorate and put the finger on the man they choose.

(Note the Master of Ceremonies was Langdon Toland, Bob Kennedy (Charter of the Manor) and Bill Condren (Lord of the Manor Speech)

The day will reach its climax when Father McLaughlin presents each man with his diploma. Those who merit special awards will be similarly honored.

And so, the picture begins to brighten. We will receive individual recognition and have fun doing it. It appears that Bill Rothschild was right.

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This is the article from the May, 1955 issue of "Tri-F Reporter" describing the final arrangements for the event.

On Tuesday evening, June 7, the Class of 1955 will terminate its college days in a manner consistent with its achievements over the past four years. For the first time, a graduating class of Fordham College will hold an Encaenia.

The formal proceedings will commence at seven on Edwards Parade. The time for Encaenia has been altered so as to be more convenience for the parents and guests of the Seniors.

Our Dean, Father Mc Laughlin, will address the gathering. And, if possible, Fr. McGinley will also speak.

The scholarships, prizes and other honors received by the Class of 1955 will be announced. A Lord of the Manor, as yet undetermined, will read the Class History. The original Charter which granted the lands of Rose Hill to Fordham will also be read. The ceremony will last approximately one hour.

Landon Toland, Bill Condren and Bob Kennedy were selected by their fellow students as the Senior Class speakers for Encaenia.

After the ceremony, there will be an informal dance on Keating Terrace.

In a later issue of the Tri-F Reporter...they admitted an omission... the diplomas were distributed by Leo McLaughlin in the gymnasium immediately following the University ceremonies....Thus the pictured depicted below, as reported in the Year Book were not of Encaenia, but of the event after the University graduation

Leo received his PhD from the University of Paris and was a scholar. He wrote the following description of the history of the name "Encaenia". It was the introduction of the first Encaenia program:

The ancient Greeks used the word Encaenia to signify a feast of the renovation or concentration. In the Bible we find the term Encaenia applied especially to the feast established by Judas Machabeus at the re-concentration of the temple, when Judas and his brothers dedicated the altar and ordered that this feast be observed for eight days each year. St. John tells us that Our Lord attended the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem. Moreover, Enceania is the word applied to the dedication of a golden statue by Kin Nabuchodonosor.

During the eighteen century the Enceania or Commemoration was instituted at Oxford University. The day's program provided an agreeable combination of music, speeches and honorary degrees.

Among the participants was the Terra Filius, who's part was to enliven and sometimes disgrace the solemnity by much licensed buffoonery and ribaldry. His name was well chosen. Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, was distressed and shocked by the irreverence of the annual Enceania at Oxford, since the license accorded to the Terra Filius and other buffoons was an undoubtedly broad. On one occasion the Terra Filius entertained the audience with a tedious, abusive, sarcastic rhapsody, most unbecoming to the gravity of the University. Such buffoonery was branded shameful entertainment and a departure from genuine and noble wit.

Although the office of buffoon had died away, the Encaenia was until recently an uproarious even, attended by mobs of undergraduates. Nowadays it s decorous and dull

WE HOPE THAT THE FORDHAM ENCAENIA WILL NOT BE DULL...

Almost 50 years later it would be interested to see whether the event is still FUN....

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