How an Angry Letter to a Priest Led to a Life-Changing Friendship and Job

Can an angry letter to a priest result in a friendship that also has a positive impact on the world at large?

Yes, it can, and it’s part of our history here at The Christophers that I just learned about.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of our founding by Maryknoll priest Father James Keller who used the media as a means of encouraging people toward faith and action, toward lives that reflect the motto, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”

The timing of an email I received recently seems appropriate in light of the occasion. It came from Steve Dunlop, an Emmy Award-winning journalist and communications expert. He said that The Christophers had been off his radar for years, but he heard our radio show one Sunday and decided to reach out. Dunlop revealed that his late mother, née Jane Harris, was one of the original Christopher staff members hired by Father Keller in 1945.

Jane had graduated college with a journalism degree and worked as a writer in the world of advertising and celebrity publicity. Specifically, she worked for Steve Hannagan, a pioneer in the field of public relations before “public relations” even had a name. He turned the Indianapolis 500 “into an American instituion,” said Dunlop; helped develop resort cities like Miami, Las Vegas, and Sun Valley, Idaho; befriended celebrities at the renowned nightclub “The Stork Club”; and maintained a reputation as an honest press agent.

As a result of working with Hannagan, Jane rubbed elbows with stars of the era, including Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, and William Holden. Dunlop explained, “A devout Catholic who attended regular rosary at St. Agnes on East 43rd Street, Mom was nagged by the notion that she was…hobnobbing with the stars while American servicemen were dying overseas. So she started keeping her eyes open for new opportunities—where perhaps, she hoped, the work was more in line with what she felt God wanted her to do. It was sometime during this period that she stumbled across a small ad in a newspaper with an intriguing headline: Calling All Christopher Writers!”

“The ad,” continued Dunlop, “was seeking wordsmiths of all stripes who could help spread a disarmingly simple idea: that the actions of just one person could, literally, change the world. It asked interested parties to contact a ‘James Keller’ without much further explanation. Mom told me on many occasions the ad actually outraged her, at first. By this point, the superficial milieu of celebrity PR had beaten down her youthful idealism.”

Dunlop recalled what his mother told him her letter said — “Dear Mr. Keller: Change the WORLD? Are you kidding? You have a lot of nerve to promote the idea that just one person can change the world. It seems millions of Americans can’t change much of anything in the world right now. How, exactly, do you propose that one person do what millions can’t? Since your ad makes it seem as though you have all the answers, I can’t wait to hear them.”

A week later, Jane received a response — “Dear Miss Harris: Thank you for your letter. I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you. Could we set a date for you to visit my office? Please contact my secretary, Dorothy Egan, for an appointment. Sincerely, Fr. James Keller, M. M.”

Jane was mortified because she hadn’t realized that “James Keller” was a Catholic priest. Dunlop said, “In the 1940’s, for most Catholics, addressing a priest as ‘Mister’ was tantamount to mortal sin!”

Father Keller didn’t mind, though, because he met with Jane and hired her as a writer and researcher. Dunlop recalled, “When Mom walked out of the Stork Club’s world and into Fr. Keller’s office, she was expecting a more established mission – something tangible and bankable. That’s not what she found. All she found was a Maryknoll priest and a secretary. At the time, Mom told me The Christophers consisted entirely of Fr. Keller and one Dorothy Egan.

“Dorothy herself is a story of perseverance. A former child model, blonde and brimming with moxie, Dorothy had been struck in her pre-teen years with polio, which left one of her legs paralyzed. At too young an age, Dorothy made the gutsy decision to have the afflicted leg permanently stiffened so that she could walk without crutches. I got to know Dorothy later in her life. Her disability had no effect whatsoever on her manual dexterity; she was one of the fastest manual typists I have ever seen. And she always spoke about how much she owed Fr. Keller…Following the meeting with Fr. Keller, Mom gave her notice at Hannagan Associates, left that firm on excellent terms, and joined The Christophers. She spent the next several years there” and likely helped Father Keller meet The Christophers’ early celebrity supporters like Bob Hope and Jack Benny.

About five years later, Jane left The Christophers to have a family and raise three boys. But the years she spent with Father Keller always stayed with her. Dunlop said, “[Mom] was devoted to the Christopher message for the rest of her life.”

The story of Jane Harris and Father Keller goes to show that responding to anger with civility and kindness can lead to an unexpected positive outcome.