Liturgical composer reflects on life with Guillain-Barre syndrome

Published: 2004-04-13

ST. PAUL, Minn. (CNS) -- A year after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, an illness that quickly paralyzes the muscles and can cause death, liturgical composer Father Jan Michael Joncas continues his recovery but finds his life forever changed. "I wonder if I'll ever be equal to capturing what I'm learning about life and faith through (Guillain-Barre syndrome) in my compositions," Father Joncas said in an interview by e-mail with Pat Norby, news editor of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Ordained a priest of the St. Paul-Minneapolis Archdiocese in 1980, Father Joncas wrote "On Eagles' Wings" and 200 other pieces of liturgical music. He was a theology professor at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul when he was struck with the illness on Holy Thursday in 2003 while teaching for a semester at the University of Notre Dame.

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