Fr. Jake Foglio, the long-time chaplain to the MSU football team, has died.
Affectionately known simply as “Fr. Jake,” Foglio was assigned to St. John Student Parish in East Lansing in 1970 where he served the spiritual needs of Spartan football players, coaches and staff for more than 40 years. He was a fixture on the sidelines during games.
In 2018, MSU established the Foglio Chair of Spirituality in the College of Arts and Letters. At the time, he had this definition of spirituality in an interview with Russ White for MSU Today: “Spirituality is the seeking and the practice of excellence in being a human being," Foglio stated. "That’s the whole thing.”
The former U.S. Marine was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1961. Foglio was also an assistant professor in the MSU College of Human Medicine.
Fr. Jake Foglio died on Monday at the age of 90.