Midwest Jesuit Joshua Peters, SJ, Ordained to the Diaconate

November 6, 2019 — On October 19, Midwest Jesuit Joshua Peters, SJ, along with four other Jesuits, was ordained to the diaconate by the Most Reverend Michael C. Barber, SJ, Bishop of Oakland, at Saint Mary’s College Chapel in Moraga, California.

Peters and the other Jesuit deacons are currently studying theology at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California.

For Jesuits in formation, ordination to the diaconate is the final step in preparation for priestly ordination in the Society of Jesus. Deacons proclaim the Gospel, preach and teach in the name of the church. As ministers of sacraments, they baptize, witness marriages and conduct wake and funeral services.

As a deacon, Peters will continue his studies and be assigned to a parish until next summer when he will be ordained to the priesthood and receive his first missions as a Jesuit priest.

David Inczauskis, SJ

David was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, and raised in Homer Glen, Illinois. A graduate of Wake Forest University, he met the Jesuits while studying liberation theology at Oxford University and joined the Society after graduation in 2014. 

As a Jesuit, David has been particularly active in academics: studying or working at a university every year since taking first vows in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2016. He published two books in Spanish, one in 2019 on Honduran theater and one in 2022 on Honduran cinema. His current research as a doctoral student in philosophy at Loyola University Chicago focuses on critical phenomenology and Latin American liberation philosophy. Also at Loyola Chicago, he serves as chaplain to the men’s volleyball team and to the Spanglish Christian life community. Off campus, he works as a community organizer with the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership.

After ordination, David will continue as a doctoral student in philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.