A Jesuit’s Journey Reflections

The call to ministry for Fr. Dennis “Denny” Ahern, SJ, can be traced to his days at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. “I could not help but notice that the Jesuits, who worked very hard, also laughed a lot and enjoyed so much about their lives – like playing basketball on gym nights.”

While attending Chicago’s Saint Ignatius College Prep, Fr. Bado recalls being surrounded by wonderful people, and he began to admire the young Jesuits. Soon his interest in the Society of Jesus became more evident.

Ask someone who has benefited from a Jesuit education or ministry about the Society of Jesus’ contribution to the world, and you’ll often hear answers like “Jesuits form men and women for others,” and “they serve God by caring for and seeking justice for people on the margins.” But we don’t always give thought to how the Jesuits themselves benefit from being in the Society.

It was a homecoming fifty years in the making. In 2016, Fr. Casey Bukala, SJ, moved to the Colombiere Center near Detroit, where elder Jesuits live in community, receive the healthcare they need, and pray for the Church and the Society. It was not Fr. Bukala’s first time at Colombiere, however.

Father Bill Burke, SJ, has embodied the Jesuit characteristic of appreciating all creation as a gift from God for more than 50 years - most markedly in his ministry in Alaska and Montana.

Fr. Caldwell has been a Jesuit for 73 years. His mission has consistently been to be helpful.

Throughout his life as a Jesuit, Fr. Frank Canfield, SJ, has often faced a dilemma: be where he wants to be, or go where God calls him to go. His decision has made all the difference.

Father Carmichael is most associated with Xavier University in Cincinnati, where he worked for 36 years in many roles. But two state correctional institutions were the setting where he most dramatically lived out Jesus' call in Matthew 25.

For Fr. James (Jim) Creighton, SJ, the desire to know God’s will began in Chicago. “As a teenager at Saint Ignatius College Prep, I viewed the priesthood as a vocation ‘higher’ than any other way of life,” he recalls. “Later, as a novice in the Society of Jesus at Milford, Ohio, it became obvious that there is a higher way of life, regardless of occupation or vocation. And that is seeking the will of God.”

As a Jesuit, Fr. Francis Daly has studied and taught the Spiritual Exercises to countless Jesuits and laypeople during his career, introducing them to Jesus and deepening their relationship with the Lord.

Over the course of two decades of teaching chemistry and math and serving as assistant principal and principal at Campion Jesuit and Creighton Prep, Fr. Eugene (“Dutch”) Dutkiewicz, SJ, influenced many hundreds of students for the better.

Teacher. Campus minister. Parish priest. Author. World traveler. Photographer. Mountain climber. These are just some of the words that describe Fr. Joe Eagan, SJ, during his 75 years as a Jesuit.

While growing up, Fr. Al Fritsch, SJ, knew he wanted to be a scientist. He also thought “it would be nice to be a priest and a scientist at the same time.” Fortunately, while studying at Xavier University, he learned through the Jesuits there that he could do both.

Does aging change your relationship with God? Does it transform your very identity? These are questions many people deal with at various points in their lives; for obvious reasons, more so in the senior years. And Jesuits are no different.

A desire to be a priest and a teacher made joining the Jesuits an ideal option for Fr. Bob Hilbert, SJ.

From the age of ten, Br. Jim Heidrick, SJ, knew in his heart that he wanted to be a brother.

A WWII veteran, Fr. Larry Jonas, SJ, traveled to Washington, D.C. in April 2012 for the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight. The trip offered a glimpse of what Heaven might be like.

He might have been a Trappist monk. Or an architect. Ultimately, discernment for his religious vocation led Fr. Jim King to the Society of Jesus.

Approachable. Attentive. Authentic. Available. These words come up time and again when his fellow Jesuits describe Fr. Bob Leiweke, SJ.

When Fr. John Mace, SJ, celebrated his golden jubilee while serving in the Philippines, Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, SJ, then Superior General of the Society of Jesus, delivered the homily and declared about the jubilarian, “50 years of journeying with the Lord—50 years of being polished into perfection!”

Growing up in north Omaha as one of 13 children—six of whom entered religious lives—Fr. McCaslin “always wanted to be a priest.”

A shy priest might not seem like a natural fit to lead a university, but Jesuit Fr. Michael Morrison’s gifts of warmth, sincerity, and good humor translated to a successful tenure as Creighton University’s longest-serving president.

Father Jack Rainaldo, SJ, accomplished much in his 62 years as a Jesuit. He served others as teacher, retreat director, spiritual advisor, and a staunch advocate of the Catholic faith.

Many of us grow out of our childhood career aspirations, but for Fr. Donald Rowe, SJ, those career aspirations were a vocation.

On January 10, 2022, Br. James Small, SJ, turned 100 years old. Brother Small’s true legacy is the number of people who are living lives that are better just for having known him.

At first, Fr. Staudenmaier was told by province leadership that he would most likely be doing his regency at Marquette University High School or in Argentina, where many young Jesuits were being missioned to at the time. But, in a twist of events, Fr. Staudenmaier was sent to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which he says became an enormous turning point in his life.

Father Ed Sthokal, SJ, had never considered becoming a retreat director; he never even specifically trained for it. The plan for the young Jesuit was to teach English literature, perhaps go on to run a university department in the field. So how did he end up spending 58 years as a retreat director at Demontreville Retreat House in Lake Elmo, Minnesota?

On the day Fr. Walter “Wally” Stohrer, SJ, was ordained a priest, the renowned theologian Fr. Karl Rahner, SJ told him, “You have just made the most important decision of your life. Now you must decide every day for the rest of your life what kind of priest you are going to be.”

More than 50 years later, Fr. George Sullivan’s memories of what inspired him to enter the Jesuits are marked by humor.

“It’s not how much you do, but who you are, that’s important.” This was a hard lesson for Fr. John “Jack” Wambach, SJ to learn.