February 21, 2025 — Here’s the latest news from the Jesuits in Canada and the United States.
Jesuit Astronomer Publishes Guide to the Cosmos
Br. Guy Consolmagno, SJ, director of the Vatican Observatory since 2015, shares his journey of becoming a Jesuit astronomer, explains the compatibility of science and faith, and guides readers on how to look at the heavens in a new book, “A Jesuit’s Guide to the Stars: Exploring Wonder, Beauty and Science,” from Loyola Press.
Br. Consolmagno, who has authored hundreds of scientific publications and several popular books, uses the new guide to describe his journey of faith and academic and professional pursuits through the lens of Jesuit spirituality.
“Ignatian spirituality emphasizes engagement with the world and ‘finding God in all things,’” he wrote. “This aligns exactly with the work of a scientist because scientists find joy in studying things; to find joy is to find God.” Read more.
Jesuit Cardinal Visits Lebanon
Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, visited Lebanon in February to express the pope’s solidarity and prayers and see firsthand the efforts of the local church, “especially after the war that forced a million people to flee,” he said. During his trip, the cardinal met with migrants, displaced persons and refugees receiving assistance from Caritas and the Jesuit Refugee Service. “It is important to bring the Holy Father’s closeness to the refugees and all those who represent them,” he said.
He also visited the tomb of Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach, SJ, the Dutch Jesuit and Superior General of the Society of Jesus from 1983 to 2008, who taught in Lebanon and “left his heart” there, requesting to be buried in Beirut.
In #Libano 🇱🇧 prende il via oggi la missione di @jesuitczerny che porta la vicinanza e il sostegno del Papa a vescovi e patriarchi e alla popolazione colpita dalla guerra. Prima tappa a Beirut: la preghiera alla tomba di padre Kolvenbach, preposito dei gesuiti dal 1983 al 2008 pic.twitter.com/5MXlThwZUX
— Vatican News (@vaticannews_it) February 19, 2025
Cardinal Czerny was Fr. Kolvenbach’s secretary for social apostolate matters for 11 years. Standing at his grave, Cardinal Czerny paused for prayer. Afterward, he reflected: “In the spirit of Vatican II, Kolvenbach tirelessly renewed and restructured all aspects of Jesuit spirituality, community, formation and, most importantly, mission. His work culminated in the 1995 update of the Constitutions.” Read more.
Boston College Names Fr. John Butler, SJ, Next President
Fr. John T. “Jack” Butler, SJ, has been name the next president of Boston College, where he currently serves as vice president for University Mission and Ministry. He will succeed Fr. William Leahy, SJ, who will step down in the summer of 2026.
Fr. Butler has served on the president’s senior leadership team since 2010 and has played a key role in advancing the university’s strategic priorities in formative education, curriculum renewal and student wellness. He also was part of the team of institutional leaders and faculty committed to renewing Boston College’s Core Curriculum and has served on the search committees for all senior administrator positions during the past 15 years.
“After graduating from college, I worked as a teacher and administrator at a K-8 parish school and upon entering the Society of Jesus I taught at both the high school and college level,” Fr. Butler said. “I have been involved in education as a teacher and administrator since my early 20s, so it is with great humility and gratitude that I prepare to embark on this new role of leading one of the nation’s best institutions of higher learning.” Read more.
Jesuits Never Retire
There is a saying that “a Jesuit never retires”; read on to find out what two of our U.S. nonagenarians are up to.
New Opera by Jesuit Debuts
On February 7, “The Garment of Praise,” a new opera by Fr. Kevin Waters, SJ, premiered at Gonzaga University’s Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center. The opera, a story of hope, communion, loss and the love of God, is about John the Baptist’s parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah, in the days before the miraculous birth of their son.
Fr. Waters, 91, served for more than three decades at Gonzaga as a professor of music and the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. For decades, Fr. Waters, an organist and pianist, would begin each day composing music for an hour. He has been working on “The Garment of Praise” for many years, pairing with Shann Ray Ferch, a poet and professor of leadership at Gonzaga who wrote the opera’s libretto. Read more and watch a recording of the opera.
Jesuit Publishes Book at 99
Fr. Cornelius M. Buckley, SJ, recently published a book, “California Blackrobe,” a biography of a fellow Jesuit, Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ, the founder of Ignatius Press. At 99, Fr. Buckley is only three years short of tying the Guinness World Record for oldest published male author.
Frs. Buckley and Fessio met in the late 1960s when the younger Jesuit (Fr. Fessio is now 84) was serving as a lecturer at Santa Clara University, and Fr. Buckley, recently returned to the Bay Area after earning his doctorate in history from the Sorbonne in Paris, joined the Santa Clara faculty. In December, the two concelebrated Mass at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California, which was followed by a book signing and reception for 150 guests.
Fr. Buckley spent most of his years in ministry as a college professor, including decades at the University of San Francisco. In 2004, when he was 79, he took on a new job, serving as a chaplain at Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California, for 17 years. Read more.
Diaconate Ordination
Orlando Portalatin, SJ, of Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province, was ordained a deacon on February 8, 2025, in Madrid, where he is currently studying theology at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas. Portalatin will be ordained to the priesthood this summer.
Appointments & Awards
Fr. Thomas Massaro, SJ, a professor of moral theology at Fordham University since 2018 and the associate director of the Center for Ethics Education, was recently appointed as Fordham’s Laurence J. McGinley Chair in Religion and Society. Established in 1985, the endowed professorship attracts distinguished scholars exploring the intersection of religion and the legal, political and cultural forces that shape American society.
Fr. Massaro said he has known of “the prestigious McGinley Chair since I was in my 20s,” in part because of the semiannual public lectures the chair historically delivers. This tradition, he said, “is one of the ways that Fordham reaches out and plays its role as a center of theology in the broadest, pluralistic circles of New York City life.”
Fr. John Savard, SJ, has been appointed director of campus ministry at Fairfield University. For the past two years, Fr. Savard served as assistant director of the Murphy Center for Ignatian Spirituality. He teaches in the School of Education and Human Development as well as in the College of Arts and Sciences. Fr. Savard said he is committed to meeting students where they are, with plans to bring “programs into the residence halls, such as a weekly Ignatian Examen and other opportunities for students to lead in the Ignatian tradition.”
Fr. Phil Hurley, SJ, will join the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network-USA as assistant director beginning in April 2025. His work will include strategic planning, leading retreats around the country, assisting with Hearts on Fire retreats for young adults, working with young Jesuits and more. Fr. Hurley recently served as university chaplain at Loyola University Maryland.
Fr. Raymond Guiao, SJ, president and chief mission officer of Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, received the 2025 Richard W. Pogue Award for Excellence in Community Leadership & Engagement from the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (CMBF) on February 8, 2025. Saint Ignatius alumnus and CMBF President Eric Levasseur interviewed Fr. Guiao, who is Levasseur’s long-time mentor.
Final Vows
Fr. Jeremy Zipple, SJ, pronounced final vows in the Society of Jesus on January 17, 2025, at St. John’s College in Belize, where he serves as director of campus ministry.
Fr. Aaron Engebretson, SJ, pronounced final vows in the Society on February 7, 2025, at an all-school liturgy at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, Washington, where he is a member of the faculty.
