Archive for the ‘Pastoral Ministry’ Category

Jesuit Father Robert McChesney, interim director for the Hispanic Institute at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University (JST), recently spoke with Catholic San Francisco on how the rapid growth of Hispanics in the U.S. church is changing schools and seminaries.

Fr. McChesney said, “We have to prepare our students for the changing face of the church, and that means attention to the devotional life of the Mexicans and the Latins in general. There is much more of a devotional faith than many of our students are familiar with. It takes me back to the church of the ’50s. We have to prepare our students to be part of a more devotional church.”

One devotional he’s become familiar with is practicing posadas during Advent. “The Latino Catholics will process around the neighborhood knocking on the door. It goes back to no room at the inn. … I’m an Irish-American Caucasian, but I’ve had to learn that because it’s certainly the religious practice,” said Fr. McChesney, who is also director of the Intercultural Initiatives and the New Directions Sabbatical programs at the JST.

“I have been taken back to my youthful practice of devotion, if you will, because it’s a way of prayer I needed to cultivate to serve the Latin community because it’s so central to them,” he said.

Fr. McChesney also said Hispanic leaders are influencing the U.S. church. “I think the Hispanic bishops have had a huge impact on immigration reform,” he said.

To read more of the interview with Fr. McChesney, visit Catholic San Francisco.

Across the United States, the Society of Jesus, the U.S.’s largest order of priests and brothers in the Roman Catholic Church, runs universities, high schools and middle schools, parishes and retreat houses.  And today, the 450-year-old religious order has an app.

Available for free at the iTunes App Store, the Jesuit app operates on any iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad; a similar app will soon be available at the Android Marketplace for use on devices such as the Droid, Evo and HTC Touch.

The new app allows users to locate Jesuit retreat centers, schools and parishes across the U.S., read the latest news and information about the Jesuits, and access Jesuit prayers and spirituality documents.

The app’s three sections include:

Locations
Here users can find Jesuit apostolates – parishes, retreat centers, colleges and universities. It includes easy-to-use directions and contact information for any Jesuit institution in the U.S. and is searchable by apostolate name, by the user’s current location or through any address the user enters.

News
All the latest news stories from National Jesuit News are displayed here.  Users can tap on any headline to view the full story, share the link with friends or open the story in their browser.

Prayer
In this section, users can view prayers, spirituality documents and background information on the Society of Jesus.

The video below explains in more detail how the app operates. Visit the app information page here to find out more.

This month, 12 men from various walks of life and who entered the Society of Jesus over a decade ago were ordained as priests. Following ordination, these new priests will serve in parishes and teach in Jesuit universities, among other assignments.

Last year, we followed Jesuit Father Radmar Jao on his own journey to ordination. Now, Fr. Jao walks us through an ordination ceremony for three of his fellow Jesuits—Jesuit Fathers Christopher Duffy, Richard Magner and Trung Pham—which took place June 9 at the Chapel of the Sacred Heart on the campus of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

This short video gives a unique glimpse into an ordination Mass with Fr. Jao explaining the actual process of the ordination ceremony step-by-step.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver has assigned two Jesuit scientists —both of whom have been described as having an ‘earthy spirituality’—to head its new parish on the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus.

Jesuit Father Robert Allore, pastor and chaplain, and Jesuit Father John McCarthy, assistant pastor and chaplain, hope the new St. Mark’s Parish will grow and become an integral part of the faith and service life of UBC.

Fr. Allore said, “We actively support efforts that promote dialogue between the traditions of science and religion.”

Fr. McCarthy said, “At the same time, we hope to build bridges between sometimes separated communities that, we believe, need to work together for the benefit of all.”

St. Mark’s Parish, formed at the beginning of the year to serve students, faculty, staff and local residents, brings together the former worshiping communities of St. Ignatius of Antioch Parish and St. Mark’s College. In partnership with student support provided by the campus ministry team at St. Mark’s College, the new Parish of St. Mark will also deliver services to the UBC hospital system.

As befits a parish in an institution of higher education, Frs. Allore and McCarthy arrive at UBC well-qualified in their respective fields of science.

Fr. Allore is a geneticist who conducts research on gene therapy strategies for the nervous system, while Fr. McCarthy is an ecologist who specializes in boreal forest ecology and the biology of lichens.

While pursuing his training as a Jesuit, Father Allore worked at Montreal General Hospital’s division of Neurosurgery where he conducted research on gene therapy strategies for the nervous system. Before moving to Vancouver, he worked for several years at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mt. Sinai Hospital, investigating the genetics of nervous system development. While serving at St. Mark’s Parish, he will continue his genetics research in the UBC Department of Zoology.

Fr. McCarthy is a specialist in boreal forest ecology and the biology of lichens, important biological indicators of environmental conditions.  He has conducted extensive studies on the ecology of old growth forests in northern Newfoundland.  He served for years as the Co-Chair of the Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Advisory Council for the government of Newfoundland and Labrador. His work in boreal forest conservation earned him the Canadian Environment Award, Gold Prize, from the Royal Geographical Society of Canada.

Aside from his parish duties, Fr. McCarthy continues his ecological research activities on the biodiversity of lichens in Newfoundland and Labrador.  His field work takes him to all parts of Canada and Europe to collect samples and meet with research collaborators.

You can read the original story on Frs. Allore and McCarthy’s newest assignments in this The Campus Resident article written by its editor, John Tompkins.

First established in 1875, St. Procopius Parish, located in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, has watched its community of parishioners change from predominately Czech to mostly Hispanic today. Its pastor, Jesuit Father Sean O’Sullivan, himself an immigrant from Ireland, invites all of the parishioners of St. Procopius to open their hearts to their diverse community. Fr. O’Sullivan’s story is not unlike that of his parishioners, who have come to a new place and are looking for a sense of belonging, which they now find through the sharing of the faith.

Find out more about Fr. O’Sullivan and St. Procopius Parish in the Ignatian News Network video below: