The program is the brainchild of several Brophy alums who encouraged their alma mater to organize a DACA application workshop last month.

“These young men (Brophy alums) helped me understand the significance of the DACA process and the complexity of the application. DACA is a potentially life-changing step for currently undocumented people who were brought to this country by their parents when they were children,” says Bob Ryan, principal of Brophy Prep.

Legal professionals and volunteers, including current Brophy students and alums, helped over 200 eligible people complete their applications and prepare their documents for submission to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

“I’m volunteering because I wanted to help out my Latino community,” says Cesar Lopez Palafox (’13). “I know most of my family and friends are Latinos, and some have undocumented relatives. I felt called to help them out in any way I can.”

Learn more about the event by watching the video below or visit www.brophyprep.org/daca. [Brophy College Prep]

A writer and biblical scholar known for his warm, pastoral style, Cardinal Martini was long considered a papal candidate in the last conclave.

In a telegram to Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan, Pope Benedict praised Cardinal Martini’s generous service to the Gospel and the church and his “intense apostolic work” as a Jesuit, a professor and “authoritative biblicist.”

As archbishop of Milan, the pope said, Cardinal Martini helped open for the church community “the treasures of the sacred Scriptures.”

Born in Orbassano, near Turin, Italy, on February 15, 1927, Carlo Maria Martini entered the Society of Jesus in 1944, was ordained a priest July 13, 1952, and took his final vows as a Jesuit in 1962.

With doctorates in theology and biblical studies, he was a seminary professor in Chieri, Italy; professor and later rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome; and rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University. When he was named archbishop of Milan in December 1979, Cardinal Martini was the first Jesuit in 35 years to head an Italian archdiocese.

The cardinal was also a prolific author whose books were best-sellers in Italy and included everything from scholarly biblical exegesis to poetry and prayer guides.

Known as a strong pastor and administrator and as a very careful, thoughtful advocate of wide discussion on delicate and, often, controversial church positions, Cardinal Martini expressed openness to the ordination of married Latin-rite priests, under certain circumstances, and permitting women to serve as deacons.

Following his retirement as archbishop of Milan in 2002, Cardinal Martini moved to Jerusalem and focused on biblical studies, Catholic-Jewish dialogue and praying for peace in the Middle East. He returned to Milan after his health worsened in 2008.

Cardinal Martini’s death leaves the College of Cardinals with 206 members, 118 of whom are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope.

For more on Cardinal Martini, see Associated Press reporter Nicole Winfield’s account from Italy and the Catholic News Service obituary.

Following his ordination in 1973, Fr. Webb served in Toronto, where he took on a number of social justice projects, including leading an advocacy effort against the system of apartheid then existing in South Africa and helping found a Catholic newspaper, a health center, the Taskforce on Churches and Corporate Responsibility and the Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice.

In 1986 Fr. Webb moved to Jamaica, where he served for over twenty years. There he spent most of his time working with the poor, as a pastor in Kingston, chair of the St. Mary’s Rural Development Project and founding director of Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections.

Fr. Webb returned to Canada in 2008 to become Provincial Superior of the Jesuits in English Canada. In this role, he chose to live in an apartment in one of the poorest parts of Toronto, rather than the six-bedroom home in a Toronto neighborhood that had once served as home base for the Jesuit leadership team.

“If you say that material things are not important but then there’s no sign of it, it lacks credibility,” Fr. Webb told Canada’s Catholic Register in 2009. “Our commitment to social justice and solidarity with the poor is very strong. In terms of vocations, I think that is one of the things that is attracting younger people to the Jesuits.”

Fr. Webb always believed there was more that could be done, however difficult it might seem, said Jesuit Father Philip Shano.

“Where others saw missions impossible, Jim was eternally optimistic about how things could work out,” Fr. Shano said. [Jesuits in English Canada, The Catholic Register]

Fr. Vincent O'Keefe, SJ at the 34th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, Rome. Photo by Don Doll, SJ

Fr. James Croghan, SJ, grandnephew of Fr. O’Keefe and chaplain at Regis High School, warmly recalled his uncle and brother Jesuit as an individual whose love of God, the Church and the Society of Jesus was palpable in his relationships with friends, family and all those whom he served in his long life and career. Fr. Croghan labeled love as the constant, driving force in Fr. O’Keefe’s life. Fr. Croghan offered reflections on Fr. O’Keefe’s 90th birthday celebration two years ago at Murray-Weigel Hall, the health care center for New York Province Jesuits located adjacent to Fordham University in the Bronx, and how Fr. O’Keefe, even in his later years, served as a source of inspiration to all.

Jesuit Father Thomas H. Smolich, president of the Jesuit Conference, offered words of appreciation for Father O’Keefe’s life, saying Father O’Keefe “loved to be with people—as a host, a brother Jesuit, a storyteller, a priest.”

Father Smolich added, “Father O’Keefe was absolutely loyal: to Pedro Arrupe, to the Society of Jesus, and to the Church. He was a man of great joy, a kind of joy that only comes through intimacy with God.”

To listen to excerpts from the Mass, click here

Fr. Vincent T. O’Keefe, SJ, was president of Fordham University in 1965 when he was elected at the 31st General Congregation of the Society of Jesus to serve as one of four General Assistants to the newly elected Jesuit Superior General, Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ. For the next 18 years, Fr. O’Keefe was stationed at the Rome headquarters of the Jesuits and worked closely with Father Arrupe in guiding the renewal of Jesuit life in the wake of the reforms called for in the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

During his years in Rome, Father O’Keefe was a favored commentator for ABC News at such events as the death of Pope Paul VI in 1978 and the two conclaves that followed and elected Pope John Paul I and Pope John Paul II. He also provided commentary for ABC during many of Pope John Paul II’s trips abroad, including his visits to the United States in 1979, 1993 and 1995.

After the 33rd General Congregation in 1983, Fr. O’Keefe returned to the United States. He was appointed rector of the Jesuit community at Fordham University in 1984. From 1988-90, he assumed principal responsibility for planning Assembly 89, an unprecedented gathering of Jesuits and their colleagues from the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States held at Georgetown University as part of the celebration of Georgetown’s 200th anniversary.

After working at the Jesuit Conference in Washington, D.C., Fr. O’Keefe returned to New York City to serve as superior of the Jesuit community and writer-in-residence at America House where the Jesuit weekly America is published. In 2007, he was assigned to Murray-Weigel Hall to pray for the Church and the Society.

Father O’Keefe, fluent in English, Italian, French, Spanish and German, was one of the best known and most-loved Jesuits of his generation. He grew up in Jersey City, N.J, the youngest of eight children. He graduated from St. Michael’s High School in Union City and entered the Jesuits in 1937 at Wernersville, Penn. After studies at Woodstock College, Md. (1941-1944), he taught at Regis High School in New York City from 1944-1947 as a scholastic. Theological studies in Louvain, Belgium followed, and he was ordained to the priesthood there in 1950.

Click here to view a blog post by America magazine editor Fr. Jim Martin, SJ, on Fr. O’Keefe. Included is a video of Fr. O’Keefe’s reflection on former Jesuit Superior General Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ.

Click here to view an article from Fordham University on the passing of Fr. O’Keefe.

To view a slideshow of images of Fr. O’Keefe, please visit the web site of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus

With news about the Higgs boson particle, the so-called “God Particle,” that’s helping scientists understand how the universe was built, Br. Consolmagno says he’s explained multiple times that “No, the God Particle has nothing to do with God…”

Although not a particle physicist, Br. Consolmagno is often interviewed because of his role as a Vatican astronomer. He says some are surprised to hear that the Vatican supports an astronomical observatory, but that science and religion complement each other:

But the real reason we do science is in fact related to the reason why so many people ask us about things like the God Particle. The disciplines of science and religion complement each other in practical ways. For example, both are involved in describing things that are beyond human language and so must speak in metaphors. Not only is the ‘God Particle’ not a piece of God, it is also not really a ‘particle’ in the sense that a speck of dust is a particle. In both cases we use familiar images to try to illustrate an entity of great importance but whose reality is beyond our power to describe literally.

Read more of Br. Consolmagno’s commentary on the Higgs boson discovery on Catholic News Service and Catholic News Agency.

Wheeling Jesuit University’s longest serving Jesuit, Father James O’Brien, considers his 50-year tenure at the university more of a gift than an accomplishment.

Fr. O’Brien came to the university in 1962 to teach philosophy. It was his first assignment as a Jesuit. Fifty years later, Fr. O’Brien still cherishes his career at the university.

“One version is they lost my records at the headquarters in Baltimore, they didn’t know I was here and that I managed to stay under the radar for 50 years,” the 85-year-old joked.

“There have been times when some other position would come up elsewhere and I would say, ‘What do you think? Is it time for a change?’ In every case, I would say, ‘Maybe you should just stay here and do what you’re doing,’” Fr. O’Brien recalled.

The university recently honored the Pennsylvania native in a president’s dinner and award ceremony. Fr. O’Brien said his favorite part about Wheeling Jesuit is its small community.

“It’s a lot more different than some of the other Jesuit colleges in the area,” he said. “I think it’s being able to interact with people in a more face-to-face way.”

In addition to his other duties at the university, he also takes students on Appalachian Experience service trips sometimes up to three times a year.

Fr. O’Brien said one of Wheeling Jesuit’s main focuses is on its students.

“We help students find themselves and we make them ready not just to get good jobs but to take the talents they have and put it to good use for themselves and others,” Fr. O’Brien said.

Fr. O’Brien graduated in 1940 from the Most Blessed Sacrament Parochial School in Philadelphia and graduated four years later from St. Joseph’s Preparatory School.

He later attended St. Joseph’s College and ended up going into the Navy Reserve. From there, he decided to go into the seminary. He taught three years at Baltimore Jesuit High School while studying theology.

Two years after becoming ordained, Fr. O’Brien was assigned to Wheeling Jesuit University, where he focused on teaching and campus ministry.

“The whole spirituality helped me, and at the time I was still working on my dissertation,” Fr. O’Brien said.

Although he says he didn’t make much progress at first, Fr. O’Brien said he obtained his doctorate in the 1980s from Duquesne University.

Raised in a religious environment, Fr. O’Brien said he always thought about going into the seminary for his career. His love for his work has carried on.

“Why do people stay married 50 years? Why do people choose to be doctors, lawyers or teachers? Somehow, or another, it’s not just external, but it builds up on circumstances,” he said.

“It’s not like climbing Everest. It’s more like, Here’s your life.’ You’re taking steps. That’s not to say it’s no great achievement. It’s rather a kind of gift the way it comes about.”

[The State Journal]

The sculpture was created in clay by local artist Janie Belive, who works at Campion Center in Weston, Mass., where Fr. Skehan is in residence. Vincent J. Murphy, James Lewkowicz and Robert O. Varnerin—longtime friends of Fr. Skehan—commissioned the bronzing of the sculpture. The bust’s base, from the Le Masurier Family Quarry in North Chelmsford, Mass., is made from Chelmsford Granite, one of Fr. Skehan’s favorite rocks. The bust is on display in BC’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, which was founded (as the Department of Geology) by Fr. Skehan in 1958.

Many colleagues and friends joined Fr. Skehan at the Apr. 25 event. John Ebel, Boston College Earth and Environmental Sciences professor and Weston Observatory director, gave an address that served as a retrospective on Fr. Skehan’s career. A reception with birthday cake followed, hosted by BC’s Jesuit Community and the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department.

Fr. Skehan is a renowned geologist whose research has focused on the history of the Avalon terrane, the geological micro-continent stretching from Long Island to Belgium upon which Boston lies. From 1973 to 1993, he directed BC’s Weston Observatory, which monitors seismic activity around the globe.

He is the author of Roadside Geology of Massachusetts, a 400-page illustrated guide to the geological history and makeup of the Commonwealth. He followed that with Roadside Geology of Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Fr. Skehan has been honored in special ways during his storied career. In 2003, Mount Holyoke College paleontologist Mark A. S. McMenamin named a new genus of trilobite in Fr. Skehan’s honor. Skehanos is a marine arthropod that lived more than 500 million years ago and whose fossil was discovered in Massachusetts.

Author Sarah Andrews created a fictional Fr. Jim Skehan character for In Cold Pursuit, her mystery novel set in Antarctica. Fr. Skehan is also the recipient of the American Institute of Professional Geologists’ Ben H. Parker Memorial Medal, honoring individuals with long records of distinguished and outstanding service in the field of geology, among other honors.

A man of science, Fr. Skehan is also a man of deep faith. Growing up, his family said the rosary regularly after dinner. He entered the Jesuit order in 1940 and was ordained in 1954.

A noted retreat and spiritual leader, he is the author of Place Me With Your Son: Ignatian Spirituality in Everyday Life and of Praying with Teilhard de Chardin, on the life and thought of French Jesuit paleontologist and philosopher de Chardin. The convergence of geologist and priest was profoundly on display when Fr. Skehan said the first Mass on the volcanic island Surtsey soon after it rose off the coast of Iceland.

Fr. Skehan sees no conflict in his devotion to both science and faith, telling the Boston College Chronicle:

“If you look at a beautiful sunset, or how mountains are formed, or observe how continents move, you can view it either as science or as God speaking to you, or both. I do both. What I do as a scientist is no different from what I do listening to the cosmic word of God. It’s nice to have both [science and faith] – in fact, it makes everything so exhilarating. What could be more marvelous?”

[Boston College]

Two years ago, having just pronounced my first vows as a Jesuit novice in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, I was on a flight bound for London. All of a sudden it hit me:  For the first time, I was arriving in England as a Jesuit. Four centuries earlier, my brother Jesuits had arrived under starkly different circumstances. They had to enter the country in disguise, under assumed names and beneath the watchful eyes of priest-hunters. Edmund Campion, for one, passed himself off as a jewel merchant named Mr. Edmunds. Having left England eight years earlier to become a priest and a Jesuit, he was for that reason regarded as a traitor and public enemy.

Campion and his companions—Robert Southwell, Nicholas Owen and Henry Walpole—were among the first Jesuits I ever encountered. At that time, nearly ten years ago, I was an overly ambitious young graduate student at Oxford University, my sights set on a career in politics and foreign affairs. But, I also had a profound sense that the Lord was calling me deeper into prayer and union with him. When I began attending daily Mass at the university chaplaincy, I encountered one of the most astonishing preachers I had ever heard, a British Jesuit by the name of Nicholas King. Here was a man who had met the Word of God and knew how to help others do the same.

I soon began spiritual direction with Fr. Nick, and it was he who introduced me to the English martyrs. They instantly became both heroes and friends in the Lord, men who opened up vast new horizons for me and who pointed out a way of living in intimate friendship with Christ. These were men who had walked the very same streets that I now walked and who had heard the Lord say to them, as he had to the first disciples, “Follow me.” And they were cheerful! Nowadays people sometimes imagine martyrs as a gloomy lot. Not these men. They knew what awaited them when, not if, they were captured, but because they did it all for love, they were buoyed by that special grace that overtakes all lovers. They also acted out of the boldness that comes from the union of hearts and minds within the Society, where all the missions of individual Jesuits are inextricably linked. As Campion famously wrote to government authorities shortly before he was captured, “And touching our Society, be it known to you that we have made a league—all the Jesuits in the world—cheerfully to carry the cross you shall lay upon us and never to despair your recovery.”

Given what I owe to Edmund Campion—both because of his example and his prayers—it was a real grace to be sent to Campion Hall, the Jesuit academic community at Oxford, for my first mission as a Jesuit scholastic. At the end of my novitiate experience, the provincial asked me to return to Oxford to finish the doctorate in international law that I had begun but had left unfinished once I discerned my vocation to the Society. So, I spent the first year and a half of First Studies back in the place where I had originally heard the Lord’s call. This time around, though, I found myself in a whole new role—as a partner in the Society’s mission to the University.

The primary focus of my apostolic work was a vocations group for eight young men discerning the priesthood and religious life. But, I also helped Fr. Nick and a Benedictine scripture scholar lead a group of undergraduate students—consisting mostly of non-believers—on a study-tour of the Holy Land. In both contexts, I found myself looking to Fr. Ignatius for guidance. As a student in several Spanish universities and finally at the University of Paris, Ignatius developed a way of proceeding that remains definitive for us to this day, and not only in the university apostolate—engaging in spiritual conversation. In discussions with fellow students, he looked for where the Lord was already at work and where he could help them to encounter Him. The experience of trying to do the same at Oxford taught me an important lesson:  At a time in Europe’s history when many people have lost all contact with the faith, personal conversations are one of the principal frontiers of the new evangelization.

Fr. Ruane, who entered the Society of Jesus upon graduating from St. Peter’s Preparatory in 1937, said that going to the missions appealed to him, and he was sent to the Philippines to study philosophy at Ateneo de Manila in July 1941. By 1942, all the priests and seminarians were placed under house arrest by the Japanese military, and in 1945, the Jesuits were moved to the Los Banos camp. They could take few belongings, and the 80 Jesuits were assigned to live in huts with 16 internees in each.

Given rice mixed with a little meat and water twice a day, Fr. Ruane said, “We were weak.” He said that they didn’t move around too much to preserve their strength and people would blackout often. “One pig would last for 1,000 servings.”

The priests would take turns saying Mass with the wine they had smuggled into the camp, and some of the Jesuits professors who would lecture the internees.

Fr. Ruane said they never gave up on the Americans and knew they were close since their airplane engines were stronger than the Japanese. Eventually, Fr. Ruane and the other internees were rescued by the U.S. troops.

Jesuit priests and seminarians, above, in a photo taken at Loyola College in Los Angeles after they were freed by American soldiers in 1945. Father John Ruane is in the top row, second from right.

After World War II, Fr. Ruane returned to the United States to be ordained; earned a doctorate in philosophy at Louvain, Belgium; and then returned to Cebu in the Philippines to teach Jesuit seminarians until 1969.

With the passing of Fr. Ruane, Jesuit Father James Reuter, now 95, is the only other Jesuit survivor. Fr. Reuter still lives in the Philippines.

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