A member of the team that founded Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in 1996, he taught theology at the school from 2000 until 2004, when he was appointed to his current role as president.

“I love being a Jesuit, so the thought of working with Jesuits in formation is a privilege and honor for me,” said Fr. Gartland. “I am looking forward to moving to Boston.”

Gartland will be responsible for the community’s Jesuits, who come from various parts of the United States and as far away as Europe and Africa.

Prior to his post at Cristo Rey, Gartland was pastor of St. Procopius Church, a Mexican immigrant parish in Chicago.  He earned his bachelor’s degree from Xavier University, master’s degrees in philosophy and religious education from Loyola University Chicago, and a master’s in divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley.

(L-R) University President William P. Leahy, SJ, Vice President for University Mission and Ministry Jack Butler, SJ, and scholastic Jeremy Zipple ’00, a student in BC’s School of Theology and Ministry, at the March 31 panel discussion “Three Jesuits: Who Do They Say They Are? Personal Perspectives.” (Photo by Justin Knight)

Three members of the Boston College Jesuit Community opened their hearts and memories to an overflow audience of more than 200 to discuss their vocations as members of the Society of Jesus.

The discussion held at BC, was entitled “Three Jesuits: Who Do They Say They Are? Personal Perspectives,” and featured Boston College President Jesuit Father William Leahy, Vice President for University Mission and Ministry Jesuit Father Jack Butler, and Jesuit Scholastic Jeremy Zipple, a student in Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry.

The Jesuit panelists spoke on how their individual journeys to the order began, whether by answering a life-long call to serve God, searching for the right opportunity to share a family’s love and concern for others — or, in one case, through a chance meeting with a BC Jesuit priest.

Father Butler described his time working with the marginalized in society, especially the incarcerated and the elderly, and the courage of such groups in the face of difficulties through faith as formative in his decision to enter the Jesuit Order.

“I fell in love first with a concept – how I saw God working in peoples’ lives,” Butler said. “Jesuits have a way of meeting people where they are, starting a conversation, and letting God do the rest of the work,” he said, calling the work of a Jesuit a process of “together finding God through one another.”

To read the full story on the panel, please visit the Boston College Chronicle.

The five buildings that make up the grounds are now home to an international group of 75 Jesuits, whose main apostolate is theological reflection, scholarship and research. Formerly the Weston Jesuit Community, the group includes many students and teachers from the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.

Last month, the Jesuits — some of them having lived in Harvard Square for 40 years ‑ moved into their new residence.

Jesuit Father Richard Roos, minister of the Blessed Peter Faber Jesuit Community, said the new community — built in less than a year and under budget — allows for relationships to develop more organically among the Jesuits. Prior to the move, the community was scattered throughout Harvard Square, he said, making it difficult to make connections.

Fr. Roos said the design of the property is a gentle reminder of what brings the very diverse group together. In the middle of the ring of five buildings stands a chapel, a space large enough that all in the community may celebrate Mass together.

“That is quite appropriate,” said Roos, “because the heart of our community is Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.”

To hear more about the new Blessed Peter Faber Jesuit Community and to see what the new space looks like, please watch the video below: