Jesuit Father Paul Coelho, from Kohima, India, and currently working at the Center for Service and Justice and in campus ministry at Creighton University, has lived in Jesuit communities across the globe.

He admits that he came to the United States with a certain amount of apprehension. “I wasn’t sure how I’d fit in; I wasn’t sure how well I would be accepted. I had lots of doubts,” he said.

But, Fr. Coelho said, “It took me just two days to realize that a Jesuit community anywhere in the world is the same.”

While there are superficial differences, he said, he’s found that what it boils down to at the deepest level is amazingly similar.

“I’m convinced that when you’re a Jesuit you almost belong to a different nationality — the Jesuit nationality. It transcends natural borders and geographic and demographic borders,” Coelho said.

He has found that he’s at home in any Jesuit community because of the Society’s long, shared history. For more of Coelho’s reflections, watch the video below.