Jesuit Father Joseph Fennell is 100 years old today, the first New England Province Jesuit to be a centenarian. When asked what his wishes for 2011 were, Fr. Fennell joked, “I want to be on a fast train to heaven with no stops — after March 23.”

Fr. Fennell lives in Campion Health Center in Weston, Mass., where his daily routine includes listening to the bible on tape, tuning in to NPR and chatting with visitors. He attributed his longevity to “exercise, especially golf, no smoking and no drinking.”

His father had slated him to be a lawyer, but Fennell felt a strong calling to be a priest. While at St. Michael’s College in Winooski, Vt., he was inspired by well-known missionary Jesuit Father Bernard Hubbard, who encouraged him to consider a religious vocation. In 1933, Fennell entered the Society of Jesus.

Fr. Fennell in 1960 in Baghdad with his chemistry students.

Fennell spent many years teaching at Baghdad College in Iraq, until the expulsion of the Jesuits from Baghdad in 1969; he then taught at the Jesuits’ Cranwell Prep (now closed) in Lenox, Mass., and served at a parish in Concord, Mass.

Fennell said he has “a wonderful duty” as a retired priest to pray daily for the church and the Society, and he is still inspired by a quote from his 5th grade teacher: “Where there’s life, there’s hope.”

In Amman, it’s the center of lay workers and the Jesuit fathers in Jordan. The center’s mission is the service of the faithful Christian in different theological and spiritual fields and in pastoral works. Its different works are performed by a group of Jesuit priests, together with a group of laypersons, who have specialized in theological and spiritual education.

Marcus, Tricia and Alice met with Jesuit Father Al Hicks, missioned to Jordan from the New England province and superior of the community as well as Jesuit Father Kevin O’Connell, also of the New England province and pastor of the English-language Catholic parish in Amman. They also joined the congregation at St. Joseph Church in Amman for Sunday Mass concelebrated by Frs. Hicks and O’Connnell.

Video interviews and additional articles about the works of the Jesuit Center in Amman will be posted in the new weeks. In the meantime, below are few photos from the visit.