Path To Priesthood Media Kit

About the “Path To Priesthood” Video Series

The “Path to Priesthood”, or “P2P”, online video series focuses on a Jesuit in the last few months of formation before his ordination into the priesthood. We follow Jesuit Deacon Radmar Jao, who is currently in his third year of theological studies at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University at Berkeley, as he prepares for becoming a priest. Formerly an actor, Jao joined the Society of Jesus in 2001.

“Path to Priesthood” consists of three episodes following Jao in the months leading up to his ordination, his actual ordination ceremony and his reflections before his first assignment as a Jesuit priest. Included in the series is a collection of weekly  “video diaries/vlogs” from Jao himself where he talks about anything that may be on his mind. The weekly video diaries will range from his thoughts on the approaching ordination, to what happens in his class, ministry or that day in his community.

“Path to Priesthood” Episodes

Episode 1 – Introducing Jesuit Radmar Jao – Launch Date: April 4, 2011
This episode introduces us to Jesuit Radmar Jao as he prepares for his ordination in June in Spokane, Wash. Simultaneously, Jao is busy completing coursework in theological studies at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University at Berkeley in California. Jao also currently serves as a deacon at St. Agnes Parish in San Francisco. He discusses his background as an actor, his family and how he is preparing for his path to the priesthood.

Video Diaries – April 4 – June 9, 2011
A series of weekly video diaries introduce us to the day-to-day of this Jesuit’s life as he balances his ministry duties with completing his school assignments and also preparing to become a Jesuit priest. These short diaries range from Jao’s thoughts on his approaching ordination, to what happens in his class, ministry or that day in his community.

Live Stream of Ordination in Spokane – June 11. 2011
We go live to Jao’s ordination ceremony in Spokane, Wash.  on June 11th.

Episode 2 – Ordination – June 15, 2011
This episode is filmed immediately before and during ordination and will focus on Jao with his family and at Jesuit events like the prayer service and reception that take place the night before ordination, as well as pieces of the ordination itself.

Last Episode  – After the Pastoral Summer – September 26, 2011
This last episode takes place after Jao’s ordination and before he leaves for his first assignment as a Jesuit priest. Jao reflects on the months between ordination and assignment and his hopes for this new chapter as a newly ordained priest.

“Path to Priesthood” Series Delivery Schedule

• April 4 First Episode “Introducing Jesuit Radmar Jao”
• April 4 – June 9 Video Diaries
• June 11 Live Stream of Ordination in Spokane
• June 15 Second Episode “Ordination”
• September 26 Last Episode “After the Pastoral Summer”

“Path To Priesthood” Online Videos

Every episode and video diary of “Path to Priesthood” will be uploaded onto National Jesuit News’ YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/nationaljesuitnews. You can also find them at www.jesuit.org/p2p.

From YouTube, the “Path to Priesthood” videos are easy to embed on a variety of platforms including websites and to share via Facebook pages. Click here to find out more details on embedding YouTube videos to your website.

The videos will also be featured prominently on the National Jesuit News blog at www.nationaljesuitnews.com.

“Path To Priesthood” Logos

Path to Priesthood image pack (To download, right click (control + click for Mac) and select “Save Target As…”)

About Jesuit Radmar Jao

Headshot (To download, right click (control + click for Mac) and select “Save Target As…”)

Bio (To download, right click (control + click for Mac) and select “Save Target As…” or click to open link as a .pdf in separate window)

Jesuit Deacon Radmar Jao is originally from northwest Indiana and comes from a large family of nine children. This summer, Jao will be ordained a priest during a ceremony in Spokane, Wash. Jao has invited us to join him on this journey, his own path to priesthood, via a series of videos and online diaries starting in April and finishing up after his pastoral summer in September.

Before joining the Jesuits in 2001, Jao was a professional actor in Los Angeles and enjoyed relative success working in film, television and on stage including appearances on “Seinfeld” and in the film “Minority Report”. He won an Ovation Award (LA’s version of the Tony awards) for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Tobias in “Sweeney Todd”.

Since entering the Society of Jesus, he has earned a masters degree in Applied Philosophy from Loyola University Chicago and completed his two-year regency assignment at the University of San Francisco where he taught acting for non-majors and theater appreciation, as well as worked with the University Ministry team leading Christian Life Community (CLC) groups and coordinating retreats. He is currently in his third year of theological studies at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University at Berkeley, where alongside his studies he served as a campus minister at the Cal Berkeley Newman Center, as chaplain for the Children’s Hospital of Oakland, and as deacon at St. Agnes Parish in San Francisco.

In the summer of 2010, Jao continued his formation as a spiritual director by completing the two-month training program at the Loyola House Retreat and Training Center in Guelph, Ontario, Canada.

Radmar enjoys running, cooking, watching movies, good conversations, people who make him laugh, playing board games and staying connected with friends and family on Facebook – where he discovered another “Radmar” who was actually named after him!

“Path to Priesthood” Press Release

Jesuit Invites Viewers to Join Him on His Path to Priesthood

Path to Priesthood Press Release as .PDF (To download, right click (control + click for Mac) and select “Save Target As…” or click to open link as a .pdf in separate window)