jesuit bulletin - summer 2012

jesuitSummer 2012

B u l l e t i n

Forming the Next

Generation

Ordinations in Mobile • Notes from Belize • Formation for Vietnam

jubilarians 2012

50 Years in the Society of Jesus

joseph A. Brown

john B. Foley

eustace sequeira

john B. Warner

james j. White

Bernard j. CoughlinWilliam t. Miller

Robert L. AugLuke j. Byrne j. David CorriganDenis e. DalyRichard e. HadelRalph D. HoulihanMaurice M. MurrayDonald W. ReckCurtis e. Van Deljames V. Veltriejarrel D. Wade

Dirk j. Dunfeesteven A. schoenig

jeffrey D. Harrisontimothy M. McMahon Ronald A. MercierChristopher P. Pinné Peter F. Ryanjosef V. Venker

50 Years in the Priesthood

john L. McCarthy

Frederick G. McLeod

john G. Valenta

Martin j. Whealen

Robert A. White


5070 Years in the Society



Novices in 1952, including the men who will celebrate their 60th anniversary

Fr. John FoleyFr. Ralph Houlihan

Fr. Steven Schoenig, (left) Fr. Dirk Dunfee

Fr. Jack Warner

contents

feature stories

6 | Forming the Next Generation Why jesuits still teach in high schools

12 | Ordinations in Mobile Four priests called to serve

16 | Notes from the Field A priest ordained last june chronicles Belize-style ministry

18 | Meeting God for Lunch simple thoughts on intimacy with God

20 | Building the Church in Vietnam jesuits open a path for formation of Vietnamese religious

22 | Supporting Social Projects New bi-province grant program

2410

4 | Jesuit News

24 | Profile Christopher Pinné sj

26 | Profile A Family invested in jesuit Mission

29 | In Memoriam

6

EditorThomasM.RochfordSJ

Assistant EditorCherylWittenauer

DesignerTracyGramm

Advancement DirectorThomDigman

Cover photo:VincentGiacabazi,aJesuitregent,

intheclassroomatDeSmetJesuitHighSchool

(Photo:ThomasRochfordSJ)

12

26


john L. McCarthy

Frederick G. McLeod

john G. Valenta

Martin j. Whealen

Robert A. White

4 Jesuit | summer 2012

jesuit news

Sheeran Headed to AJCU After 19 Years at Regis

Fr. Michael sheeran has left Regis university after 37 years, including the last 19 as its president.

sheeran, who retired from Regis on May 31, is spending the summer giving presentations and traveling to ireland. He will study theology in the fall at Boston College before leaving in january for Washington.

Next summer, the 72-year-old sheeran will begin serving as president of the Association of jesuit Colleges and universities in Washington.

sheeran’s leadership at Colorado’s only jesuit Catholic university brought a doubling of enrollment, expansion of academic programs, and a 16-year consecutive ranking as a top school in the West by U.S. News & World Report.

in August 1993, he hosted a meeting of Pope john Paul ii and President Bill Clinton at Regis. in ensuing years, he would bring high-profile u.s. and international visitors to Regis, including Nobel Laureates

the Dalai Lama, Rigoberto Menchu tum and Archbishop Desmond tutu.

sheeran arrived at Regis in 1975 as assistant professor of history and

political science and director of student academic services. He was named academic dean in 1977, and academic vice president five years later. He began serving as president in january 1993.

Born in New York and raised in Kansas City, sheeran received his doctorate in political science from Princeton university in 1977. His dissertation on Quaker decision-making is now a book used by Quakers to teach the method to new members.

Fr. john Fitzgibbons succeeded sheeran as president on june 1. He most recently served as associate provost for faculty development at Marquette university in Milwaukee.

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Fr. Michael Sheeran (left), president of Regis University, and Dick Kelly, chair of the Regis University Board of Trustees, pose with Sheeran’s Resolution of Achievement at the May 6 spring commencement.

Fr. Michael Sheeran addresses graduates at Regis University’s May 6 commencement.

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Fr. Louis McCabe, the Missouri provincial assistant for vocations, has been named pastor of St. Peter Claver Parish in Punta Gorda, Belize, effective in September.

Fr. Joseph Damhorst has been assigned as chaplain of Loyola Academy in St. Louis.

Fr. Paul Deutsch and Fr. Andrew Kirschman will become vocation

Trans i t i on sdirector and coordinator of vocation promotion, respectively, for the New Orleans and Missouri Provinces. Deutsch, who is vocation direc-tor for the New Orleans Province, will take on that same role for the Missouri Province, while Kirschman will take on a new role for both prov-inces focusing on voca-tion promotion outreach at schools and universi-ties in the two provinces. Kirschman will also con-tinue part-time ministry at Arrupe Jesuit High School in Denver.

Fr. Bernard Barry has been named treasurer of the New Orleans Province. Barry is a

member of the Missouri Province and most recently served six years as assistant dean of Fordham University’s business school and advisor to its under-graduate international program. Previously, he worked in campus ministry at Saint Louis University.

Fr. William Oulvey, vice president for mis-sion and ministry at Rockhurst University, has been named Missouri Province consultor start-ing July 31, replacing Fr. James Guyer who has provided advice to the provincial for the last seven years. Fr. Thomas Greene, an immigra-tion lawyer from the New Orleans Province who serves the Jesuit

Conference as secretary for social and interna-tional ministries, has been named consultant of the Missouri Province effective in August.

Name of Jesus Parish in New Orleans, will suc-ceed Mueller at Guardian Angels.

After 13 years in Austin, Texas, Fr. John Payne moves on to Lake Dallas to serve as a retreat director at Montserrat Retreat House.

Fr. Frank Reale has been named superior of New Orleans Province commu-nity for Jesuit High and Immaculate Conception parish in New Orleans.

Fr. Stephen Yavorsky, director of The Ignatian Spirituality Program in Denver, will join the staff of The Ignatian Spirituality Center of Kansas City effective Sept. 1.

New Orleans and Missouri Jesuits on the Move

Lou McCabe

Bill Rehg

James Goeke

Several Jesuit scholas-tics are finishing their regency assignments and moving from teaching high school students to studying theology. Max Buehler (Rockhurst High School in Kansas City), John Le (St. John’s College in Belize), Carlos Esparza (Strake Jesuit

Formation NewsCollege Preparatory of Houston) and Randy Gibbens (Jesuit High School of Tampa) will begin theology studies in Berkeley, Calif., at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. Ronny O’Dwyer (De Smet Jesuit High in St. Louis), Vincent Giacabazzi (De Smet), John Nugent (Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas) and Jose “Pepe” Ruiz (Strake Jesuit College Preparatory) will be attending Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.

Joseph Hill (Jesuit High School of New Orleans) will be attend-ing St. Ignatius Loyola Interprovincial Theologate in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Noel Alamilla and Shane Mulligan will begin their regency assignments at Rockhurst High School. Tim Kieras will begin regency at St. Louis University High School.

Fr. Aaron D. Pidel will begin doctoral studies in Systematic Theology at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind.

Fr. James Goeke has been named assistant to the novice direc-tor of the novitiate at Grand Coteau, La., after having served as a staff chaplain at Saint Louis University Hospital.

Br. William Rehg is the new dean for Saint Louis University’s College of Philosophy and Letters. The program is for young Jesuits studying philoso-phy and theology during their first years of study after the novitiate.

Glenn Mueller

Fr. Glenn Mueller has been named associate pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Grand Coteau, La., after 15 years of service as associate pas-tor of Guardian Angels Parish in Kansas City. Fr. Robert Hagan, associate pastor of Holy

Max Buehler


secondary education

Forming the next Generation

By Cheryl Wittenauer

Fifty years ago, when Fr. Ralph Houlihan was a young scholastic at his alma mater, classes at st. Louis university High school were formal and

lectured, and jesuits made up most of the faculty. in his personal studies during formation, he learned Catholic dogma in grammatically correct but not terribly sophisticated “kitchen” Latin.

today, “Fr. Houly” at 78, is one of only a handful of jesuits remaining at sLuH, an urban institution that has cycled generations of st. Louis boys to men. He is engaged and energetic, alter-nately teaching the works of the ancient Roman poet, Virgil, and leading his junior morality class in spirited discus-sions about academic cheating, birth control and other ethical matters.

“He’s really solid on his theology,” said 16-year-old joe Archer, who likes Houlihan’s questioning, confronting style.

Houlihan admonishes fence-sitters or “mugwumps” to contribute to class discussion. And the man who used to join students on outdoor smoke breaks in the 1970s, recalling that those infor-mal meet-ups generated a “gold mine of information,” challenges doubting students to remain open to God as they gain life experience.

“if some of you don’t believe in God, are you saying there’s no meaning to life?” he asks them. “How do you know you’re an atheist?”

For Houlihan, teaching high school is all about motivating and communi-cating to young people as they grow

in knowledge and experience, and shape their identity, beliefs and values.

Fewer jesuits staff and administer schools now, but they’ve done a good job of inculcating in the lay-majority teaching staff the jesuit approach to education, he said.

Almost since its beginnings in the 16th century, the society of jesus has been associated strongly with educa-tion. Last fall, jesuit superior General Fr. Adolfo Nicolás wrote to major superiors worldwide that he is more con-vinced than ever that the society is called to pay more attention to the service of young people.

that includes helping them make the most of youth-ful possibilities and creativity, thrive and dream, make

Fr. Ralph Houlihan teaches a morality class at St. Louis U. High.


good decisions, and feel the stirrings of their own hearts, Nicolás wrote.

“Youth hap-pens only once,”

he wrote. “it can open the person to incredible riches of true life or it can end up deflating all possible dreams and hopes. We, jesuits, therefore, have to ask ourselves: ‘what is the quality of our presence with the young, and how deep, genuine and Christian is it?’”

jesuit historian Fr. john Padberg said jesuit high schools are an institutional means to guide youth, and help shape the future of church and society.

Fr. Doug Hypolite, a veteran teacher at jesuit High school in tampa, Fla., believes jesuit education in the high schools is the society’s most important ministry because of its leverage in shaping a more just society in the future.

“university work is great,” said Hypolite, 67. But in the high schools, “we’re forming so many young minds and helping them to grow, getting them committed to doing justice. You can’t really form people in college.”

At De smet jesuit High school in st. Louis’ western suburbs, 29-year-old Ronny O’Dwyer, who just completed his third year of teaching as a jesuit regent, has found high school work to be “very tender.”

“they’re kids,” he said. “You’re walking with them. that may be in the eR or when the mom calls to see if we’ve noticed an improvement with the new ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) medicine.”

One sunny spring morning, a De smet student wept in the arms of a friend outside of chapel, apparently moved by a weekly eucharist worship service led by 30-year-old jesuit Regent Vincent Giacabazi.

the night before, Giacabazi and campus ministry offered one of a series of organized events aimed at helping students grieve the loss of a student who died in December.

that day, he taught Christian scriptures to De smet sophomores, trying to make texts written centuries ago appeal to boys just two years out of elementary school.

“We try to make it relevant,” said Giacabazi, who won this year’s excellence in teaching Award from the sophomore class. Giacabazi dispenses animal crackers for consistently correct or creative answers in freshmen spanish, and as a reward for initiative in sophomore New testament.

O’Dwyer, a native New Orleanian who grew up in Denver and who comes from a “long line of educators, restaurant people and sales people,” said he tries to teach kids in a way that helps them to experience God’s love for them.

“My prayer in the morning is ‘help me teach as you teach, love as you love, discipline as you discipline, remember what i need to remember and forget what i should forget,’” he said.

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8 Jesuit | summer 20128 Jesuit | summer 2012

“Our guys don’t do well” with the harsh discipline of an earlier era, he said. “they need to be loved into greatness.”

At his junior moral theology class, O’Dwyer brings order and calm to this “wild” section by instructing antsy students to “breathe deeply” and “do your best” on a quiz while soothing music plays in the background. “By the end of this song,” he tells them, “we’ll wrap it up and have a little man-versation.”

“Put your head up, no pillowing,” O’Dwyer tells a sleepy student who’s resting on his desktop.

“i’m reflecting,” the boy replies.Words like “grace” and “faith” and notions about

stepping out of comfort zones pepper class discussion. in O’Dwyer’s classroom, kids are encouraged to be real

A Tradition of Education By Cheryl Wittenauer

Jesuitswerethefirstreligiousorderintheworldtostartschoolsspecifi-callyforlaypeople,andtheirfirstwasaschoolforyouthfoundedbyIgnatiusLoyolain1548inMessina,ontheislandofSicilyinItaly.

TheviceroyofMessinahadaskedIgnatiusfortheschoolaspartofanefforttoreformtheisland.

Beforelong,theearlyJesuitsdis-coveredthateducatinglaitythrough

Jesuit-founded“highschools”(whichwerecalled“colleges”then)wascriticalforteachingthefaith,helpingstudentsachievetheircallingsintheworld,andpromotingthecommongood,86-year-oldJesuithistorian,Fr.JohnPadberg,said.

“Theyfoundthat(theschools)wouldhelppeoplereligiously,intellectually,andsociallyandhelptheciviclifeofcities,”hesaid.“Theybecamesopopularandtherequests(tostartschools)cameinsoquickly,therewasnowaytorespondtoalltherequestsforthem.”

Inthatregard,thingshaven’tchangedmuchin464years.

“We’reinittodaybecausepeopleaskustobe,”saidPadberg,directorofTheInstituteofJesuitSourcesinSt.Louis.

WhathaschangedistheratioofJesuitstolaypeopleinfacultyandadministrativepositions.BeforeWorldWarII,thosejobswerethealmostexclu-sivedomainofJesuits.Today,theyaresharedbyJesuitsandlaity.

Otherdifferences:Today’sJesuithighschoolshavemuchmorewide-

rangingcurriculumthantheyusedto,andtheyhaveembracedcontemporarycommunicationtechnology.

Jesuithighschoolsalwayshaveemphasizedseriousacademicsandfaithformation.Butitwasn’tuntilthemid-1960sand‘70sthatformationintheresponsibilityofajustsocietyalsobecameahallmarkofJesuitsecondaryeducation.Thislatter,socialjusticeemphasisaroseoutofVaticanIIandJesuitgeneralcongregations,inter-nationalmeetingsthatsetpolicyanddirectionsfortheSocietyofJesus.

ThefutureofJesuithighschoolswilldependonstudents’andparents’desireandsupporttokeepthemrunning,onthedecisionsanddesiresofJesuits,andontheimaginationofallparties,Padbergsaid.

“Theywillcontinuetobe,andbesuccessful,aslongastheydrawonthetraditionofthepast,aslongastheyfaceclearlythechallengesofthepresent,andaslongastheyhaveimaginationenoughtoseehowthingsmightbedifferentforthefuture,andbetter,”hesaid.

and vulnerable. One after another, each student takes his turn before peers to share an experience of faith, or

opening himself to love or suffering. they share stories about a family vacation, the death of a friend’s mother, the discomfort of newness at a Head start service project pierced by the friendly welcome of non-judgmental youngsters.

“this is my favorite class,” 17-year-old junior jake Koenig jr. said. “We’re allowed to be free and open. Mr. O’Dwyer says it’s our class. You can be trusted and honest here.

“He’s a great teacher. it’s not a homework class. He tells us, ‘your homework is to meditate on what you learned. take 20 minutes each day and think about what we talked about and how you can use it to better yourself.’”

Ronny O’Dwyer seizes a learning moment for a De Smet student.


Regis Jesuit’s Missy Franklin keeps size 13 feet in Denver while on Olympic trajectory

MoststudentsataJesuithighschoolworkhardbutaren’tknowntothewiderworld.That’snotthecaseforMelissa“Missy”Franklin,anincomingsenioratDenver’sRegisJesuitHighSchoolGirlsDivisionwhowillalmostcer-tainlycompeteasaswimmerinthissummer’sOlympicsinLondon.

Franklin,17,knownas“themissile,”hasappearedonthe“Today”showanddrawnnationalnetworkTVcrewstoherhighschoolswimmeets.She’sbecomethemedia’spre-Olympicsdarling,profiledinthe New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times,The Telegraph of London,andelsewhere.

Herfamerestsonswimmingsuccessatthehighestlevels.Builttoswimwithsize13feetthatserveasflippers,shemadeherworlddebutlastsummerbywinningthreegoldmedals,asilverandabronzeatthe2011FINAWorldChampionshipsinShanghai.Sheisthecurrentworld’srecordholderinthe200meterbackstroke,arecordshesetlastOctoberinBerlin.

Ofthemanytalentedyoungswimmers,MissyFranklinstandsapartinthatsheenjoysbeingaRegisstudentandcontinuestocompetewithherschool’sswimteam,passingupalotofmoneyshecouldhavetakenhomehadsheturnedpro.Sheisgoodatallherclasses,includingseveraldemandingadvancedplacementcourses.ShedoesallthenormalthingslikeretreatsandserviceprojectsthatRegisJesuitexpectsofitsstudents.

“Shedoesn’tburnoutandisalwayssoengagingandhassuchagreatspiritabouther,”saidJohnKoslosky,athleticdirectorattheRegisJesuitGirlsDivision.“Shetriestojustreallyblendin;shegoestothefootballgamesinthefall,toourdances.She’sallaboutbeing(ateenager)andhavingacar.She’sjustanormalkidhere.”

Kosloskyremembersthestateswimmeetlastyear,whenFranklinwasasophomore.TheRegisgirlswontheirfirst-ever5-AStateChampionship.

“Iwentdownonthepooldeckafterwewontocon-gratulatethegirls,”Kosloskysaid.“Missyburiedherheadinmyshoulder,justsobbing.Itwassuchareliefforhertowinthisfortheschool,forherteammates.Iwentdownthinking,youswimattheworlds,you’retryingtomaketheOlympics,you’reswimminginRussiaandGermanyandthePhilippines.Thisisjustastatemeetagainsthighschoolkids.Yetitmeantsomuchtoher.Iheardhersayinaninterviewthisyearthatitisstilloneofherfavoritemeetsofalltime,winningthestatemeetinhersophomoreyear.

“She’saspecialkid.I’mjusthappytoknowherandbeatinypartofherjourney,becausesheisgoingtogoonanddogreatthings.”

standing at the door as the class exits and disappears into the noisy hallway, O’Dwyer connects with each student. some get a fist-pump, others a personal message.

“use your seatbelt this weekend,” he tells one boy. He reassures another who asks whether he presented well in class. “Yeah,” he said. “You were fine.”

O’Dwyer said this generation of young people is “very honest” with little tolerance for false airs.

“they expect us to be frank, relevant and to live out what we teach,” he said.

Graduating seniors recognized O’Dwyer in May with the teacher of the Year award for representing the ideals of jesuit education.

Randy Gibbens, 34, said becoming a high school teacher was the last thing on his mind when he joined the jesuits in August 2004. But he said three years of teaching at jesuit High school in tampa, Fla., revealed just how rewarding the work can be.

Gibbens, a native New Orleanian whose own high school experience at jesuit High school New Orleans deep-ened his understanding and appreciation of jesuits, said high schools are “great places” to train for the priesthood. in his three years at tampa, he has taught theology and biology, organized and given retreats, and moderated both

the Altar server society and the campus pep club, Blue tide.

He has an undergraduate degree in agronomy from texas A&M university. After college, he worked for a year on a golf course construction project in the Dominican Republic.

Moved by the poverty all around him, he ended up at a Catholic Worker

House in Houston before joining the jesuits and getting reacquainted

with high school life.

Randy Gibbens interacts with students at Jesuit High School in Tampa.

Missy Franklin (center) celebrates with her Regis Jesuit High School girls swim team.

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st. Louis university High school (st. Louis) De smet jesuit High school (Creve Coeur, Mo.)Rockhurst High school (Kansas City)Regis jesuit High school (Aurora, Colo.)Arrupe jesuit High school (Denver)st. john’s College High school (Belize City, Belize)

“i don’t think i’m the greatest teacher,” Gibbens said. “But there’s something about being with the stu-dents every day, developing a relationship with them, the interaction with the kids.

“i know that they’re not going to remember the steps of photosynthesis or cell respiration the next week. But for me, the reward is being with the students, accompanying them as they undergo the process of self-discovery.”

Hypolite, his jesuit High-tampa colleague, is a 44-year education veteran who is famous and tough-looking, a “classroom warrior type” who is both fun and demanding of student excellence,” Gibbens said.

His one-line Hypolitisms, or threads of wisdom, frequently are quoted in the school. Among them, “Rise to the top because the bottom is crowded” with mediocrity and “stand up for something or you’ll fall for anything.”

“Kids dread having to do a lot of work in his class, but by the time they’re done, they’re really happy they had him,” Gibbens said.

Hypolite, who learned French at a young age to communicate with his French-speaking grandmother, focused his studies on language, initially studying Portuguese so that he could work in Brazil. But he was never sent.

He teaches spanish, drilling always in the language, and telling students, “You’ve got to listen and focus.”

Hypolite, the Greek name for “stone horse,” also chairs jesuit-tampa’s French, spanish and Latin language department. He has no immediate plans to retire from the classroom, and says he finds teaching “energizing.”

“What more can i do for almighty God?” he asked. “All the gifts we have as jesuits are meant to be put in practice. the gifts are not to keep but to be given away.”

High Schools of the Missouri Province High Schools of the New Orleans Province

jesuit High school (New Orleans)jesuit High school (tampa, Fla.)jesuit College Preparatory school of Dallasstrake jesuit College Preparatory (Houston)Cristo Rey jesuit College Preparatory school of Houston

From left to right, Fr. Doug Hypolite; Ronny O’Dwyer, a Jesuit regent; Fr. Ralph Houlihan at a scrapbook bulletin board at St. Louis University High School;and Vincent Giacabazi, a Jesuit regent, with two De Smet students outside of chapel


the sun beat down on the new arrivals who nervously looked at each other while standing in line. Finally, the border patrol officers sent them through the security checkpoint, questioning them about their identification and patting them down to ensure they had no weapons.

Relief at passing the checkpoints turned into confusion when a few of the arrivals were pulled out of line. Word spread that the young men were to be interrogated and inspected as border patrol searched for an armed, tattooed

warlord who was rumored to be seeking entry into the refugee camp.

this scene from a “refugee camp” took place on March 27 at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas as 1,100 students participated in the nation’s first Refugee Camp Simulation with the guidance of Jesuit Refugee Service/uSA. through the leadership of the school’s American/African Outreach Society, students, parents, and faculty worked with JRS/uSA to bring this experiential learning activity to campus.

two simulated camps in thailand and Kenya sat side by side in the school’s terry Center building. Student volunteers ran each station in the camps, while every student “refugee” passed border patrol and security checkpoints to enter thailand or Kenya. next, they had to pass medical inspections before being assigned living quarters in overcrowded tents. then, students received small food and water rations before going to the education station where they learned about the work of JRS and refugees worldwide.

By the end of the school day, every Jesuit Dallas student had participated in the simulation, and the students raised money to sponsor three scholarships for children in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp.

Students simulate a refugee camp experience

Students Simulate Refugee Camp at Jesuit DallasBy Cara Pavlak

that evening, students, faculty, and parents returned to school for an event highlighting JRS/uSA’s work with refugees.

“in the ‘camps,’ our students were able to experience some of the challenges faced by refugees with the added bonus of learning about global refugee issues with representatives from Jesuit Refugee Service/uSA,” said Rich Perry, director of community service at Jesuit Dallas. “the JRS Refugee Camp Simulation enabled our students to walk a mile in another’s shoes, experiencing what it means to be a refugee and learning about the pressing global issue of forced displacement.”

JRS/uSA will modify its Refugee Camp Simulation toolkit later this year for high school students. For more information about the JRS Refugee Camp Simulation toolkit, e-mail the JRS/uSA Outreach Coordinator at: [email protected].

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to learn more about JRS/uSA’s outreach, go to http://jrsusa.org/.

Also, “like” JRS/uSA on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/jrsusa) to see photos from the Dallas event.


jesuitformation

Fr. Brian M. Reedy, 38, spent his early years in Anaheim, Calif. even as a boy, Reedy felt the call to serve God. Although raised an evangeli-cal Christian, he was strongly drawn to the Roman Catholic Church while study-

ing at east texas Baptist university. the sense of a voca-tion grew stronger following graduation when Reedy was working toward an advanced degree in chemistry and biophysics at texas A&M university, and he entered the Catholic Church at st. Mary’s Parish in College station, texas.

During his formation, Reedy taught high school math and science at jesuit College Preparatory school of Dallas and at Houston’s strake jesuit College Preparatory

school, and worked for four months in a soup kitchen in tijuana, Mexico. He also served as an adjunct faculty member in chemistry at Fordham university in New York, where he completed a master’s degree in philoso-phy and helped lead the music at st. Paul’s Parish in Manhattan.

this year, Reedy had the honor of singing the exsultet, or easter Proclamation, and preaching at the easter Vigil where his parents were received into the Roman Catholic Church.

“As i looked out at my parents’ faces, lit only by candlelight, it was truly a dazzling night full of deep gladness,” he said. “ . . . i have the honor of proclaiming God’s love to the same people (who) have nourished and established me in my faith and vocation. My priesthood flows out of the loving relationships that have given me the freedom and courage to say “yes” to the Lord’s call. At the same time, i am now able to feed and nourish those same people with Christ from the tables of the Word and the eucharist.”

Ordination to Priestly Ministry St. Joseph Chapel, Spring Hill CollegeJune 9, 2012

James B. Hooks, Bao Q. Nguyen, Brian M. Reedy and Daniel J. Tesvich receive the consent of the community at the start of the ordination rite (below) after being led into the chapel by Deacon Ben Hooks (left). They prostrate themselves during the Litany of the Saints (opposite page left). Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi ordains Brian Reedy by imposing hands on the Jesuit.

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Fr. Daniel J. Tesvich, 35, hails from New Orleans. Although tesvich entered Louisiana state university intending to study political sci-ence, his plans were forever changed when a professor invited the young undergrad to

attend daily Mass. this powerful experience led him to learn more about his faith, and he quickly became active with the Lsu Catholic student Center, serving as a resi-dent sacristan and member of the team preparing those for the Rite of Christian initiation of Adults.

During this period, tesvich felt called to priestly ministry. After discerning this call, he transferred to st. joseph seminary College in Covington, La., to finish his undergraduate studies while preparing to become a

diocesan priest. As his discernment continued, tesvich realized that he was being called to serve as a vowed reli-gious in the society of jesus. After graduating from the seminary, tesvich entered the jesuit novitiate in Grand Coteau, La., and later taught theology at jesuit College Preparatory school of Dallas. tesvich earned master’s degrees from Loyola university Chicago and Boston College school of theology and Ministry.

“As i have grown during my priestly formation, especially during the spiritual exercises of st. ignatius, i have experienced the great truth that the main issue is not the virtue and wisdom of the minister . . . (but rather) being called to share Christ’s love for humanity with others,” he said. “Of all the many joys in my life so far, the best joy has been precisely that: sharing with oth-ers the healing love that Christ has given to me. i have great hope that since Christ has called me to this life of priestly service, He will give me the grace necessary to carry out His will.”

Ordination to Priestly Ministry St. Joseph Chapel, Spring Hill CollegeJune 9, 2012


Fr. Bao Q. Nguyen, 40, was born in saigon, Vietnam, to a large Catholic family. He gradu-ated from LeQuy Don High school and studied at the National economic university in saigon before immigrating to the u.s. in 1992.

After graduating from the university of Houston with a degree in accounting, Nguyen worked for several compa-nies as a general accountant and risk assessment manager and earned a master’s degree in business administration before joining the society of jesus in 2001. the former president for the southern region of the Vietnamese eucharistic Youth Movement in the u.s., Nguyen taught theology at strake jesuit Preparatory school in Houston

and has given retreats in the u.s. and Vietnam. Nguyen earned a master’s degree in social philosophy from Loyola university and a master of divinity degree and a licentiate of sacred theology from Boston College’s school of theology and Ministry. Nguyen will direct an eight-day retreat this summer in Vietnam, and will serve a jesuit parish in the New Orleans Province.

“As a priest, i have a desire to console people who have struggled to find God in their lives,” he said. “i wish that i could be an instrument to assist people to feel relief and to restore their good human nature as chil-dren of God. the image of a bridge to connect over gaps among rich, poor, ideologies, faith, religions, cultures, nationalities and many more has inspired and motivated me continually to work for the universal church as a vineyard of God.

“Being a priest does not mean that i am perfectly worthy of this wonderful sacrament,” he said, “but i feel Christ has invited me to this special vocation and gives me the grace to live it.”

Daniel Tesvich is vested in a chasuble (above). Archbishop Thomas Rodi annoints Bao Nguyen’s hands with oil (right).

Jay Hooks receives the chalice and patten (opposite page, top left). Brian Reedy gives the communion chalice to his mother (top right). The newly ordained priests concelebrate with Archbishop Thomas Rodi (bottom left). Frs. Reedy and Nguyen process out of the chapel at the end of the liturgy (bottom right).


Fr. James “Jay” B. Hooks, 34, was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in tampa, Fla. He first encountered the society of jesus at his home par-ish of Christ the King when he met a priest from the local jesuit high school

who filled in for the parish’s sunday evening Mass. A graduate of H.B. Plant High school, Hooks earned his bachelor’s degree in spanish literature from Florida state university and then moved to japan to work as an english teacher.

While he taught in japan, he decided to apply for entrance to the society of jesus in his home province of New Orleans. After two years of novitiate training,

he moved to New York to complete a master’s degree in philosophy at Fordham university. From 2006 to 2009, he taught spanish at jesuit High school in New Orleans and helped with the school’s theater, choir and retreat programs. in 2009, he was sent to Rome to study theolo-gy at the Pontifical Gregorian university. His room was two floors above those of st. ignatius Loyola, the founder of the society, who died in 1556 on the same site. He has been in Berkeley, Calif., at the jesuit school of theology at santa Clara university since june of 2011, and is about to begin an advanced degree in theology.

“i do not see my ordination as a goal as much as a turn in the road, a turn that brings me closer to jesus and a new way of serving the Church and the world,” Hooks said. “i am immensely grateful to God and to my fellow travelers on this road who, in ways large and small, have brought me to this point in my journey. i also look forward to seeing where this road leads us.”


in Punta Gorda, modernization does not follow a straight line. it jumps ahead, circles back and moves ahead again. A washing machine is big, expensive

and hard to get to a small village. However, a DVD player is lightweight, inexpensive and can be shared among several families. that means that American movies are quite popular in rural Belize.

in the villages you see a crazy mixture of ancient traditions and modern life. At dawn, a man rides to his cornfield on a horse with a wooden saddle; in the evening, he checks his email in his thatch-roof house. A Mayan woman’s cell phone rings during Mass with a Belizean rap song as its ring-tone. One choir has both a hand-made wooden marimba and a bass guitar powered by a car bat-tery. A man walks along the side of the road carrying a machete and wearing a st. Louis Cardinals hat.

i have only been here two weeks, so i don’t claim to understand everything. Belize is in transition, certainly.

the church helps people deal with all of this. Over 2,000 years and six continents, the church has served poor and traditional cultures as well as modern and wealthy ones. the Gospel message is an eternal grace in a changing world.

DrivingOn sunday i drove out to the villages of Barranco

and Midway for Mass. You know those ads that show a guy driving his 4-wheel-drive jeep through streams and mud? At the end of the 30-second commercial, he arrives at the lodge with a big grin and clean clothes.

the roads here are like that. Obstacles include rocks, pot-holes the size of a microwave, stray dogs, pigs, bicyclists, motorcycles, men riding horses, and ruts from the dump trucks that tried to repair the road before the last election. You weave back and forth looking

for the smooth(er) parts of the road. Driving to Barranco resembles the jeep commercial for the first 10 minutes or so. After 45 minutes your fillings feel loose — but you’re almost there. Later you have to drive back after Mass, at noon, in 99 percent humidity.

notes from

the Field

Fr. Joe Laramie’s pastoral experience in Belize

By Joseph Laramie SJ

international missions


Adventurejohn-Paul Witt is a novice working in the parish for

a few months. He and i decided to leave on saturday afternoon to make the two-hour drive to a village where i would celebrate Mass on sunday. Details were a bit murky. On Friday, i called the man who answers the one phone that the village has. He spoke little english, but said that we would spend the night in the church, or at his house, or at another house.

in addition to the Mass kit, we brought food, water, sleeping pads and blankets. i drove on a highway that turned to gravel, then dirt, then mud. in some places, i floored the accelera-tor to get through mud and 2-feet-deep water. in other places i slowed down because i didn’t know how deep it was. slowing down worked until we got stuck. Fortunately a salvadoran man in a bigger truck with a chain pulled us out.

i learned my lesson. Now i’m flooring it through all the muddy spots. the truck has no shocks; it’s like a monster truck rally. there is mud on the inside of the wind-shield. Both the truck and ourselves are taking a pounding. After one big bump, we hear a thud under the hood, and the truck grinds to a halt.

We opened the hood and discovered that the last big bump broke wires on the battery. We were some-where between 2 to 10 miles from our destination. We messed with the bat-tery without success. it was getting dark.

john-Paul and i decided to walk and bring all of the stuff with us, 40 to 60 pounds apiece. the Mass kit is a big briefcase that i tied to my backpack with an extra shoelace. We walked for an hour with-out seeing people, cars or houses. We heard howler monkeys and birds as 100 billion stars shone down on us.

We took a break for water, exhausted. i suggested taking only the water, and leaving everything else at the side of the road, or just camping on the road for the night. john-Paul suggested we keep going.

ten minutes later, we saw the village sign and then some thatch houses. We approached a house, and met someone who led us to the church. Over his shoulder in mumbled english he asked, “ . . . church, truck, you,

Father? Benches.”A few villagers were

finishing a prayer vigil in the church. they were praying for us and hoped that we could have joined them for the vigil, but we were three hours late. they were glad we made it and left us three lit candles. jean-Paul and i were so happy to be there. We offered dazed thank-yous.

i pushed three wooden benches together to form a flat-ish bed. We lay there for 30 minutes, exhausted, not talking, not moving. i had a huge softball-sized knot on my left shoulder. With food and rest we gradually came back to life.

It’s good to do a routine check before you begin a long trip:

Shocks: none Power-steering: no Brakes: screechy Odometer: It broke at 150,000. Air-conditioning: If it’s hot, roll down the window and drive faster. Wiper fluid: You brought a water bottle and a handkerchief, right? Gas: diesel. (Enjoy the smell.)

Fr. Laramie (top) on Palm Sunday.John-Paul Witt (above) plays the role of Jesus.

Continued on page 28


spirituality

Meeting God for Lunch

By E. Edward Kinerk SJ

in the spiritual exercises, st. ignatius suggests that we begin each prayer by expressing our desire that everything be focused on God and that we end each

prayer by “speaking exactly as one friend speaks to another.” (sp ex #54)

ignatius’ instructions feature two practices that are common and virtually automatic in any conversation between friends. the paragraphs below unpack these practices and show their rich potential for deepening our intimacy with God.

imagine meeting a friend for lunch. As soon as he sees you, he launches into a description of last night’s dream. Perhaps you’ve spoken about dreams before, but at this point you wave your hand and say, “Wait a min-ute! Hi, good to see you!” His dream may make for great conversation, but first you need to connect. those formulaic sayings, “good to see you” and the like, are more than just custom; they are acknowledge-ments that you are in each other’s space. You’re telling your friend that you are aware of him, and he’s telling you that he is aware of you.

After greeting your friend you enjoy lunch and conver-sation. He shares his dream, and you talk about your new grandchild. Lunch ends and you prepare to say good-bye. sometime in these final moments, you’ll probably thank him for sharing a powerful dream and he will tell you how much he enjoyed hearing about your grandchild.

What are you and your friend doing with those closing sentences? You are telling each other that you

listened and that the conversation mattered. the con-nection established when you greeted one another has grown stronger. in truth, these final remarks to each other can sometimes be the most intimate moments in the entire conversation.

think of prayer as a lunch date with God. No matter what takes place during the visit — meditation, the rosary, or any other way of praying — i want to begin my prayer by intentionally connecting with God. i might say, “Loving God, it is good to be in your presence,” or i might imagine Christ looking at me welcomingly. Whatever words or images i choose, the common dimen-sion must be that i am telling myself that God is aware of me. the Creator of the universe is focusing loving atten-tion on me! it takes only seconds and i don’t rehearse it nor worry about getting it right. i may, however, some-times abide in that awareness once i have invoked it.

Letting God speak my name can be especially pow-erful. Recalling the lunch between friends, it is not absolutely neces-sary to use your friend’s name when greeting him, but i think that you will often find that you do because names convey specialness. When God calls my name, i know that i am important to God and have His loving attention.

When i finish praying, i want to end by speaking to God, just as friends speak to each other before saying good-bye. usually, one sen-tence is enough. i don’t rehearse the words ahead of time and, in general, i stay away from apologies. the spontaneity of my words often surprises me and i discover in my

words what is truly important in my relationship with God.

My words to God may reflect a theme from my prayer, but other times i find myself saying something completely unrelated. sometimes, i cannot come up with

“The spontaneity of

my words often

surprises me and I

discover in my words

what is truly important

in my relationship

with God.”

Simple Thoughts on Intimacy with God


anything to say and end up telling God just that. even if nothing happens in my prayer or if i am totally distracted, i still try to pull words from my heart that touch my relationship with God.

Beginnings and endings personalize my prayer. When i tell myself at the beginning of prayer that God is aware of me, God becomes real and personable. the infinite Creator is aware of me. At the end, my words to God make me a person to God. indeed, sometimes my very hesitation to put something into words at the end of prayer is a sign to me that i would rather, at that moment, keep God at a distance.

One can pray a beginning and ending without any-thing in between. suppose that i resolve to devote a set amount of time to prayer each morning. i fulfill my resolution the first day, but over the next several days i slack off. Now it is late in the evening of the fifth day and i realize that i have not prayed and i am exhausted. Do i chalk it up to another failure? Or, do i tell myself that God is aware of me, pause a couple moments, and then speak words to God? this 30-second prayer offers an experience of being connected to God, and i will now be more likely to pray the next morning.

the beginning and ending with nothing in between provides an opportunity for connecting with God at any time. i visit the sick, i delight in nature, or i have a moment of quiet. these are among the countless occa-sions for knowing that God is aware of me and offering a few words to God.

intimacy comes from awareness and connectedness, and need not take long.

imagine a married couple who both work outside the home and are raising a family. every night they flop into bed exhausted. After a perfunctory kiss and an “i love you,” they roll over and go to sleep. One night the husband holds his wife a moment longer and says, “Honey, we haven’t had time for each other and we need to change that, but i want you to know that you looked beautiful at dinner tonight!” How long did that take? A few seconds? those few intimate words could draw the couple closer.

so it is with God. if i speak from my heart to God, i am intimate with God. if i allow God to be aware of me, to look at me or to speak my name in a loving way, i am intimate with God. And even a few minutes of intimacy with God will transform my life.

Illustration:ThomasRochfordSJ


international

More than 100 Vietnamese religious women, seminar-ians and priests have been

gaining new skills, confidence and world perspective while earning degrees and receiving religious for-mation thanks to a program spear-headed by a Vietnamese-born jesuit from the New Orleans Province.

Fr. Bao Nguyen, ordained in june, caught his first glimpse of the need for religious formation in his native Vietnam when he returned as a jesuit scholastic in 2004 to give retreats to religious communities.

During that trip, he observed only remnants of the Catholic schools, hospitals, and social insti-tutions the church used to run. Communists had confiscated or suppressed them, and made it nearly impossible for religious sisters to attend college. About 7 percent of Vietnam’s 91.5 million people are Catholic.

For 20 years after the reunifica-tion of Vietnam in 1975 under a Communist government, religious people were expelled from convents and seminaries and prevented from recruiting and training new follow-ers. A whole generation of leader-ship was lost. Religious orders were on the verge of collapse.

the government began easing restrictions after 1995, and by the early 2000s, had lifted bans on over-seas travel and recruitment of new members.

As a result, many religious orders and dioceses began sending some of their members abroad to be trained as leaders and directors of formation. international orders such as the society of jesus and dio-ceses with international connections seized the opportunity, but many smaller diocesan orders and poorer dioceses struggled to find ways to train their future leaders.

Nguyen, armed with letters of endorsement from Vietnamese bishops, began in 2005 to secure scholarships at Catholic colleges and seminaries in the u.s., spain and Malta that would accept and shape the Vietnamese sisters, priests and seminarians. the plan was for each to be in his or her host coun-try for two years of language study, four years of undergraduate study and two years of study leading to a master’s degree before returning to Vietnam. the first group arrived in 2006.

Fr. john Lan tran of st. Louis, whom Nguyen tapped to recruit students for the Vietnamese Formation students program, said many sisters from local congrega-tions have limited life, academic and work experience.

“these small congregations have no connection outside of Vietnam,” said tran, campus ministry director at st. Louis university High school, who spent summers teaching religious in Vietnam. “this is a big opportunity for them to experience something else.”

Nguyen said he secured mil-lions of dollars in scholarships from more than 30 universities and col-leges that include Loyola university Chicago, Boston College, Loyola Marymount university and spring Hill College.

Loyola Chicago has several academic initiatives in saigon that

Building the Church in Vietnam

Sisters studying English as a second language at Divine Word College in Epworth, Iowa, experience snow for the first time.

Jesuits Open a Path for Formation of Vietnamese Religious


Nguyen said he will explore this summer for opportunities in collaboration.

tran, who also teaches com-puter science, procured laptops and leads retreats for the Vietnamese formation students. jesuit Frs. Hung Nguyen, who runs a retreat house in Waller, texas, and Doan Hoang, who works with the Christian Life Community in Los Angeles, organized and directed a 30-day spiritual exercises retreat for some of the sisters. Fr. Hoa trung Dinh, a Vietnamese-Australian jesuit at Boston College, became a spiritual director for seven Vietnamese semi-narians at st. john’s seminary in Boston, and the jesuit community at spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., sponsored two sisters from Hanoi.

tran and sisters thu Do and Yen Le, who are studying at saint Louis university and Boston College, respectively, led english-language retreats for Vietnamese-American youth in Dallas, Philadelphia, st. Louis and

Baltimore. the sisters also organized a retreat for Boston youth last spring. Last summer, the team went to Vietnam to host a retreat for 150 religious candidates.

Over the Christmas holidays, the Vietnamese formation students gathered in Houston for a retreat and work-shops on learning english, choosing a college major, adapting to a new culture, and learning to minister in a foreign environment.

Fr. joseph Cuong Bui of the Can tho Diocese, who recently com-pleted a master’s degree in pastoral administration at Loyola university Chicago, said the formation program helped prepare him for a challenging mission in Vietnam, and taught him about the American church.

education is especially critical for diocesan congregations of Vietnamese women religious who must support themselves while under the control of local bishops.

Currently, the Vietnamese government limits their role to parish work and child care.

Asked what would hap-pen if advanced education leads the women to aspire to professions that they’re not allowed to pursue in Vietnam, tran said that’s a question for another day. Passing on their knowledge to sisters back home and forming leaders will be more than a full-time job, he said.

“i am very proud of what these students have been able to accomplish in a short time,” tran said.

“they have overcome the language barrier and adjusted to a new culture.”

Nguyen believes women reli-gious could be allowed to teach secu-lar courses at public universities in Vietnam, and that eventually, if the church pushes, and the government relents, they could open Catholic schools and hospitals to serve the poor.

sister Maria Minh Hue, a mem-ber of the Lovers of the Holy Cross Congregation of Vinh Diocese, returned to Vietnam last year after four years of overseas study. “i feel confident now, helping and motivating the 83 novices and 70 pre-novices in my congregation,” she said.

she is one of only two students of the 102 participants who have returned to Vietnam.

this fall, a Vietnamese sister will begin work on her doctorate in higher education at saint Louis university, marking what Nguyen says is a first for Vietnamese religious women.

Nguyen said he encourages those in the program to “study until you can’t study anymore,” adding that the need for advanced degrees is great.

He said he’d love to bring more Vietnamese sisters, priests and semi-narians to study abroad and hopes that benefactors will join him in his dream to build the church in Vietnam.

Bao Nguyen John Lan Tran

Education will allow Vietnamese sisters to expand their ministries.


Four projects in Belize and st. Louis are among recipients of a grant program launched

this year by the New Orleans and Missouri provinces.

the social Grants program is modeled after one New Orleans started nearly 30 years ago to encour-age jesuit solidarity with the poor. As the two provinces edge closer to a merger, they decided to administer a social grants program together. this year marks their first joint effort.

in March, nine projects were awarded grants ranging from $1,000 to $8,000. each province contrib-uted $25,000 toward a total sum of $50,000 in grant money.

All proposals were evaluated by province representatives, who for-warded recommendations to prov-ince consultors, who made final grant decisions last year.

Social Projects Supported by new Grants Program

Requests for proposals will be distributed in November to jesuits of both provinces for the 2013 round of grants.

“the grant money is meant to be an incentive for jesuits who are not engaged with the poor, to get engaged with the poor,” said Fr. Brian Christopher, the Missouri

Provincial’s delegate for social and international ministries. “it is also meant to support those jesuits and ministries that are engaged with the poor to continue and deepen their work.”

Grants were awarded to three projects of the Missouri Province:

• The Center for Community Resource Development in Belize City. Led by Christopher, the center will use the funding to help build com-munity action networks, unite neigh-bors in identifying their community assets, discern how they want their own neighborhood to look and mobi-lize those assets to realize their vision. the work focuses on the st. Martin de Porres parish community that has suf-fered gang and drug violence.

• Prison ministry at Belize Central Prison. the ministry, run by Frs. jack stochl and Bill snyders, needed money for transportation, religious book purchasing and ship-ping, and drug and alcohol counseling of prisoners.

By Brooke A. Iglesias

Fr. Tony Rauschuber with students at Good Shepherd Nativity School in New Orleans


• St. Matthew the Apostle Parish in north St. Louis. Funding will subsidize rent and utility assistance for parish neighbors and help build a community garden.

Grants were awarded to six New Orleans Province projects:

• Project Learn Belize. Directed by Fr. Geoffrey Dillon of the New Orleans Province and sponsored by the school of education at the university of san Francisco, the project brings student-teachers, nurses, professors and other members of the university com-munity on regular immersion trips to sacred Heart Primary school in Dangriga, Belize. this summer, par-ticipants will help local tradesmen restore the school’s infrastructure.

• Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas and Jesuit High School of Tampa. the grants will support the schools’ academic enrichment programs offered each summer to low-income middle-school students.

“The grant money is meant to be an incentive for Jesuits who are not engaged with the poor, to get engaged with the poor.”

• The Good Shepherd Nativity School of New Orleans. the grant will support school retreats and service-learning activities.

• The International Service and Immersion Program of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala. the grant will fund a service immersion trip to el salvador, as well as four organiza-tions that serve the country’s poor.

• The New Mexico Faith Coalition for Immigrant Justice at Immaculate Conception Parish in Albuquerque, N.M. the grant will help undocumented families with food, shelter and utility assistance, especially when the family breadwin-ner has been detained or deported. some of the money will aid families with emergencies and pay the cost of applying for legal status.

(opposite page) Fr. Brian Christopher (center), director of the Center for Community Resource Development, and Hugh Gotoy (left), the center’s job placement coordinator, patiently wait for a sample of Olga Gordon’s sausage rolls in the community bakery.

(left) Fr. R.V. Baylon (yellow shirt) with volunteers in front of a home they built for a Belize family

Fr. Geoffrey Dillon with students of Sacred Heart Primary School in Dangriga, Belize

social ministry


Christopher Pinné SJ Finding God and the Good in a tough transition

profile

By Cheryl Wittenauer

i n his new work as chaplain at saint Louis university, Fr.

Christopher Pinné ministers to staff, faculty and students with marital problems, illness, and any other of life’s difficulties.

How he has dealt with profound challenges in his own life has made him especially suited for the job. An accident five years ago in st. Louis left him a semi-paraplegic and changed his life’s direction.

the guy whose natural inclina-tion is to move fast has slowed his pace and learned to be patient. He has come to rely on aides for some of his personal care, and is grateful for their vocation and the “dignity they bestow,” he said. He credits his team at Craig (rehabilitation) Hospital in Denver for giving him the emotional, spiritual and physical tools he needed to make peace with what happened.

Despite some physical limita-tions, Pinné, 60, considers himself luckier than many of the people he has come to know with spinal cord

or traumatic brain injuries: the sheriff who was shot in the throat, a 16-year-old quadriplegic from Cheyenne, Wyo., an unresponsive woman who was struck crossing a street in down-town Denver.

“Whenever i want to feel sorry for myself, i think of her,” Pinné said.

the accident, he says, happened after he’d already lived a full life. it didn’t keep him from returning to his jesuit brothers and home, and resuming work, currently as chap-

Pinné was just wrapping up his time as Missouri Province vocation director and was anticipating a new assignment at Regis jesuit High school in suburban Denver when at 6:10 a.m. on May 5, 2007, he was struck by a vehicle in a crosswalk just outside jesuit Hall on the sLu campus.

“i heard my own body hit the street,” he said. “i was lying on my right side. A woman came over and asked, ‘should i move you?’ i hurt all over.”

He was stiff and sore with torn ligaments and dislocated thumbs from trying to break his fall, but his spine appeared fine. He traveled to Poland that summer and drove with a friend to Colorado. One day that september, when he reached for his pain pills, a terrible pain shot up his back and hung with him for weeks.

A series of surgeries, vertebrae fusions and rehabilitation regimens allowed him to teach and advise boys at Regis for more than three years until Dec. 7, 2010, when he awak-ened from a nap paralyzed from the waist down. the next day, surgeons worked eight hours to repair three herniated discs, including one that

“When you face certain

things and survive it,

other things are

no longer that

big a deal.”

lain to saint Louis university’s law school and the campus Department of Public safety. its officers were first on the scene when Pinné, while walking to breakfast, was hit by a motorist.

“these things happen to all sorts of people,” he said. “i’m just one of them.”

Pho

tos:Tho

masRochfordSJ


had exploded in his spinal cord, and install rods, plates and screws to fuse more vertebrae.

“i remember telling the nurse, ‘i don’t want to be paralyzed for life,’” Pinné said. “‘Oh, honey,’” he recalled her saying, “‘we don’t want that either.’”

Four days later, on Dec. 12, 2010, he was transferred to Craig Hospital for four months of rehabilitation for his spinal cord injury as well as emotional and spiritual coaching. He returned to st. Louis in April 2011, ready to make the best of a path he would not have chosen.

“if i whine or moan, it’s not going to change things,” he said. “Was this on my bucket list? Oh, no. i didn’t say ‘thank you, jesus, for letting this happen.’”

Pinné said he learned from the staff at Craig not to look at life’s “tunnel,” which can get really long and dark, but to focus on what he can accomplish today, even if it’s moving just one toe. He finds support in his brother jesuits and ignatian spirituality that holds that God is in

Fr. Pinné with SLU campus ministers Ben Smyth, Megan Diestelmeier and Abby Braun

Fr. Chris Pinné scholarship: http://www.regisjesuit.com/page.aspx?pid=1365

M O R E we bON THE

every situation. the paralysis cut short his time at Regis, where, he says, “my heart will always be,” but he’s keeping things in perspective.

“When you face certain things and survive it, other things are no longer that big a deal,” he said. “i’m not going to get my shorts in a bunch over (what happened). i already knew God loved me. Now i know that he loves me more. He’s been with me all through this.”

Pinné maintained a positive spirit despite repeated surgeries, diminished mobility and grueling work to regain strength and activity. “so much suffering made a powerful statement to (Regis) kids and adults alike,” who were inspired by him, “over and over,” and who established a scholarship in his honor, said Fr. Philip steele, school president. “Who would dare whine about their own life when he was not whining about his?

“through all of this, it is clear to me that Chris simply wants to serve as a jesuit priest,” steele added. “He will do whatever it takes to be available to people as a priest. if it can’t be in a high school, then it will be on the sLu campus. He may be confined to a wheelchair, but he is one of the most available people i know.”

Roland Corvington, a retired FBi special agent who now heads sLu’s public safety division, said Pinné has been a “natural fit” since coming on board nine months ago. there, and at the law school, Pinné is helping people process their per-sonal challenges and heartaches.

“it’s tough being a human being,” Pinné said. “Maybe my job is to help them see they’re still loved by God. Whatever the issue, God’s not going to give up on us.”


Robert and Jean Luchi A Family invested in jesuit Mission and MinistryBy Cheryl Wittenauer

W hen the late Robert j. Luchi joined the society of jesus

in 1983, his parents, and later his siblings, began to identify and ally themselves with the jesuits in a rela-tionship that persists today, five years after he died of esophageal cancer at age 52.

Consistent donors to the jesuits, Robert and jean Luchi support a number of projects and people, including a leadership gift that enabled the Missouri Province in 2010-11 to renovate and expand Fusz Pavilion, a skilled nursing facility in st. Louis for aged and infirm jesuits, where Fr. Luchi died on june 22, 2007.

“they’re not just donors, they are fully invested in the mission and ministry of the jesuits,” said thom Digman, assistant to the provincial for advancement.

the family also maintains and builds on the relationships their son and brother began years ago. it’s a way of keeping him close to their heart.

“Our family has an open door to the jesuits,” said jean Luchi, a retired pediatrician in seattle and Luchi’s younger sister. “Maybe the greater gift is that we are a family that wel-comes jesuits. Our prayers and love for them are constant.”

Luchi, who, as a young man, questioned his belief in God and went on to study sanskrit and the classics at California and texas universities,

joined the jesuits after an inner voice cautioned, “‘if you do not serve me, you will have wasted your life,’” recalled his father, Robert Luchi, a retired physician and professor of internal medicine and geriatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Dr. Luchi and his wife, originally from Pennsylvania, started their family in Okinawa, japan, and later settled in Philadelphia.

the Luchis moved to Houston for the opportunity at Baylor, when Bob Luchi jr. was in high school. the couple remained in Houston until 2008 when they moved to the Kansas City suburb of Mission, Kan., near their younger son, Michael Luchi, an infectious disease specialist at Kansas university Medical Center. A second daughter, Lauren Luchi, is associate director for the American Federation of teachers in Washington D.C.

Luchi entered the novitiate in Denver and went on to serve tough

profile

but rewarding assignments in east st. Louis, ill., Honduras and Nigeria. When superior General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach asked for volunteers to help the society rebuild its work in Rwanda following the 1994 genocide, Luchi responded generously.

But his mission there, from 2001 to ’03, proved difficult and he never quite adjusted to the culture or his assignment, said Fr. stephen Yavorsky, who served in Rwanda for six years and works in ignatian spirituality.

“We both wanted to give directed retreats … but they were not into private conferences,” he said. “they wanted preached retreats, which required a much higher level of language development than we had. Bob’s French was better than mine.”

Luchi returned to the states and pursued graduate studies at Weston jesuit school of theology at Cambridge, Mass. in 2005, he learned he had advanced cancer.

Robert and Jean Luchi with their son, Fr. Bob Luchi


Luchi spent the next six months in Houston, where his father could advocate for his care.

the following year, Luchi came back to st. Louis, where he received an unfavorable diagnosis and opted for hospice. He spent his final months in residence at jesuit Hall and the Pavilion.

Yavorsky said his friend accepted his fate in true jesuit spirit, deter-mined to serve God through the “gift of sickness.”

jean Luchi moved to st. Louis to be with her brother and was given a guest room on the sixth floor of jesuit Hall where she lived from september 2006 until her brother’s death the following june.

the jesuits “were extremely generous,” she said. “they were wonderful. i had my meals there, did our laundry there, got to know the dining hall staff. the jesuits were like spiritual brothers and fathers to me … it was a transformative experience of God’s love. When i left, i felt i was leaving a family.”

Fr. Luchi’s parents and other siblings visited frequently, meeting people who shared stories that filled in parts of the priest’s life that he had kept to himself, Dr. Luchi said.

“He was introverted but could be the life of the party with the right type of people,” Dr. Luchi said. “He

could skewer his father and siblings, but not his mother. He would not do that to his mom. He was born in a Quonset hut in Okinawa, special to all of us.”

the day Luchi died, his family gathered as Fr. john Padberg raised a host over his body, saying “Happy are those who are called to the Lord’s supper. Robert has been called to the Lord’s supper.” jean Luchi recalled the moment as “beauti-ful and consoling.”

the Luchis have “adopted” Rwandan jesuit Fr. jean Baptiste Ganza, who had befriended their son and brother in Rwanda, and they support his efforts to build st. ignatius High school in Kigali, the capital.

Last year, they sent money to jesuit Fr. Pierre Loua as he fled political unrest in ivory Coast. they came to know Loua in 2007 when he was in graduate school and living at jesuit Hall.

in january, the Luchis hosted 15 novices from the Missouri and New Orleans provinces at their home when Ganza was in town for a visit.

Robert and jean Luchi are regular, generous contributors to the jesuits of the Missouri Province and the Robert e. Manning s.j. Fund in honor of the former Weston presi-dent and New england provincial, who died a year after his friend, Luchi. the fund provides finan-cial assistance to graduate students enrolled in the school of theology and Ministry at Boston College (formerly Weston jesuit).

the Luchis said they give the jesuits their love, prayers, affection and solidarity in exchange for the many “great gifts” the jesuits have given them. And while they did not

give their son and brother to the jesuits, they delighted in his choice, and support the religious order that formed him into the priest he became.

jean Luchi recalled one night when her brother was especially sick and afraid to be alone.

“What is your prayer?” jean asked him.

“He said (he prayed) that God’s grace will be manifest through his illness, and i think his prayers were answered,” she said.

“We were given so much love and received so much support. i look back at that time as very rich in God’s grace … with bonds built through sadness of illness and loss, and new gifts of love and friendship.

“My brother continues to live. God’s grace was answered.”

Fr. Jean Baptiste Ganza with Dr. Luchi

Michael, Bob, Jean and Lauren Luchi


the church was filled with grace. the candles lit up the altar, tabernacle and rafters. What century are we in? this scene could be from 1600, or even ireland in the 500’s. Missionary priests go to a far-away place with only a foggy sense of geographic direction; they arrive late and find a warm welcome. Perhaps Pierre Desmet, or isaac jogues, or st. Patrick had experiences similar to this. We did evening prayer to thank God.

the old air mattresses we brought do not hold air. We just hauled these heavy things 5 miles; now they are just vinyl sheets. We slept uncomfortably, waking up every hour or so to the sounds of monkeys, dogs, roosters and birds.

in the morning, the school principal took us to his house for breakfast – coffee, eggs, tortillas – then he drove us to Dolores village for 7 a.m. Mass. the choir in Dolores village has two marimbas, wooden xylophones straight out of the movie, The Mission.

the church is bright and well attended, with good singing and prayerful spirits. this Mass is the best of the Church here: fully Mayan and fully Catholic. Christ fulfills cultures; He takes the best of what we are and transforms us into the Body of Christ. He has done this

through decades [centuries] of prayer and labor by past jesuits, village leaders, and Mayan families. Again, i’m reminded of st. Patrick, who transformed ireland into a Christian irish people.

Now to Corazon village. i was fading fast after only a few hours of sleep on a church bench. it was 11:30 a.m. and getting hot. the principal wanted us to show him our broken-down truck. When we found the truck, he opened the hood and said, “Oh, oh, wow, my. Hmm. Not good. But i think i can fix it.”

in his tool kit are pliers, a hammer and a fistful of extra wire. He uses my spare shoestring to tie the battery in place. After five minutes of jimmying and pounding, the truck starts!

the third Mass was rough. in the sanctuary are three speakers, each the size of a refrigerator. there’s a one-upmanship with the Pentecostal churches around here. they get speakers, we get bigger speakers. they turn up the volume, we turn it up more. teenage boys played two guitars, two keyboards and an electronic drum set. i could feel the music vibrating my ribs. the two female cantors stood at the altar, using it as a big music stand. it was hard for me to get to the altar; i asked the cantors to move, but they could not hear me.

By the end of Mass, jean-Paul and i were utterly spent, but the truck seemed fine. We drove slow, taking it easy.

We arrived home at 3 p.m. — almost exactly 24 hours after we left.

N o t e S f R o m t h e f i e L d continued from page 17

The church in Dolores village

Fr. Joe Laramie with Belizean children


bulletin board

in memoriam

Gerhardt B. LehmkuhlGerhardt Lehmkuhl, a jesuit for 50 years, died March 9, 2012, at his jesuit Hall office in st. Louis at the

age of 69. He was born sept. 24, 1942 in st. Louis and attended st. Louis university High school. He entered the society of jesus in 1961, and earned degrees in philosophy and u.s. history from saint Louis university.

He earned a law degree from sLu in 1983, and opened a law office the following year at jesuit Hall to provide legal services to the poor, assisted by university law students and other volunteers.

Fr. Robert B. RimesFr. Robert Rimes died May 30, 2012, in Mobile, Ala., after 70 years in the society of jesus. He was 89. He

was born in Monroe, La., on Nov. 30, 1922. He had many ministries, including novice master at Grand Coteau, La., teacher at strake jesuit College Preparatory in Houston and rector of the jesuit Community at spring Hill College. He also helped pastor st. Charles Borromeo Church in Grand Coteau, and was vicar for religious for the Mobile archdiocese. Rimes entered the society on Aug. 14, 1942, at st. Charles College in Grand Coteau after attending spring Hill College.

Loyola university is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its charter as a university in New Orleans in 1912. the jesuit-Catholic school educates about 5,000 students a year who have gone on to be catalysts in their community. the centennial will be observed until May 2013 with lectures, festivities and other events marking its history. A centen-nial Web site, www.loyno.edu/2012,

features milestones and official events, video interviews, personal stories and photos from the past as well as the university’s plans for the future. A book by history professor Bernard Cook, “Founded on Faith: A History of Loyola university New Orleans,” on sale at www.loyno.bkstr.com, was commissioned for the centennial.

Loyola U-New Orleans Celebrates Centennial

St. John’s College Turns 125 st. john’s College in Belize City is marking the 125th anniversary

of its founding by jesuits in 1887.A reference to this year’s milestone has been added to the

school’s logo used in printed materials and correspondence. According to its Web site, the school opened with 12 day

students and two boarders, expanded rapidly, and survived a yellow fever outbreak in 1921 and a hurricane 10 years later that took the lives of 11 jesuits.

st. john’s today has four divisions that offer a wide variety of subjects in secondary and two-year postsecondary curricula.

the following people have been permanently enrolled in the Jesuit Association and are remembered in the prayers and works of the Jesuits of the missouri Province.

LivingRonald L. Caster Dorothy & John LehmanMary Stuart

DeceasedRuth M. AlthageArnold AmannJohn AndersonFr. William BenishDonald BerginMarshall Bickett HatfieldBurnett S. BloodworthAngelo BottiniBlanche BrooksHelen BushOlga CarrollDan ChaplaWilbert (Bill) CoonMarion Daudt McBrideMr. DeCourseyBob DeMarkoDr. Eugene T. DmytrykDon DomengoniWilliam DreyerRose FaslD.H. (Bud) FerrellKathryn M. FischerEleanor Flynn MillerHelen E. GambaroWilliam D. GarescheJoseph GiangrossoClara Ines GonzalezJeannette GronnigerBetty HahnClay HanleyJean HennellyKaty HorenkampRyan HoweKatherine HuffmanLauretta M. KleinRoby KleptzDr. Robert KlingCharles B. KriegerMarie IttermannPatricia Ann JahdePatrick KanzlerBernard KerkvlietCharles B. KriegerElaine La MayGeorge T. LangCarmen Larkin

Dolores Jean LeeGerhardt B. Lehmkuhl SJRichard A. LittmannFrederick ManzieRaymond A. MartelDorothy MayoWilliam J. McGlynnHarry MeyerSr. Jos. MilmoLawrence M. MorrisonWilliam D. MontgomeryMary MulcahyVerna Mae NationsCarol OByenCharles OhligArlene PetersonRuth Ann PhippsJoan F. PohlmanL.J. PoletteFrancis John Pollnow, Jr.William PopeJohn PowleyBernadine RathgeberGeorge A. RichardsonElizabeth RoackClare RobinsonLoretta RothgeryMary RotolaTerri SchreiberPatricia ShockleeDr. V. Dean SchwartzFrederick E. Schuller SJJack SimmonLeona SojaRichard StruckhoffLucille StrutmanJoAnn SweetMary Jane ThamanDeborah TavernierBarbara TournourLyle TylorMary Jean WalkerAngie WalshSister Mary WalterLee WamplerEugene WarrenKathy WhalleyCharles D. Willett, Sr.Harvey WilkinRonald WilsonVarious other individuals

new Ministries, Partnerships, ignatian Spirituality

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stay connectedYou can connect to the Jesuits every day by visiting our website, www.jesuitsmissouri.org. It has news, profiles of your friends, media and back issues of the Jesuit Bulletin and is a rich source of information and inspiration. On the website find links to:

Jesuit Bulletin XCI • Number 2 • Summer 2012

The Jesuit Bulletin is published and distributed by the Jesuits of the Missouri Province. All communications about editorial matter should be addressed to the editor at: 4511 West Pine Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63108-2191. All communications about change of address, memberships, burses, and requests should be addressed to Thom M. Digman, Advancement Office of the Jesuits of the Missouri Province, 4511 West Pine Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63108-2191. Email: [email protected]

www.jesuitsmissouri.org • 1.800.325.9924

We all desire to lead happy and fulfilled lives surrounded by family and friends.

Many of us feel compelled to make a difference and leave a lasting impact on the people we love

and the world we will leave behind. The search for significance and the desire to plan

for the future lead many to ponder their legacy.What kind of legacy will you leave?

A bequest is perhaps the easiest and most tangible way to have a lasting impact on the people and organizations that mean the most to you. A bequest may also be an effective way to make a gift to charity and lessen the burden of taxes on your family and estate.

Would you consider including the Jesuits of the Missouri Province in your estate plan through a Charitable Bequest?

what kind of legacy

will you leave?We all desire to lead happy and fulfilled lives

surrounded by family and friends. Many of us feel compelled to make a difference

and leave a lasting impact on the people we love and the world we will leave behind.

The search for significance and the desire to plan for the future lead many to ponder their legacy.

What kind of legacy will you leave?

An Easy Gift to Make A Charitable Bequest is a donation written in a Will or Trust that directs a gift to be made to a qualified exempt charity when you pass away. One benefit of a Charitable Bequest is that it enables you to further the good work of an organization you support long after you are gone. Better yet, a Charitable Bequest can help you save estate taxes by providing your estate with a charitable deduction for the value of the gift. With careful planning, your family can also avoid paying income taxes on the assets they receive from your estate.

Learn more about a charitable bequest and other gift planning ideas. Send us a note in the envelope in this magazine or contact us online at:

www.jesuitsmissouri.org/support

Jesuit Bulletin

4511 West Pine Boulevard

St. Louis, Missouri 63108-2191

NONPROFITORGU.S.POSTAGe

P a i dSt.Louis,MOPermitNo.495

each year, the

Missouri Province of

the society of jesus

celebrates the lives

of jesuits who have

reached important

milestones in their

ministry to the people

of God as priests and

brothers. We invite

you to plan ahead

to take part in

celebrations in Kansas

City, st. Louis and

Denver. You can find

a list of the 2012

jubilarians on page 2

of this magazine.

Save the DateSSept. 9 – Kansas City • Sept. 16 – St. Louis • Oct. 12 – Denver

jesuit bulletin - summer 2012

Documents

venker50 years

white25 years

priesthood5070 years

society60 years

society25 years

ensuing years

regis university

jesuit mission29