Celebrating Pope Francis
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JESUITSMARYLAND PROVINCE • USA NORTHEAST PROVINCE SPRING 2018 Celebrating Five Years of Pope Francis NOR SA TH U E A D S N T A P R D O N V A I L N Y C R E A S M Very Rev. Robert Hussey, SJ Very Rev. John Cecero, SJ 7 Provincial, Maryland Province Provincial, USA Northeast Province FROM OUR PROVINCIALS Dear Friends, As we celebrated the anniversary of the election of Pope Francis on March 13, we could only imagine the surprise of St. Ignatius in heaven on that amazing day. After all, our Founder intended a minima compania—a little company— as he liked to call us, to serve the Church under the Roman Pontiff, never imagining that one of our number would one day be the pope! “Mission From the moment of his election, Pope Francis has been inviting the Church is never the fruit to practice a faith that does justice. By word and example, the pope has touched people from all faiths and from all corners of the earth. He invites us to be the of a perfectly Good Samaritan—never to turn a blind eye—to serve the poor and the less planned program fortunate, to be merciful to others and to pray ardently for peace. or a well-organized Having just marked Pope Francis’ fifth anniversary, we focus this issue of JESUITS magazine on stories that speak about the ideals and objectives that manual. Mission is are near and dear to our Holy Father—welcoming refugees, providing support always the fruit of for the less fortunate among us (especially for our youth), promoting vocations to lives of love and service, and using various media to reach out to, connect a life which knows with and inspire people from all over the world. what it is to be Spring is always a time for renewal, hope and gratitude. Please continue to found and healed, pray for us, for our many ministries and for our Jesuit pope. As always, we thank you for your ongoing support of our Jesuit life and mission. encountered and forgiven.” Sincerely in Christ, — Pope Francis Very Rev. Robert M. Hussey, SJ Very Rev. John J. Cecero, SJ Provincial, Maryland Province Provincial, USA Northeast Province ABOUT OUR COVER During his first five years, Pope Francis has captivated both young and old from all walks of life and faiths. 22 Brendan Coffey, SJ, (left) stands with fellow Jesuit scholastics, Jake Braithwaite, SJ, Editors and John Pignone, SJ. Michael Benigno Michael Gabriele Contributors Rev. James Keenan, SJ Wendell Laurent Sherri Weil Advancement Directors Sherri Weil (Maryland Province) James Skurka (USA Northeast Province) Please address all correspondence to JESUITS magazine: [email protected] Maryland Province Jesuits 8600 LaSalle Road, Suite 620 Towson, MD 21286-2014 443-921-1310 USA Northeast Province 39 East 83rd Street New York, NY 10028-0810 212-774-5500 JESUITS is published three times a year by the Maryland and USA Northeast Provinces of the Society Features... of Jesus. The opinions expressed are Pope Francis – Five Years Later .................................................................................4 those of the individual writers and do not necessarily constitute the official Sharing the Journey ............................................................................................................10 policy of the Society of Jesus. Serving a Culture of Encounter ...............................................................................14 ©2018 All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. So Much More Than a Building ...............................................................................18 Printed on recycled paper. Friends in the Lord ............................................................................................................22 Spring Miles from the East, the Ignatian Spirit Runs Strong........................... 24 Very Rev. John J. Cecero, SJ More Look for this symbol to find Provincial, USA Northeast Province on the web more information online. Advancing Our Mission .................................................................................................26 Visit Our Websites: MARYLAND: www.mdsj.org USA NORTHEAST: www.JesuitsEast.org 1 In the News FROM OUR PROVINCES New Appointments and LEADERSHIP a very successful first year of priestly service at St. Thomas More Parish in Atlanta. news Fr. Ronald J. Anton, SJ, was appointed the next superior of the Georgetown Jesuit Commu- nity, effective June 1, 2018. Fr. Fr. James P. Carr, SJ, was Anton is a senior advisor of exec- appointed the next superior of utive education at Georgetown the St. Ignatius Loyola Commu- University’s McDonough School nity in New York City, effective of Business. He has worked in July 1, 2018. Before taking on higher education for the Jesuits his present mission as faculty in Rome and assisted refugees chaplain at New York’s Loyola on the Thai–Cambodian border. School, Fr. Carr served as director of novices and superior of St. Andrew Hall in Syracuse from August 2010 to August 2017. Fr. Rodolfo Casals, SJ, was appointed assistant director for vocations for the Maryland and USA Northeast Provinces, effec- Fr. James P. Croghan, SJ, will tive July 31, 2018. Fr. Casals was begin service as superior of the ordained in 2017 and will finish Boston College High School 2 Jesuit Community on Aug. 15, has worked in middle and sec- 2018. Since December 2012, Fr. ondary education and has also Croghan has served as rector served as director of vocations of the Xavier Jesuit Community for the Maryland and New York in New York City. He is also the Provinces. provincial assistant for interna- tional ministries and the director of Ignatian identity at Regis High School. Fr. Donald J. Kirby, SJ, was named superior of the Loyola Jesuit Residence in Syracuse, NY. Father Kirby served 17 years as founding director of the Center for the Advancement of Values Educa- Fr. Thomas H. Feely, SJ, will tion at Le Moyne College, where become superior of the Xavier he continues to be a professor Jesuit Community in New York of Christian ethics and theology. City, effective Aug. 15, 2018. With his new appointment he Father Feely has been the associate will continue to balance scholar- Effective July 1, 2018, Kristin pastor at St. Ignatius Loyola Parish ship and pastoral outreach as Cupillari will assume the position in New York City since July 2013, he guides the life and mission of principal at Scranton Prep. Ms. previously serving as superior at of the Jesuit community. Cupillari has served as a teacher Ciszek Hall and formation director and administrator in Jesuit high for the Maryland, New York, and schools for 25 years, including New England Provinces. 6 years at Regis High School and 18 years at Loyola School, both in New York City. She has served this past year as Scranton Prep’s assistant principal. Effective this summer, Fr. Frederick J. Pellegrini, SJ, will begin service as superior of the Fr. Robert J. Levens, SJ, was Murray-Weigel-Kohlmann named superior of the Portland Community in the Bronx. Jesuit Community. He currently Since 2012, he has served serves as the faculty chaplain at as rector of the St. Ignatius Cheverus High School and as- Community in New York City, On Jan. 1, 2018, after serving in an sists at Our Lady of Hope Parish while also serving as vocation interim capacity, Br. Christopher in Portland, Maine. He previ- promoter for the Maryland and Derby, SJ, officially assumed the ously served as provincial of the USA Northeast Provinces. role as executive director of the New England Province and more Jesuit Center for Spiritual Growth recently was superior at Campion in Wernersville, Pa. Br. Derby Center in Weston, Mass. 3 FIVE YEARS LATER: Changes under Pope Francis N are revealing his 4 Changes under Pope Francis are revealing his “Jesuit DNA” By William Bole Pope Francis greets an elderly woman in Asunción, Paraguay. d Haring) (CNS photo/Paul The story is often told: Pope Francis Bergoglio appeared on the balcony of “Pope Francis tells us in Amoris is on a return flight to Rome, following St. Peter’s Basilica—the first Jesuit Laetitia that we should not water the World Youth Day celebration in pope, the first pope to hail from the down the Gospel of mercy,” says Rio de Janeiro. He walks back to the Americas and the first to take the Fr. James Keenan, SJ, professor of press compartment and surprises name “Francis.” theological ethics at Boston College. everyone with an impromptu news For a few years, there was constant “In these five years, he has brought— conference, standing in the aisle for 81 debate among religious pundits as in an uncompromising way—the minutes and answering every question to whether this approachable pope Lord’s mercy front and center and thrown at him by reporters. Asked with a message of mercy had as effectively challenges each of us about homosexuality, the pope makes yet brought change and reform to to allow the Gospel to heal, uplift what would become his emblematic Catholic life worldwide. Father and save us. For so many people, utterance: “If a person is gay and seeks Timothy P. Kesicki, SJ, president this emphasis on mercy refreshes the Lord and has good will, who am I of the Washington-based Jesuit not only a person’s soul but the to judge that person?” Conference of Canada and the United Church herself.” Seldom told—and less understood— States, points out that to this day, He is pontificating in a new key, is something else Francis said during “He hasn’t changed one definitive making it clear that a fundamental that spontaneous exchange: “And I teaching of the church.” Yet, Fr. Kesicki task of the faithful is not so much to think like a Jesuit.” and many others are now quick to follow rules but to discern what God It has been five years since white add that the pope who thinks like a is calling them to do. He is altering smoke wafted from a tiny chimney Jesuit has changed, perhaps forever, the culture of the clergy, steering atop the Sistine Chapel, signaling that the way a universal pontiff carries away from what he has named the papal conclave had chosen a new out his ministry, and his pastoral “clericalism” (which dwells on priestly successor of St.