Jesuits Central and Southern: Fall 2016

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Jesuits Elect New Superior General Building Bridges • A Wise and Holy Woman • Jubilees


message from the provincial

Dear Friends, Something about tragedies reveals much about what lies deep within human hearts. Often the ways in which people respond can surprise us, even as they point out truths that, in retrospect, we realize we already knew. Our “ordinary time" so often obscures the convictions and commitments that anchor us. In this magazine, you will hear of two such events. The passage of Hurricane Earl over central and northern Belize on Aug. 3 brought great devastation, though thank God, not the loss of life. Less than two weeks later, torrential rains hit southern Louisiana, especially the Baton Rouge area. You will read about and see images of the terrible damage in each place. In the face of these terrible events, however, the links that bind our Jesuit family together proved particularly important and effective. Our last General Congregation encouraged the Society to foster an “‘Ignatian Family,’ which will have a common vision of service, [and] will promote networks of mutual support.” (Decree 6, no. 29b) That “family” sprang into action to help St. John’s College in Belize City and Immaculate Conception Parish in Baton Rouge, and through them, so many people. Too often, we focus on what divides us; perhaps that is an easier path when things are calm. These events, however, speak to what lies deeper within all of us who share a Jesuit spirit. In the Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius asks us to ponder “what we have done” and “what we will do” for Christ. Clearly, that spirit moves so many in the Ignatian Family to meet the needs of others in times of distress, even more forcefully than they do on a day-to-day basis. Perhaps all of us might stop and ponder the spirit of reconciliation that moves deep within souls formed by Christian faith, called to be Companions of Jesus. May God grant that what we have seen in moments of tragedy might become the norm of how we care for one another in the Lord.

Fr. Ronald A. Mercier, SJ Provincial, USA Central and Southern Province

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Queridos amigos, Algo tienen las tragedias que tienden a revelar lo que hay en el corazón humano. Frecuentemente, la manera en que las personas responden ante estas situaciones nos asombra porque apuntan a verdades que, en retrospectiva, nosotros ya sabíamos. Nuestro diario vivir a menudo oscurece las convicciones y obligaciones que nos sostienen. En esta revista, ustedes podrán leer dos historias que ilustran este hecho: el paso del huracán Earl sobre el centro y norte de Belice el 4 de agosto de 2016 dejó gran destrucción. Sin embargo, gracias a Dios no hubo pérdidas humanas. A penas dos semanas después de este evento, lluvias torrenciales ocurrieron en el sur de Luisiana, especialmente en el área de Baton Rouge. En cada artículo leerán y verán imágenes de estos acontecimientos y el terrible daño causado en las distintas localidades. Sin embargo, ante estos terribles eventos, los lazos jesuíticos que unen a nuestra familia se mostraron particularmente efectivos y de mucha importancia. Nuestra última Congregación General urgió a la Compañía de Jesús a fomentar una “‘Familia Ignaciana’ con una visión de servicio común [que] promoviera contactos de apoyo mutuo.” (Decreto 6, no. 29b) Esta “familia” se activó inmediatamente para ayudar al St. John’s College en la ciudad de Belice y también a la parroquia de la Inmaculada Concepción en Baton Rouge y, a través de ellos, muchas otras personas se unieron a la causa. A menudo nos enfocamos en lo que nos divide, quizá porque es más fácil cuando las cosas van bien. Sin embargo, las tragedias sacan a la superficie lo que está dentro de cada uno de los que compartimos la espiritualidad ignaciana. En los Ejercicios Espirituales, San Ignacio nos pide que reflexionemos acerca de lo que hemos hecho y lo que haremos por Cristo. Claramente, el espíritu mueve a muchos en la familia jesuítica a satisfacer las necesidades de los demás en tiempo de emergencia con mucha más fuerza de lo que lo hacemos en el diario vivir. Tal ves, todos nosotros, después de un verano marcado por la terrible división política y aún más por los tiroteos que han plagado nuestro país, podríamos detenernos y reflexionar sobre el espíritu de reconciliación que vive en lo profundo de las almas formadas por la fe cristiana llamados a ser compañeros de Jesús. Dios quiera que lo que hemos visto en los momentos de tragedia se convierta en la norma de cómo nos ayudamos mutuamente en el Señor.


contents

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feature stories 4 | New Father General Jesuits Elect New Superior 8 | Regis Jesuit Exchange

International Experience

12 | Benefactor Profile Meet Mary Arroyo 16 | Jubilarians 18 | Natural Disasters Strike Jesuit Family Responds

Jesuits Central and Southern Volume III • Number 3 Fall 2016

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22 | Myth Busting Rethinking St. Ignatius

Editor Therese Fink Meyerhoff Associate Editor Cheryl Wittenauer Designer Tracy Gramm

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Advancement Director John Fitzpatrick Jesuits is published and distributed by the Jesuits of the Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus. 4511 West Pine Boulevard St. Louis, Missouri 63108-2191 314-361-7765

5 | Jesuit News 26 | At Work: Mark Lewis, SJ

Please address all correspondence about stories to the editor: UCSCommunication@jesuits.org

27 | Formation: José Dueño, SJ

Send all correspondence about addresses, memberships, and bequests to the Advancement Office: UCSAdvancement@jesuits.org

Cover: A Mass of Thanksgiving for new Jesuit Superior General Arturo Sosa, SJ. Photo by Don Doll, SJ.

30 | In Memoriam

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new superior

Jesuits Have a New Superior General

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rturo Sosa, SJ, has been elected to serve as the 31st Superior General of the Society of Jesus. Father Sosa was chosen on Oct. 14 by 212 Jesuit delegates at the 36th General Congregation, the supreme governing body of the Society. He succeeds Father Adolfo Nicolás, SJ, 80, who resigned Oct. 3, after serving as Superior General since 2008. A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Fr. Sosa, 67, is the first non-European leader in the Society’s 476-year history. “Father Sosa is a warm and gracious man, one who loves to laugh,” said Father Provincial Ronald Mercier. “Beneath that, though, lies a man of real depth. He believes that to meet the needs of our world, we Jesuits must be learned and wise. He adds to that spiritual depth; he is a man of prayer that shows itself in his commitment to justice. He will lead us well and challenge us to live out our charism in service to the Lord and His people.” Father Mercier is one of the USA Central and Southern Province’s four delegates to General Congregation 36. The others are Jesuit Fathers Thomas Greene, Hung Pham and Orlando Torres. Two other Jesuits from this province are also in attendance: Fr. Anthony Corcoran, representing Russia, and Fr. Douglas Marcouiller, general counselor and regional assistant for Canada and the United States. “He’s a quiet leader who listens well and has a heart for the poor,” Fr. Greene said of Fr. Sosa. “I was 4 Jesuits

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always impressed by his ability to find common ground on contentious issues. That’s a great gift of both Fr. Nicolás and Fr. Sosa. They are ‘simple’ and unassuming men, and they accept the roles, large and small, that God and the Society ask them to play. We are blessed to have such men as our leaders!” Father Torres has known Fr. Sosa for many years. “He has always been a very open, warm, bright, joyful person, and full of energy,” he said. “He is a big-picture man with big dreams, able to navigate in ‘troubled waters’ and be a good negotiator in conflict situations.”

“Fr. Sosa’s work for justice derives from a deep faith. He is deeply rooted in Ignatian spirituality and the Jesuit way of proceeding.” – Orlando Torres, SJ

Father Sosa has served since 2008 as general counselor to former Fr. General Nicolás. At the time of his election, he was Delegate for Interprovincial Roman Houses of the Society of Jesus in Rome. He served as provincial of the Province of Venezuela from 1996 to 2004. Before that, he was the province coordinator for the social apostolate, during which time he was also director of Gumilla Social Centre,

a center for research and social action for the Jesuits in Venezuela. “His work in the social apostolate has been accompanied by concern and commitment to the poor,” Fr. Torres said. “His work for justice derives from a deep faith. He is deeply rooted in Ignatian spirituality and the Jesuit way of proceeding.” Father Sosa has spent much of his apostolic life in research and teaching, specifically political science, in which he holds a doctorate. He has been a professor and member of the Council of the Andrés Bello Catholic Foundation and Rector of the Catholic University of Táchira in Venezuela. He speaks Spanish, Italian and English, and understands French. The election of Fr. Sosa as superior general completed one of the main tasks of General Congregation 36, but its work continues. The delegates now address matters of mission, governance and the state of the Society. Topics may include challenges in apostolates and the Jesuit response to a rapidly changing world, environmental concerns, poverty and violence.


news briefs

Father Michael Harter Assumes Formation Role

Manaker Professes First Vows

Declaring his commitment to the Society of Jesus in front of a small gathering of family and fellow Jesuits, William Manaker, SJ, pronounced first vows of poverty, chastity and obedience on Aug. 13 in Grand Coteau, La. Manaker said he felt joy and peace “knowing this is what the Lord has been calling me to do. … So to be saying yes to that call, that movement that God has put there, is really a wonderful gift to be able to receive.” Jesuit novices profess first vows after their second year of novitiate. While novices, they learn about the Society of Jesus and Ignatian Spirituality. They also make the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, which Manaker says are foundational for Jesuit life. “That was a wonderful and grace-filled experience.” Novice Director Mark Thibodeaux, SJ, noted the significance of first vows in a Jesuit’s formation: “It’s one of the most important moments of a man’s life, when he says he’s going to do this for the rest of his life.” Manaker’s vow ceremony was the centerpiece of a memorable weekend, beginning Friday, Aug. 12 when eight novices arrived at the St. Stanislaus Kostka Novitiate in Grand Coteau and ending on Sunday, when several Jubilarians were honored during a special Mass at St. Charles College. The weekend coincided with the heavy rains and historic flooding in southern Louisiana (see related story on page 18.) Manaker has begun theology studies at Loyola University Chicago.

Father Michael Harter, SJ, has been named provincial assistant for formation for the USA Central and Southern Province, a role with a lasting impact on the province and the greater Society of Jesus. Father Harter has significant experience working with men in formation. As a newly ordained Jesuit priest in 1974, he was assistant to the novice master at Kostka House, the former novitiate in Kansas City, Mo. Since then, he has helped train Jesuits in Denver and St. Paul, Minn. Most recently, he was assistant to the tertian director in the U.S. tertianship program, the last stage of Jesuit formation prior to final vows. Father Harter sees his latest assignment as “yet another opportunity to experience and model the reality of ongoing formation.” He also has worked as assistant to the provincial and as provincial assistant for communications, in the former Missouri Province. Jesuit formation is the spiritual, academic and practical preparation needed to fulfill the mission of the Society of Jesus. It begins the moment a man enters the novitiate and continues until he pronounces final vows – typically about 15 years. Father Harter replaces Fr. Kevin Cullen, SJ, who was provincial assistant for formation for two years. Fr. Cullen is now the central regional leader for L’Arche USA, based in St. Louis.

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news briefs

Jeff Johnson, SJ, Installed as Strake Jesuit President

Father Jeff Johnson, SJ, has been installed as Strake Jesuit High School’s seventh president. He was installed Sept. 2 at the school’s annual Mass of the Holy Spirit. Daniel Cardinal DiNardo presided at the liturgy, with Fr. Provincial Ronald Mercier, SJ, performing the official missioning – or sending – of Fr. Johnson to lead the Jesuit school in Houston. The entire student body was present at the Mass, along with members of the school’s board of directors and friends of the school. “Father Johnson, I can’t think of three better things to say to you in terms of what your work will be as president of this magnificent

Denver Day of Reflection

Every day is a good day to reflect on the stories of the Gospel. It is especially nice when you can do it under crystal clear blue skies on the beautiful campus of Regis University in Denver. Such was the setting on Saturday, Sept. 17, when Fr. J. Dan Daly, SJ, led a group of friends and benefactors through a “Day of Reflection.” 6 Jesuits

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institution than to seal unity here,” Cardinal DiNardo said during his homily, “to make sure you’re always completing what the Word made flesh has already started, and indeed, to allow the students to bear

The Day of Reflection is sponsored by the advancement office of the USA Central and Southern Province. John Fitzpatrick, provincial assistant for advancement, said, “We are grateful for all the benefactors to the province. We pray for them every day. The Day of Reflection is a clear way for us to express our gratitude.” The theme for the Denver Day of Reflection was Savoring Stories from

fruit.” He then said to the students, “One of the things that Fr. Johnson will be commissioned to do today is to be the seal of unity of what this school is about, and you are about important things.”

the Gospel. Father Daly is originally from Denver, so his involvement was a special treat for all those who remember him. There were even some in attendance who were married by Fr. Daly or whose children were baptized by him. He set the tone for the event when he invited the audience to relax, enjoy the setting of the St. John Francis Regis Chapel and the grounds of the university and listen to what God has to say. Father Daly offered thoughts on three readings. At the end of each session, guests had ample time to find a quiet place to reflect. The Mass included wonderful music, organized by Matt Stewart and Louis Hotop, two Jesuits in formation. Participants agreed they want more opportunities like this and urged the province not to wait another year for the next gathering.


IVC Celebrates 10 Years

More than 85 people gathered Sept. 20 on the campus of Saint Louis University to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps in St. Louis. Father Kevin Cullen, SJ, was recognized for his role in establishing the program in St. Louis and helping it grow from four volunteers to 39, now serving at 25 partner agencies and schools. The Ignatian Volunteer Corps (IVC) is a service opportunity for men and women over the age of 50 who want to transform lives, including their own. It matches the skills and interests of older adults with the social needs of the community. In addition to volunteering at their designated site two days each week, participants meet monthly as a community and with a spiritual reflector

The founding members of Ignatian Volunteer Corps, St. Louis celebrate 10 years of service: (left to right) Tom and Dale Auffenberg, Fr. Kevin Cullen, Sally Ytzaina, and Tom and Mary Hastings.

for prayer and reflection through the lens of Ignatian spirituality. Following Mass concelebrated by Provincial Ronald Mercier and Fr. Cullen, guests gathered for appetizers and a brief recognition program. IVC St. Louis Director

Vicki Simon welcomed volunteers and their guests, spiritual reflectors, representatives of the partner service sites and the IVC advisory council.

To coincide with the 2016 Jubilee Year of Mercy, Jesuit Refugee Service launched Mercy in Motion, a campaign to raise $35 million in order to double the number of refugees it reaches with educational programs.

Jesuit Refugee Service each year provides emergency relief, psychological help, advocacy and education to 750,000 refugees in dire need in 45 countries. With this campaign, it hopes to double the number of refugees it serves in camps and cities to more than 220,000 by the year 2020. A gift from the new JRS/USA Gift Catalog – such as a school bag or uniform, tuition fees, the cost of teacher training – will have a direct impact on the lives of those JRS serves so that they may heal, learn and thrive. Each gift from the JRS/USA Gift Catalog comes with a corresponding card describing its impact.

JRS Mercy in Motion

Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, and Joey Ryan of The Milk Carton Kids perform during the Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees benefit for Jesuit Refugee Service’s Global Education Initiative at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, Neb., Oct. 9, 2016. (Christian Fuchs — Jesuit Refugee Service/USA)

For more information about IVC, contact Vicki Simon at vsimon@jesuits.org.

Learn more about Ways to Give at www.jrsusa.org.

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feature story

Regis Jesuit Meets Guadalajara – and Likes It Story and Photos By Thomas Rochford, SJ

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our families met at the Denver airport on Aug. 5 to send their Regis Jesuit High School students to spend an entire semester at Instituto Ciencias, the Jesuit K-12 school in Guadalajara, Mexico. The four Denver students wanted to improve their Spanish-language skills, but they were joining a program with much more ambitious goals. Four Guadalajara families were waiting to take them into their homes and make them part of their families. Each family has a son or daughter who is “twinned” with a Regis Jesuit student. In January, the twins from Guadalajara will travel to Denver and spend a semester living with the family of the student they hosted. Two families become related as they share responsibilities for students in a full exchange. All the students will improve their ability to speak English or Spanish, but “the most important thing is the cultural exchange,” said Father Gustavo Gonzalez, SJ, Ciencias’ president. Three of the four Regis Jesuit students are sophomores. That might seem too young to be living away from family in another country and studying in a foreign language, but it is actually an opportune moment to experience another culture and witness other ways to live. “Their hearts are open; they are flexible and sensitive to new things,” said Ana Carmen Padilla, director of the exchange program at Ciencias. Rosalba Gonzalez-Hill and Chris Vela coordinate the program on the Regis Jesuit side. They encouraged the kids to jump into Spanish and Mexican culture. 8 Jesuits

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“It will take a few weeks for things to make sense, and then all of a sudden, things will click,” Vela said. She encouraged the four students to ask questions in class and advocate for themselves. She also told them to explore the city. A student who feels overwhelmed by a new culture can be tempted to bury his nose in a book doing homework. They should take part in conversations around the kitchen, and talk with their “twin” about social life. Ciencias student Juan Pedro Álvarez spent the 2015 spring semester in Denver, living with Stacy and Michelle

Ana Carmen Padilla and Isaac Barbosa


Campbell and their son, Austin. Álvarez thought he knew English pretty well after studying it since grade school, but when he arrived in Denver, “everyone spoke so fast that I couldn’t understand anything. After a month, it started to get easier.” “I missed our tacos,” he said. Looking back on the experience, he says that it made him more independent. He was used to having food prepared for him in his own home; but at the Campbells’, he learned how to cook for himself. “You are out of your comfort zone,” he said. “You are with people who have a different vision of life. It’s really good.” He was struck by how much space surrounded each house in suburban Denver compared to the much denser housing in Guadalajara. He also was struck by how happy the students at Regis Jesuit were. “When students from Ciencias returned to Guadalajara and began talking about their experience, we realized that there is something important here,” Fr. Gonzalez said. “This experience of living in another country could be linked to our Jesuit experience, where we learn to live in other cultures.” Father Gonzalez thinks that the Jesuit mission requires helping students develop a multi-cultural mentality that has characterized the Society of Jesus since Ignatius and the first companions came together from nations throughout Europe. “This is an excellent experience because our students have to confront what they think,” Fr. Gonzalez said. “That will be one of the main educational themes in the future: how to get along with people from other cultures.” Instituto Ciencias has made a big investment in the exchange program. This year, Ciencias will send 124 students to other countries and will welcome approximately 70 students to Guadalajara. Some Mexican students will travel during summer holidays, and others will spend time abroad during the academic year. Jesuit College Preparatory School in Dallas hosts Ciencias students for six weeks, but the Regis Jesuit collaboration is distinctive because of the exchange between families and its semester-long program. Regis Jesuit’s collaboration with Instituto Ciencias began in 2008 when Connie Orozco, the mother of a Regis Jesuit student, asked Chris Vela, head of the diversity program, whether the school would be interested in starting an exchange program similar to the one that Ciencias had with a Jesuit school in Quebec, Canada. The

“This is an excellent experience because our students have to confront what they think. That will be one of the main educational themes in the future: how to get along with people from other cultures.” –Father Gustavo Gonzalez, SJ

Seated left to right: Claudia Polifax (mother), Francisco Olivera (father), Claudia Nallely (Tania’s sister). Standing: Tania Olivera Polifax, Megan Hilbert

Orozco family in Denver has long ties with Orozcos in Guadalajara, who are connected to the Jesuit school there. The program began with one student from Regis Jesuit. In 2015-16, seven girls and five boys from Regis Jesuit spent a semester in Guadalajara and eight Ciencias students spent a semester in Denver. Vela said that recruiting Regis Jesuit students, especially boys, can be difficult. They do not have a tradition of traveling abroad and worry about missing sports. They also may fear speaking another language, especially at first. Some students feel a pressure to take advanced placement classes and fear that a trip out of the country may hurt their chance of getting into college. Vela has seen just the opposite: the exchange program actually helps them because colleges value it. Fall 2016

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José Carlos Crocker, principal of the high school division of Instituto Ciencias, addresses incoming sophomore students at the beginning of the academic year in August. They are in the school’s outdoor auditorium.

Padilla acknowledged that some outside of Mexico view that country as violent and dangerous. “But the students who come to Ciencias live in a context in which families care for them and nothing bad happens,” he said. “Guadalajara is a big city, and you need to be careful in any big city anywhere. I always say, ‘Don’t live in fear, but be careful.’” Vela said that one of her biggest challenges was finding families willing to host a student for a whole semester. “If we only need a family for a week, I can get 20 families, but it has always been a struggle to find a family willing to host a student for a whole semester. But then the people who have done it become our biggest advocates; they call their friends looking for volunteers.” Foreign students enrich the life within Regis Jesuit and Ciencias, and students return home much more fluent in their second language. They also develop friendships that endure. Álvarez returned to Denver last spring to attend Austin Campbell’s graduation from Regis Jesuit. “I think it is important for Austin and me to keep in touch. Our parents contact each other regularly.” Michelle Campbell agrees: “We have created life-long friends with JP’s parents. The other thing is that Stacy and I continue to think about other international kids that we will host in our home.” 10 Jesuits

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Juan Pedro Álvarez, known simply as JP, and Austin Campbell

Her sons had studied Spanish since middle school, and the family has a tradition of international travel. Austin’s first trip out of the country was a service trip to Peru as a seventh-grader. “For us, an international perspective was important because we believe that an individual’s growth does not begin with self, but with the other. So the more you can


gain experience and knowledge with others, even outside the community you live in, it only strengthens yourself and your story,” she said. Ciencias has worked steadily to increase options for its students to study abroad. The Jesuit school now collaborates with Jesuit schools in England, Canada, Belgium, Chile and the United States. In September, Fr. Gonzalez and Padilla visited Belgium, France, England and Ireland to seek more Jesuit schools willing to begin exchange programs. “This exchange program is full of marvelous things,” Padilla said. “It’s a lot of work, but worth it. “We wanted to give our students this opportunity as a way of responding to the educational mission of Jesuit

Regis Jesuit student Will Kosempel (top) in class. The Regis and Ciencias students spent a year together in Denver and Guadalajara, Mexico.

schools to form students in a multi-cultural mindset,” Padilla said. “Our students come back to the Instituto changed by their experience, much more critically aware of and concerned about the problems and situations of our planet. We think that this is very important for the world in which we live today, learning how to respect and become friends with the Other.”

Entering into a new culture can be a shock. The Ciencias president said that “classrooms in Ciencias can be very noisy, and students speak while the teacher talks. It can seem like students don’t pay attention to a teacher even though they do. It can be very hard for students from another place to understand that. “Your way of living is richer when you open your doors to another culture,” he said. “What can we do when we live in a society that obsesses about well-being? The other culture teaches us another way of living, of being human. That is important for everyone.” José Carlos Crocker is the principal of the high school division of Ciencias. As a student at the Jesuit school, he was one of the first to do an exchange program, going to a public school in New Hampshire. The impact of experiencing such different ways of living had a huge impact on him as a 16-year-old. It had a lasting influence and made him more independent, responsible and self-sufficient. “Now, almost 20 years later, in my position as high school principal, I see that these exchange programs have a profoundly transformative impact on my students. I want to give them the same experience I had at the same age,” he said. Crocker’s deepest hope is that these experiences will turn students into “agents of change in their communities.” The Campbells’ oldest son, Alan, hosted Wizo Garcia from Ciencias who studied at Regis Jesuit in 2014. Campbell is now at Loyola University Chicago; he spent the summer studying at the Jesuit university in Vietnam and started a men’s clothing line to provide sustainable income for women in villages there. “That’s the power of Regis,” his mother said. “When you invite people from other countries into your home, you think you are going to teach them about American life; but in return, there is such a gift they leave in your heart. And that’s what happened to Alan and Austin. You think that this little thing with Regis was just a nice thing, but it has created a life impact for our boys.”

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A young Mary Arroyo with her mother, father and younger brother, and with cousins at a family wedding in New Orleans (Mary, second from right; Melsy, left)

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Profile

Wise and Holy Woman Leaves $1 Million to Jesuits

By Cheryl Wittenauer

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ary Hartson Arroyo started life as the adorable dark-haired daughter of a New Orleans beauty and her Annapolis-graduated, naval officer husband. In pictures, she wears a big smile and Shirley Temple curls, playing with a dog or holding baby brother, Ted, eight years her junior. At the end of her life, on Feb. 23, 2015, at age 79, this social worker-turnedspiritual director from New Orleans, surprised her brother Ted by leaving $1.2 million to the Jesuits. Fall 2016

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Mary Arroyo with her father and brother and as a Cenacle Sisters novice

Mary Arroyo was the older sister and only sibling of Father Edward “Ted” Arroyo, SJ, who wasn’t aware of her plans for wealth inherited from their parents. “I never talked to Mary about where her estate would go,” Fr. Arroyo said. “I was kind of surprised.” It was less of a surprise to Mary’s friend, Sister Dorothy Trosclair, OP. The Dominican Sister of Peace directs the archdiocesan Spirituality Center in New Orleans where Mary initially volunteered, then worked as a spiritual director and trainer of others, until her illness made it impossible for her to continue. She says that in addition to having a brother who was a Jesuit, Mary was trained in Ignatian spiritual direction and loved Ignatian spirituality as a pathway to God, and she directed others in it. Father Arroyo said he’s “pretty sure Mary would have been reluctant, hesitant, even resistant to having an article written about her in the first place.” But another Dominican Sister of Peace, Noel Toomey, who hired Mary at the archdiocesan spirituality center, and became a close friend, said: “If anyone deserves recognition, it is Mary Arroyo, who was the most wise, simple and humble and holy of women.” None of that wisdom and holiness came easily, however. In old, black-and-white family photos of a nearly unrecognizable time in America, Mary and her young 14 Jesuits

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parents, Edward Benjamin Arroyo, Sr., and Lillian Hartson Arroyo, enjoyed road trips out West, lived in Hawaii both before and during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and later moved with toddler Ted to Ecuador, where Navy officer Edward helped direct that country’s Naval Academy to protect the Galapagos Islands from the Japanese in World War II. Between the Arroyo family’s many travels, its anchor was always New Orleans and its web of many close aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents who took care of each other in difficult times. Mary Arroyo and her cousin, Mary “Melsy” Saunders, born exactly three months apart in 1935, lived with their respective parents in their grandparents’ house in New Orleans during part of the Great Depression. “We were brought home to the same place after birth; we were almost like sisters even at that point,” Melsy Saunders said. They went to grade school, high school and college together and remained life-long confidantes and friends. When Mary and Ted’s mother struggled with breast cancer in a “long dying” that ended her life in 1951, the children lived with extended family to protect them from their mother’s suffering. But young Mary, then 15, felt the pain of being excluded from her mother’s dying and felt unrooted in those years, said Sister Lea Joanisse, CSJ, a close friend who came to know Mary many years later when they


worked toward their master’s degree in Christian spirituality at Creighton University. “It was a core injury in her,” she said. “Her mother was only 49, her father lived away, and she was under the care of an aunt and grandmother. It was a very painful time.” Mary would go on to university studies at Loyola and Tulane, where she earned a master’s degree in social work before moving to California with friends. She entered the novitiate of the Cenacle Sisters, but things didn’t work out. Instead, she pursued a life in social work, managing cases of poor, sick children for the state of Louisiana. She retired from that work in her 40s when she faced her own years-long battle with breast and bone cancer. She would go on to live another 30 years, time that allowed her to discover and live the vocation she was meant to have. “She was a miracle,” her cousin, Melsy Saunders said. “God had this next journey for her. It was what God put her here for.” Sister Joanisse recalled that Mary was “on fire” for spiritual direction, and after studies at Creighton, the two friends co-directed retreats for laity in Canada before Mary joined the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ Spirituality Center as an Ignatian spiritual director who also co-taught and supervised the training of other spiritual directors. She is remembered as an exceptional, deep listener, who put her social work skills to use in spiritual direction. “She was so open to suffering in other people,” Sister Joanisse said. “I never met anyone who communicated so effectively with empathy. She heard the deeper story. She heard beyond the words.” She became very accomplished in her work until Hurricane Katrina in 2005 uprooted and traumatized her, and not long after, dementia made her less and less herself before eventually taking her. When Mary began showing early signs of memory loss, a cousin who practices law saw the urgency of

formalizing Mary’s wishes in her estate plan while she was still able to articulate them. Mary’s benevolence illustrates the “amazing impact” of a planned gift, Provincial Assistant for Advancement John Fitzpatrick said. “Most of us will make it to the finish line with (financial assets) left over,” he said. “During our lives, most of us won’t have the ability to make six-figure donations, but through a planned-giving vehicle or a bequest, we can make a significant contribution. It may not be of the magnitude of Mary Arroyo's, but significant just the same.” Gifts made via a will or other planned-gift vehicle likely will be the largest donation any one donor makes, he added. “And Mary Arroyo managed to make the single largest donation the Jesuits of the USA Central and Southern Province received in 2016.” In Mary’s final days, Melsy, Sister Lea and Mary's brother, Ted, took turns keeping watch over her in her room. Melsy, who grew up with Mary, held her cousinsister her last day of life. “It was such a gift for me,” she said. “I’d do anything for Mary,” she said. “She’s got to get me into heaven, you know.”

Mary Arroyo with her friend, Sister Lea Joanisse (top photo) and with her brother, Father Edward “Ted” Arroyo

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50Years

in the Society

Meet the Jesuits celebrating 50 years in the Society of Jesus. Other Jubilarians are listed on our website.

Father Richard “Dick” Perl,

68, serves in pastoral ministry to a Latino immigrant community in the metro Kansas City area, where he has served since 2011. Except for three years as a teacher of English, literature, world history and West Indian geography at St. John’s College in Belize City, Belize, he has spent almost his entire ministry in Belize and Honduras in Central America as retreat director, associate pastor, pastor, pastoral worker and Jesuit superior.

Father Michael D. Barber,

67, has been a professor of philosophy at Saint Louis University since 1985, and also served as its dean of Philosophy and Letters and College of Arts and Sciences. He also taught at Rockhurst University and Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo. He is the author of six books in philosophy, editor of 12, and author of more than 70 articles. His book, The Participating Citizen, won the Ballard Prize for the best book in phenomenology in 2007. He has presented papers at more than 120 national and international philosophy conferences. He has taught courses in philosophy in San Salvador, Santo Domingo, and Nanjing and Xi’an, China.

Father E. Edward Kinerk, 73,

has been at Sacred Heart Jesuit Retreat House in Sedalia, Colo., since 2007, serving as administrator, spiritual director and director. He is the former provincial, novice master and formation director of the former Missouri Province. From 1998 to 2006, he was president of Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo. Fr. Kinerk also served at Sacred Heart Retreat House in Sedalia from 1975 to 1979. 16 Jesuits

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Father Ron Mercier concelebrates Mass with the Jubilarians in Grand Coteau and in St. Louis.

Father Robert L. Poirier, 69, is a learning consultant and campus minister at St. Louis University High School, the most recent of his varied assignments. He was staff psychologist and assistant director of the student health and counseling center at Saint Louis University, and before that, was a psychologist in private practice. He was a teacher and pastoral director at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo, and later served as rector. He served as both assistant principal and principal at Regis Jesuit High School in Denver. He was a parish associate at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Denver, and taught and did pastoral work at St. Ignatius College in Sydney, Australia.


jubilarians 2016 Father Philip G. Steele,

68, has been rector of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., since November 2015. He served at Regis Jesuit High School in Denver, first as art teacher, then in the pastoral program, finally as the president, from 2006 to 2015. Father Steele also taught art and served in pastoral ministry at St. Louis University High School in St. Louis, 1981-93. He led a pastoral program at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo., and he has served as the assistant to the provincial of the former Missouri Province and as a Jesuit community superior.

Brother John E. Puza,

83, served in the U.S. Army before entering the Society of Jesus in his 30s. He managed the bookstore at Jesuit High School in Tampa, Fla., before spending a career in the classroom, both at the elementary and high school level. He taught or ministered at Jesuit schools in Shreveport and Grand Coteau, La., Houston and Miami, as well as other institutions in Mobile, Ala., and Dallas. He was an assistant in L’Arche of Mobile and assistant to the rector of Jesuit High School in Tampa. He is praying for the Church and the Society at a Jesuit residence in Grand Coteau.

Father Walter T. Sidney, 68, is the rector of the Jesuit community at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas. He spent much of his career in education. A St. Louis native, he served for many years at De Smet Jesuit High School in St. Louis, teaching, directing its pastoral program and serving as its president. He served as president of Regis Jesuit High School in Denver, 1995-2006. He also taught at St. John’s College in Belize City, Belize, and directed its pastoral program.

Father Brian W. Van Hove,

68, has been the chaplain to the Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Mich., since 2009. He has taught at St. Louis University High School, served as associate pastor of St. Francis Xavier College Church, led retreats and been a spiritual director at White House Retreat and was rector of the Shrine of St. Joseph, all in St. Louis. He also did hospital chaplaincy and campus ministry in Kansas City, Mo., as well as formation work for the Diocese of Fargo, N.D., and was spiritual director and professor at seminaries in Ohio and Texas.

Father Dick Perl’s second cousins help him celebrate in Kansas City, Mo. Fall 2016

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province news

After the Storm:

A Flood of Kindness By Therese Fink Meyerhoff

S

outhern Louisiana is home to us. The USA Central and Southern Province has apostolates in Baton Rouge, Grand Coteau and New Orleans, and Jesuits have served there from as early as the 16th century. So the waters of the Great Flood of 2016 lapped right at our doors. Baton Rouge was hardest hit, with our parish, Immaculate Conception, right in the middle of it. The church building was not damaged, but the real church – the people of the parish – have suffered terrible losses. Labeled by the American Red Cross as “the worst natural disaster in the United States since 2012’s Superstorm Sandy,” the Great Flood 18 Jesuits

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Jesuit novices at work in Baton Rouge

of 2016 surprised residents and responders by its suddenness and scope. The torrential rains began on Aug. 11, and within 24 hours, some areas had received as much as 30 inches of rainfall, causing ten rivers to overflow their banks. With an estimated 146,000 homes damaged, Southern Louisiana was declared a federal disaster area. Immaculate Conception parishioners have now begun the long journey to recovery. They have gutted their homes and left them to dry. They have filed applications with FEMA and sought temporary shelter. And, providentially, they have found they are not alone. In addition to their parish family, they have their Jesuit family. One of the first things Pastor Thomas Clark, SJ, did when the flooding began was to call each of his parishioners. “We needed to make sure our people were safe,” he said. “And then we had to find out who needed help.” More than 100 Immaculate Conception families lost their homes. Most of these people did not have flood insurance, because this oncein-a-millennia flooding occurred in areas that have never flooded before. Unaffected parishioners immediately began meeting to discuss how the parish could best support its members, both in the near and long-term. They began by delivering meals and cleaning supplies. Father Clark became the leader not only of a parish community, but of a growing disaster recovery group, as his parishioners pulled together to help one another. They have gathered, organized and distributed cleaning supplies, clothing, toiletries, personal items, bedding and gift cards. They’ve prepared and served countless meals


when they arrived in Baton Rouge that Monday. “An entire street for blocks, every house had piles of debris. Everything was destroyed. The walls and floors had a texture like papier mâché. Just two days after the flooding, mold was already setting in. By the end of the week it was rampant.” The novices worked on two houses that first day, removing drywall and insulation and helping to remove ruined belongings from the houses. They’ve returned to the area two more times to help with the mucking and demolition. The novices were not the only people with Jesuit connections to lend a hand in Baton Rouge. for their own fellow parishioners and others through a local shelter. They’ve helped to connect volunteers to the families in need. They have hosted talks to help victims and survivors recognize the signs of trauma. And they’ve developed strategies for dealing with the long road to recovery. The flooding began on Aug. 12, which just happened to be Entrance Day for the province’s novitiate in Grand Coteau. In response, Novice Master Mark Thibodeaux, SJ, made the somewhat unprecedented decision to alter the novices’ schedule. “We were in ‘First Probation,’ which is the first two weeks of a Jesuit’s novitiate, a time of reflecting on the mission of the Society of Jesus,” Fr. Thibodeaux said. “Meanwhile, the Diocese of Lafayette and Fr. Clark were sending out appeals for help. We felt that there could be no better way to teach the new novices about the mission of the Jesuits than by responding to this sort of need.” Stuart Thomas, a second-year novice described what they found

Volunteers from Jesuit High School in New Orleans – students and adults – came to Immaculate Conception Church to help clear out and gut some parishioners’ homes. Province staff made their way from New Orleans to Baton Rouge with cleaning supplies. Former Jesuit Volunteer Corps members also made trips to help. Father Jay Hooks, SJ, who served at Immaculate Conception several years ago and knows many of the affected families, personally delivered supplies donated by families of Dallas Jesuit College Preparatory. The school communities of Rockhurst in Kansas City, Mo., and De Smet Jesuit in St. Louis

Students at Dallas Jesuit College Prep load donations for flood victims. Fall 2016

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raised money for people they do not know, but with whom they feel a bond. “People are amazingly resilient and hopeful,” Fr. Clark says. “At Immaculate Conception Church, we have had some of the most prayerful and heart-felt liturgies, as people poured out their hearts and souls in prayer and song. No question about

it, the power of community to lift up, console, and strengthen has been obvious.” As the people of Southern Louisiana go forward and try to return to some normalcy, Immaculate Conception Parish will be discerning what more they can do to help. They will be guided by a spirit of prayerful accompaniment that will lead to

action. We invite you to join them. Please send your financial contribution to: Immaculate Conception Church, 1565 Curtis Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70807. Or visit immaculateconceptionbr.weshareonline.org/# and choose Flood Relief.

Hurricane Earl

Takes a Devastating Swipe at St. John’s College By Cheryl Wittenauer

M

irtha Peralta had not completed one year as president of St. John’s College when Hurricane Earl struck Belize late on Wednesday, Aug. 3, packing a significant physical and financial blow to the institution and delivering a challenge of a lifetime. Hurricanes and tropical storms come and go in the tiny Central American country, but not since a September 1931 hurricane killed 11 Jesuits and 20 students at the college in what was then British Honduras, has St. John’s suffered such devastation from a single storm. Peralta, who lives 55 miles from the college, couldn’t believe what she saw when she arrived on campus the next day. Earl delivered sustained, hurricane-force winds, up to a foot of rain, flash flooding and a sea surge that inundated the college, lifted roofs, 20 Jesuits

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One of the decades-old trees toppled by Hurricane Earl

downed power lines and cell towers, uprooted lamp posts from their cement base, blew down trees – some of them decades old – flooded classrooms and filled them with mud. Windows and the roof and ceiling had been blown from the campus art center and science

building. The gymnasium had been inundated with water. Picnic tables had been lifted and transported by winds into a canal that surrounds the campus. Debris was everywhere. As she contemplated what had happened, she thought, “Oh, God, why this?” she said. “What is your next step?” Her husband then


helped her face the task ahead of her. “Do you think St. Ignatius had it easy?” she recalled him saying. He added: “Do what you need to do.” And she did just that on Thursday, telling herself, “This is what God wants for you.” She wrote to Provincial Ron Mercier, SJ, who made a contribution from USA Central and Southern Province to kick-start clean-up and reconstruction. She then toured the campus with the college’s operations director and Fr. Tony Vega, SJ, the St. John’s College Jesuit community’s superior who directs the college’s evening program. The three of them assessed the damage. Despite the destruction that they witnessed, she vowed to reopen in time for the previously scheduled first day of classes on Aug. 15. “A hurricane is not going to stop us from re-opening on time,” she said. She called a contractor, hired 20 workers to begin cleanup that first weekend, and implored students, staff and faculty to lend a hand starting Monday. The mayor of Belize City, a St. John’s College alumnus, donated a truck, backhoe and staff to haul away six truckloads of tree debris, and work began in earnest, almost round the clock. The college opened Aug. 15, the high

school two weeks later on Aug. 29. But many projects remain unfinished, and await needed funds before they can proceed. For example, the school must replace its one and only pickup truck that was damaged in the storm. It needs to replace $11,000 worth of metal chairs that were destroyed, and funds to repair the damaged Jacoby Hall carport. The school also must replace $61,000 in ruined books, $57,000 in two bicycle sheds – almost all of the students ride bikes to school – and make $23,000 in repairs to Jacoby Hall along with tens of thousands of dollars in other repairs. Peralta said an estimated halfmillion dollars is needed to pay for all the clean-up and reconstruction costs. This, for an institution that has no development director and whose streamlined administration consists of a president, two division heads, an operations director, accountant and human resources director. No one on staff has the time or skill to promote the school’s cause on social media, or manage its website, which is how many donations are made today. The college so far has paid for repair and reconstruction by using

Photo: Solangel Alvarado, St. John’s College dean (left), and Mirtha Peralta, college president, on a recent visit to St. Louis

funds that had been earmarked for less-pressing projects, and with $100,000 in donations from Jesuit universities. After the hurricane, Peralta reached out to the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, which St. John’s College joined in March as an associate member. Ten institutions responded with aid. St. John’s College, established in 1887, has an enrollment of 700 boys in its high school, as well as 1,200 men and women seeking associate’s degrees at the community college level. St. John’s is collaborating with other academic institutions to offer bachelor’s degrees in a few areas. Donations earmarked for St. John’s College hurricane repair and reconstruction may be made through this province, using the envelope in this magazine or online at jesuitscentralsouthern.org.

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understanding Ignatius

Myth-Buster:

Rethinking St. Ignatius Loyola F

injured in battle), nor was he a layman, ather Barton Geger, SJ, is just as strictly speaking, before his ordination nice as can be. He doesn’t want to in 1537. disappoint anyone, he really doesn’t. But There’s even more to learn in Fr. he does want to set the record straight. Geger’s latest article, Myths, Misquotes St. Ignatius Loyola almost cerand Misconceptions about St. Ignatius tainly did not say, “Go set the world on Loyola, published last spring in Regis fire!” Nor did he write the Prayer for University’s online journal Jesuit Higher Generosity, recited by countless stuEducation. dents at Jesuit schools each day. (While The article does not mark Fr. Geger’s it is always theoretically possible that Barton Geger, SJ first foray into myth-busting. In earlier he spoke those words, they appear papers, he endeavored to eliminate misnowhere in the early historical sources.) understanding about popular Jesuit terms like magis, cura In addition, Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, did not encourage personalis, and the well-known motto “For the Greater us to “Fall in love, stay in love,” because “it will decide Glory of God.” His goal is not to take anyone to task or everything.” Credit for those words goes to Fr. Joseph P. to quash enthusiasm for sharing Ignatian spirituality with Whelan, SJ, former provincial of the Maryland Province, others. Just the opposite. As he writes in Myths, precisely who died in 1994. because Ignatian spirituality is so beloved, and because Father Geger also wants to clear up some misunJesuits and colleagues are promoting it so effectively, it is derstandings about Ignatius’ story. For instance, he was more important than ever to get the facts right. neither a professional soldier (although he was indeed

“Go forth and set the world on fire! ” ~St. Ignatius Loyola

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“The trick with inspirational historical figures is to keep them relevant for our needs today, while remaining essentially consistent with their real beliefs and values,” Fr. Geger said. “Our worldview has changed so much in 500 years. We can’t just cut-and-paste Ignatius into the present without some modifications. But where and how we should do that is another question.” Father Geger is general editor of Studies in the Spirituality of Jesuits, a publication targeted primarily for the Jesuits of the United States and Canada. His doctorate is in Ignatian Spirituality, a subject that he has been teaching at Regis University for the last seven years. He focuses on the early sources: Ignatius’ 6,800 letters, his autobiography and spiritual diary, the Jesuit Constitutions, and the writings of other early Jesuits who knew Ignatius well. Most of these texts are in Spanish, Italian, and Latin. Father Geger can read the Spanish, but he leans heavily on Fr. Claude Pavur, SJ, for help with the Latin, and on Ronald DiSanto of Regis University for the Italian. While Fr. Geger was researching his dissertation, he noticed that the spiritual advice that Ignatius offered people differed considerably from what Fr. Geger had been taught about Ignatian discernment and spiritual direction. He began to appreciate how much the latter has been influenced by modern ideas and values. For example, a young man had made the Spiritual Exercises but still could not discern whether to become a Jesuit. Ignatius wrote him back: “I know you well enough. Let me say three Masses for it, and then I’ll tell you what you should do.” “Can you imagine the reaction if a Jesuit spiritual director said something like that today?” said Fr. Geger, laughing. “Here’s another example,” he said. “Our culture teaches us that happiness is dependent upon our having certain things: ‘I can’t be fulfilled unless I’m married, or a priest, or have this particular job, or live in that particular place,’ and so forth. But the spiritual masters of the Middle Ages believed that we choose to be happy, and therefore that we can be happy doing anything, living anywhere.

“Go, set the world alight! ” “Ignatius wrote this explicitly in a letter to a young Jesuit who had asked for a transfer because he was unhappy with his Jesuit brothers in community. Ignatius responded, ‘The fault does not lie in your brothers. It lies in your attitude.’ Needless to say, that forgotten bit of wisdom has weighty ramifications for how we talk about Ignatian discernment.” Father Geger said one danger of wandering too far from what the historical Ignatius actually believed is that we turn him into a spokesman for our own points of view. He asks: “If we read Ignatius’ writings and find something that rubs us the wrong way, or confuses us, like his advice to the unhappy Jesuit, do we pass over it in silence? Or do we engage it? Do we allow Ignatius to challenge us?” As for his target audience, Fr. Geger writes primarily for well-educated lay colleagues who already are committed to Ignatian spirituality and education, and who wish to immerse themselves more deeply, but who do not necessarily have a background in Catholic theology and church history. In that sense, he tries to strike a middle ground between popular introductions and technical, scholarly articles. His ultimate goal, and that of all Jesuits and friends of course, is greater understanding and love for the Pilgrim, the founder of the Society of Jesus, and for his spiritual doctrine. Three of Fr. Geger’s articles, including Myths, Misquotes and Misconceptions about St. Ignatius Loyola, are available on the website of Regis University’s online journal at: epublications.regis.edu/jhe.

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spirituality

From Surviving to

Thriving By Andrea Toles

R

ecently I was asked, “What words would you want people to remember you by?” After I reflected for a moment, I decided these six words sum it up: “What can I do to help?” The recent Great Flood of 2016 in southeast Louisiana has energized my faith, birthed my “survivor’s guilt,” strengthened my Church family and community ties and ignited my fortitude. Now that’s a melting pot of spiritually flavored gumbo for you! My flood experience dates back to Hurricane Katrina when my younger brother and I almost did not evacuate from New Orleans. Baton Rouge is our native home, so returning “home” was a blessing and a nobrainer. The days and months after Hurricane Katrina were filled with: “Who is this lady named FEMA?” “What do I do now?” and “Keep me near the rugged cross and Red Cross!” Hurricane Katrina blessed me to thrive, not just survive. Help from loved ones, strangers and organizations fortified my faith in God, but the Great Flood of 2016 skyrocketed my trust in Him and my belief in how The Almighty would order my steps. On the morning of Aug. 13, I awoke to no personal flood damage because I am blessed to live in the most elevated area of the city – Scott’s Bluff – a natural cliff upriver from the Mississippi River Delta. However, my cellular service went out after the flood damaged a nearby tower. I could not call or text my pastor, Fr. Thomas Clark, SJ, so, since I am a stone’s throw away from him, I drove to the rectory to make sure he was safe. Then I needed to know, “What can I do to help?” Weeks later, when I had time to reflect on this entire experience, I do believe asking Fr. Clark that question was my knee-jerk reaction to following my ordered steps. 24 Jesuits

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Then came the onslaught of survivor’s guilt. Looking into the faces of traumatized evacuees at the Jewel J. Newman Community Center where we served them cooked meals from our church’s industrial-sized kitchen and receiving calls and news from directly affected parishioners and friends sparked a double-edged sword of gratitude and guilt within me. I was thankful to God that my home and immediate family were spared the devastation. I praised God that I did not have to relive the material loss and evacuation process that came with Hurricane Katrina. Yet, I felt guilty for surviving unscathed when all I could see was news coverage of the Greater Baton Rouge area and surrounding cities under water. What do you say to someone who has lost everything? “I’m so sorry for your loss” was not enough. I knew, but did not fully realize, that God was always in the midst.

God heard my cry, ignited my courage and answered my prayers in perfect timing just as He always does. “What can I do to help?” became my daily rallying motivation. Every day became a renewed day of hope and strength to help my neighbor. God’s beauty touched me to step up and to step in. The outpouring of thanks from family, friends, Church family and strangers reaffirmed God’s love in me and the love He blessed me to share with others. I have not met a stranger since the Great Flood. I have recovered from survivor’s guilt, which since has been replaced by “thriver’s gain.” My spirit is thriving from the strength, hope and faith that I have gained from a temporary setback.


After the Flood of 2016

By J.M. Johnson

W

hen Katrina hit in 2005, I couldn’t understand what New Orleanians were going through or how they would deal with such a major disaster. I asked questions, and tried to help, but I didn’t know how. Now that I’ve experienced the Great Flood of 2016 in Baton Rouge, La., I know. God provided the strength to get through it. God is good all the time. My priest, Fr. Thomas Clark, SJ, visited all of the parishioners of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church of Scotlandville who were affected by the flood, and put a call out to the Jesuit community nationwide. They came – young and old – from churches, schools and communities. They brought supplies and manpower, as well as the knowledge of how to gut and clean houses. Good thing, because many of us had no idea how or where to start. These acts of kindness were the beginning of putting our lives back together. When I witnessed how my

children, friends, and family took control of the situation, while I sat by and wondered what had happened, I truly had an out-of-body experience watching them put life back together. I just could not conceive the idea of being flooded. It seemed so unreal. Suddenly reality set in, and we had to get well over 40 years of stuff out of the house. Everyone seemed to know what to do but me. I was more in the way than helping. At that moment, I knew I needed help. The next day, Fr. Clark sent me a volunteer from New Orleans who pitched in and helped get things moving. We were on our way, I thought. The more I learned about what needed to be done and how complicated the job was, the more confused I became. Then the volunteer said he and his friends could do the job. These volunteers had answered Fr. Clark’s call, and a team showed up the next day. We formed a bond with family, friends and a great team of workers, and the clean-up began. By the end of day four, the stuff had been removed, trashed, and the house gutted and sprayed. I admit to having been critical of the Jesuit province in the past, because of what I saw as a lack of involvement in our parish. But after the volunteers’ work, as well as financial help marshalled by them, I have renewed faith. If this is not working together and getting to know one another, then I don’t know what is. The volunteers handled my stuff as if it were their own, handling things with love and care. Friends came to help. Adults whose lives I had touched when they were teenagers showed up to help. Neighbors in the same situation brought us food. Church family held us up, and did not let us fall. It was family taking care of family. Through it all, God makes you stronger so that you can deal with each day, one at a time.

“Through it all, God makes

you stronger so that you

can deal with each day,

one at a time.”

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at work

Mark Lewis: Promoting Walter Ciszek, SJ By Cheryl Wittenauer In his 36 years as a Jesuit, Fr. Mark Lewis, SJ, has had his share of interesting assignments. Right out of graduate school at the University of Toronto, he wrote about Jesuit history at the Jesuit Historical Institute in Rome. He also was its director from 1998 to 2004. His area of expertise is Renaissance and Reformation and early Jesuit history. He was visiting associate professor and director of the Institute of Catholic Studies at John Carroll University after his return to the U.S. in 2004, and taught history at Spring Hill College while serving as New Orleans Province archivist, before being named provincial in 2008. Now, he’s helping to promote the cause for canonization of Walter Ciszek. The Polish-American Jesuit priest was a clandestine missionary in the former Soviet Union during World War II and much of the Cold War. Ciszek was captured as a suspected spy for the Vatican, interrogated, imprisoned and sentenced to hard labor in Soviet labor camps in Siberia. Long after he was presumed dead, he emerged from the Soviet gulag and was returned to the United States in a spy exchange in 1963. Father Lewis had just completed his six-year term as New Orleans provincial and was on sabbatical in Rome in 2014 when he visited Fr. Marc Lindeijer, SJ, a friend at the office that prepares and presents case for the canonization of Jesuits and others to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Father Lindeijer had the Ciszek file on his desk and mentioned that he was running out of time to complete the case before his own change of assignment. Father Lewis offered his help and said he was available. By the time he heard back from his friend, Fr. Lewis was back in the U.S., working as director of Catholic studies at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Mo. He also serves as the provincial assistant for higher education, making sure the province’s six colleges and universities attend to their Catholic and Jesuit identities.

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The case of Walter Ciszek, like all causes for canonizations, must provide a compelling argument that he showed “heroic virtue” during his life. He has already been named a “servant of God,” the first step on the path to sainthood. Subsequent steps – being declared venerable, blessed and finally, a saint – require proof that miracles occurred through his intercession. Father Lewis reviewed the Ciszek case for any gaps or weaknesses. He also incorporated the case into a discussion for his classes at Rockhurst, and asked students to come up with their own ideas about what constitutes “heroic virtue.” The students enjoyed discussing both the history of that time, and the religious and moral implications of God’s graces and one man’s response to divine will.

The case of Walter Ciszek, like all causes for canonizations, must provide a compelling argument that he showed “heroic virtue” during his life. He will leave Rockhurst in January for Rome, this time to teach church history at the Pontifical Gregorian University. The “Greg” educates nearly 3,000 international students in philosophy, theology, church history and cultural heritage, social sciences, counseling and spirituality. They are priests, religious, seminarians, and, increasingly, lay students interested in teaching in Catholic institutions. Father Lewis says that he doesn’t really have a dream assignment. “I just try to be available to what is needed,” he said.


formation

José Dueño Gorbea: Modern Evangelist By Therese Fink Meyerhoff José Dueño Gorbea, SJ, says it’s good to be back in New York City, where he works at America Media. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, he moved to New York at age 17 to attend New York University. Then he “took a little detour” by entering the Society of Jesus. Dueño attended the Jesuit high school in San Juan, Colegio San Ignacio, graduating in 2007. He became friends with a Jesuit there, Fr. Juan José Santiago, who taught philosophy to seniors. Two years into college, Dueño began talking to Fr. Santiago about life as a Jesuit. “I had a lot of questions,” Dueño recalls. “I was drawn to the ways Jesuits approach faith from an intellectual perspective, as well as their social engagement in the world.” Dueño began going on missions with Jesuits from Puerto Rico, and over time he recognized his vocation to the Jesuits and to the priesthood. “What first drew me was the Jesuits themselves,” he said. After completing his college degree, he entered the Jesuit novitiate in the Dominican Republic in August 2011. Dueño spent the past three years in Paris, studying philosophy and living in one of the Society’s international houses with Jesuits from Slovenia, Italy, Burundi and Bolivia, among other countries. It was a youthful community, made up of Jesuit scholastics. Having lived with Jesuits from all over the world, Dueño now believes “There is such a thing as a universal Jesuit culture. We really do share a common foundation.” While in Paris, he also worked in pastoral care in the gastroenterology department of a hospital that serves people with low incomes, including many immigrants. He accompanied people who suffered from cancer or alcoholism, who were asking challenging questions about life – and death. “It really touched me,” he said. “People, regardless of their religion, were thirsting for spirituality.”

Acknowledging that it’s hard to leave a place where he’s learned and grown so much, Dueño is also looking forward to finding new ways to serve the Church, beginning with his assignment at America Media. Perhaps best known for America Magazine, this Jesuit institution provides editorial content through a variety of media. With degrees in film and comparative literature, Dueño is excited at the prospect of working in such a creative environment. He’ll be working primarily in the films department with Jeremy Zipple, SJ, an awardwinning documentarian and former producer for National Geographic, who is also a member of the USA Central and Southern Province. Dueño will also be the editor of a new Spanish-language column in the weekly print magazine.

“I see this regency as a way to discern whether I can use my knowledge of film in the service of the Society and the broader Church.” Dueño’s role at America Media is his regency assignment, one stage of Jesuit formation. During regency, Jesuits work for two to three years in a Jesuit apostolate, most commonly a Jesuit school, but in Dueño’s case, it made sense to make use of his particular expertise in film. “I see this regency as a way to discern whether I can use my knowledge of film in the service of the Society and the broader Church,” Dueño says.

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donors Companions Honor Roll

We are grateful to all who support the Society of Jesus through their gifts of prayer, time and resources. The following donors have joined the Companions of St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier, St. Peter Faber, St. Aloysius Gonzaga and St. Stanislaus Kostka through their contributions from May 1 through Aug. 31, 2016. The entire list of donors for this period can be viewed on the province website: jesuitscentralsouthern.org/supportus

Companions of

St. Ignatius Loyola ($5,000 or more) Anonymous (2) Mr. and Mrs. Ronald P. Briggs Mr. and Mrs. David O. Danis, Sr Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth G. Follansbee Estate of Eleanor V. Gray Estate of Mathilda B. Kramer Mr. and Mrs. Mark J. LaBarge Dr. and Mrs. Robert J. Luchi Mr. Paul Singleton Carl and Theresa Hill Foundation College of the Holy Cross Go Fish Fund J. Edgar Monroe Foundation Jesuit High School (New Orleans) Loyola University Maryland Rockhurst High School

Mr. and Mrs. Clifton J. Seliga, III Mr. and Mrs. George G. Shaw Ms. Marie Tobin Capt. and Mrs. Leonard R. Wass Dr. and Mrs. Darrell E. Zeller Creighton University Fairfield University John Carroll University Loyola School (New York) Loyola University (New Orleans) Paloucek Family Fund St. Charles College St. Dominic Savio Parish Santa Clara University St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church St. John’s Lutheran Church White House Retreat Jesuit Community

Companions of

St. Peter Faber

Companions of

St. Francis Xavier ($1,000 to $4,999) Anonymous (2) Mr. William M. Barbieri Estate of Jacqueline P. Bishop Mr. J. Timothy and Dr. Nancy H. Blattner Dr. Robert P. Blereau Mr. Jacob Blicharz Mr. and Mrs. J. Michael Bruno Mr. and Mrs. William F. Casey Rev. Richard J. Cassidy Dr. and Mrs. Robert Collins Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Cummings, Jr Mr. Kerry M. Dooley Mr. and Mrs. Reynold R. Dsouza Mr. and Mrs. James D. Faust Mr. William J. Fortune Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Garcia Mr. and Mrs. Michael W. Hamm Estate of Mary and Edmund Hanley Mrs. Joan H. Herbert Dr. and Mrs. Thomas G. Johans Mr. and Mrs. Eric P. Koetting Mr. and Mrs. Glen L. Linvill Ms. Ellen D. McCarthy Dr. and Mrs. John E. McKenna Mr. and Mrs. James F. Moore Mr. and Mrs. Edward N. Morris, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Herbert W. Mundhenke Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Murphy, Jr Mr. and Mrs. John Nugent Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Nugent Mr. and Mrs. Neil J. O’Brien Mr. and Mrs. Michael G. O’Neill Mr. and Mrs. Philip J. Paschang Mr. and Mrs. Allan M. Pinne Mr. Robert R. Planthold Dr. Michael J. Prejean, Sr Dr. Jill Raitt Mr. and Mrs. Virgil R. Rehg Dr. and Mrs. Lucio Sanchez Mrs. Odessa M. Schaller Mr. Timothy D. Schofield Deacon William J. Schuster

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($500 to $999) Mr. William A. Baker, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Baugh Mr. Thomas R. Blum Dr. John J. Bonacorsi Mr. Henri E. Bonvin Mr. and Mrs. Richard D. Brackley Mrs. Phyllis T. Broussard Ms. Tessa Rouverol Callejo Mr. and Mrs. Leon E. Comeaux Mr. and Mrs. Armando Corripio Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence J. Ecuyer Mr. and Mrs. Donald H. Espenan Mr. Dennis P. Frauenhoffer Mrs. Mary Ann Freise Estate of Frank and Mary Ellen Funck Mr. and Mrs. Arnold A. Griffin Ms. Janice C. Hamm Mrs. Mary A. Jolley Mr. Brian Kelly Mr. E. Campion Kersten Ms. Mary S. Kwan Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Lally Mr. and Mrs. Patrick N. Lawlor Dr. Ray J. Lousteau Mrs. Camille Manion Mr. Gerald O. Martin Mr. and Mrs. Leandro L. Martinez, Jr Mr. and Mrs. David L. Mehl Mr. and Mrs. Jack Merkel Dr. and Mrs. Thomas G. Merrill Ms. Julie A. Metzler Mr. William R. O’Brien, Jr Mrs. Marie Louise Peters Mrs. Frances C. Pivach Mr. and Mrs. Bernard A. Purcell, III Mrs. Dorothy E. Reynaud Estate of Frank K. Ribelin Estate of Helen and Marie Rotterman Mrs. Maureen M. Seabury Ms. Kathleen A. Simar Mr. Joseph E. Snyder Mr. Thomas J. Stochl Mr. and Mrs. Glenn C. Strebeck, Jr Ms. Mary H. Thibodeaux Mr. Donald J. Voorhies

Mr. and Mrs. John C. Weller Mr. and Mrs. Mark A. Whitehead Ms. Anita M. Xavier Boston College Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Marquette University Campus Ministry St. Jude Catholic Church St. Gabriel Catholic Church Knights of Columbus Council 10242 Stemmans, Inc University of Detroit Mercy

Companions of

St. Aloysius Gonzaga ($100 to $499) Anonymous (4) Mr. John D. Abeln Mr. and Mrs. Joseph E. Ackels Dr. Lealani Mae Acosta Mrs. Betty A. Adams Mrs. Irene A. Adolph Mr. and Mrs. Donald D. Adrian Ms. Nancy Alchediak Mr. and Mrs. James F. Alexander Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Anderson, Jr Mr. Robert S. Angelico Mr. and Mrs. Warner J. Angelle, II Ms. Pamfila F. Apolonio Dr. and Mrs. Paul C. Armbruster Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. Auffenberg Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Avin Ms. Susan Baber Mr. and Mrs. Harold I. Bahlinger, Sr Mr. and Mrs. Marion J. Bahlinger Mr. and Mrs. Fred Bahr Ms. Marjorie P. Baish Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Allen Ballenger Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin A. Banning Mrs. Verlyn Barbier Dr. and Mrs. Michael F. Bartell Mr. William A. Bartz Ms. Judith A. Bauman Mr and Dr. Peter K. Baxendale Mr. Earl E. Bechtold Mr. and Mrs. John D. Becker Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Becker Mr. and Mrs. Michael Benya Dr. Carol Ann Berger Mr. and Mrs. Mark A. Berlyn Mr. Jerome O. Bernauer, Sr Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Bira Rev. Dennis J. Blaney Mr. and Mrs. Christopher T. Bolin Ms. Ellen E. Bonacorsi Mr. and Mrs. Forrest M. Borden Dr. and Mrs. Warren R. Bourgeois, III Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Bradshaw Mr. and Mrs. Kevin J. Breheny Mr. and Mrs. Jerry W. Brill Mr. Joseph F. Brinley Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. Broussard Mrs. Barbara J. Brubaker Miss Mary A. Bruemmer Mr. and Mrs. Paul J. Buras Mr. and Mrs. Lance H. Call Mrs. Elaine M. Capitano Dr. and Mrs. Edward P. Carlin Mr. and Mrs. Arthur R. Carmody, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Mark D. Carroll Mr. M. Hampton Carver Mrs. Jayne E. Catanzaro Dr. and Mrs. Charles P. Cavaretta Dr. and Mrs. Robert V. Cazayoux, Sr Drs. Russell & Fayne Cecola Mr. William F. Cento Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Charbonnet Dr. and Mrs. Robert H. Charbonnet Mr. and Mrs. Preston Cifreo Mr. and Mrs. Richard S. Clarke, Sr Dr. Jesus L. Climaco Mrs. Anne M. Cody Mr. and Mrs. John C. Combe, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Gregorio Concha Ms. Jo Ann Condry Mr. B. Patrick Conley Mr. David B. Conner

Mr. Timothy A. Crain Mr. and Mrs. Daniel J. Cronin Mrs. Maria Csik Mrs. Dora C. Cuddihee Mr. and Mrs. John M. Cullen Mr. Edmond L. Daigle, Sr Mr. F. Roy Daigle, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Leslie J. Daigle Mr. Patrick J. Dauterive Ms. Jane B. Davis Mr. and Mrs. James M. De Francia Mr. and Mrs. David G. Dehaemers, Jr Mrs. Gail I. Delaney Mr. and Mrs. Edwin L. Demerly Ms. K. Ann Dempsey Mrs. Rita G. Denny Mr. and Mrs. David D. Dereczyk Mr. and Mrs. Paul H. DeVerges, Sr Mr. and Mrs. Daniel P. Didier Ms. Christine Doby Mr. and Mrs. Michael Doherty Mr. and Mrs. Joe E. Dominy Mrs. Nadine G. Donahue Mrs. Dorothy J. Donnelly Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Donohue Mr. and Mrs. Leo J. Donovan Mr. and Mrs. William H. Dooley, Jr Mr. David A. Dorsey Mr. Carl Dothage Ms. Joan E. Dowler Mr. and Mrs. W. Steve Driscoll Mr. Oliver A. Dulle, Jr Mr. and Mrs. James H. Dumesnil Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Dunne Mrs. Elizabeth L. Dyer Mrs. Martha B. Dyer Ms. Patricia Eagan Misenich Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Earsing Mr. and Mrs. Henry A. Ecuyer, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Elliot, III Mr. Dino Entac Mr. and Mrs. Dan J. Entrup Mr. Lawrence H. Essmann Mr. and Mrs. John T. Farrell Mr. Robert E. Feldhake Mrs. Cecil S. Fermanis Mr. and Mrs. John J. Finan, Jr Mr. and Mrs. William F. Finegan Mr. David B. Flavan Mr. Walter Lee Fleming, III Dr. and Mrs. Dennis R. Floyd Mr. and Mrs. David G. Foshage Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Fournier Mr. and Mrs. J. Charles Freel, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Eugene F. Freeman, Jr Mr. David French and Family Mr. James B. Friedl Mr. and Mrs. Wynne P. Friedrichs Mr. and Mrs. Daniel A. Froelich Mr. and Mrs. Clayton D. Fryer Estate of Jane Fulton Mr. and Mrs. Robert T. Garrity, Jr Mr. Leo C. Geary Mrs. Tonia Gentry Mrs. Ann M. Geraty Mr. Michael A. Gerritzen Mr. Peitro G. Gianfrancesco Mr. and Mrs. William B. Gibbens Dr. and Mrs. Douglas J. Giorgio, Jr Ms. Jane M. Gisevius Mr. Richard J. Glaser Mr. Gary Glynn Mrs. Martha A. Goetz Mrs. Ilene M. Good Mr. and Mrs. William G. Gregg Prof. and Mrs. Paul F. Grendler Mr. and Mrs. Stephen H. Gross Mr. John L. Gubser Miss Charlene A. Guerrero Mr. Davis A. Gueymard Mr. Thomas J. Gumbleton Mr. Randy Guste Mr. James R. Guthrie Ms. Linda M. Hagen Ms. Alice N. Hallinan Mr. and Mrs. Christopher K. Halterman Mrs. Laura Hamtil-Klages Mrs. Marie E. Hand

Mr. and Mrs. Robin W. Hanemann Dr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Hanley Mr. Joe Hanon Ms. Julia Hart Mrs. Joan W. Hartson Ms. Christine Hebert Mr. and Mrs. Joseph L. Hebert Ms. Margarita L. Heisserer Rev. Mr. and Mrs. J. John Heithaus Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Heitmann Mr. and Mrs. Gerard F. Hempstead Mr. and Mrs. William T. Hickey Mr. Louis D. Higgs Mr. and Mrs. Steven H. Hippe Dr. William A. Hobbs Mr. and Mrs. Frederick A. Hodes Ms. Mary L. Hoffman Mr. and Mrs. Lester L. Hohl, Jr Mr. Lester L. Hohl Mr. and Mrs. William R. Holden Mrs. Suzanne M. Holt-Savage Mr. and Mrs. John W. Hough Mr. and Mrs. James D. Huber Mr. and Mrs. James D. Huck, Sr Mr. and Mrs. Noel T. Hui Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Hutchison Mr. and Mrs. Stephen E. Hutchison Mary and Carmen Iazzetta Mr. and Mrs. Luis I. Ingles, Jr Mr. and Mrs. David A. Ippel Mr. and Mrs. Alfred L. James, III Deacon and Mrs. Robert S. Joice Mr. Joseph Kahmann Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Kaiser Dr. Robert R. Kanard Mrs. Joan P. Kane Ms. Velma Kantrow Mrs. Patricia S. Keating Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Keeline Mr. and Mrs. James M. Kennedy Mrs. Charlotte Kilpatrick Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. Kirschman Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Kitchen Mr. and Mrs. Michael Klein Miss Florence R. Klug Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Koch Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Komos Mr. and Mrs. Helmut F. Kramer Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Kramer Dr. Dolores E. Labbe Mr. and Mrs. Maurice M. Lahoud Mr. and Mrs. Jerry D. Laird Dr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Lamendola, Jr Mr. Ronald J. LaVallee Mr. and Mrs. Mel Lavery Mr. and Mrs. Fortis M. Lawder Mr. Thomas E. Lawless Mr. and Mrs. Gerald T. Lawlor Mr. and Mrs. Rene J. Lazare, Jr Ms. Marjorie L. LeBlanc Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Y. Lee Mr. and Mrs. Edward T. Leech Mr. Richard Levey Mr. Michael A. Lewis Mr. Donald L. Lindemann Mr. and Mrs. Howard S. Linzy Capt. and Mrs. Thomas J. Loftus Miss Mary Ann Lombardo Mr. and Mrs. Mark W. Loomis Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Lorio, Sr Dr. Jean M. Luchi Estate of Carol R. Madden Mrs. Vickie Mahon Dr. Gabriel M. Makhlouf Mr. and Mrs. John J. Maret Ms. Megan K. Marshall Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Martin, Jr Mr. Andre J. Mathurin Mrs. Mary Lou Mayer Mr. and Mrs. Daniel J. McAuliffe Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. McCann Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. McGlone Mr. and Mrs. John McGovern Ms. Jane M. McLaughlin Mr. Michael P. McMiller Dr. and Mrs. John J. McPhaul, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Richard P. McQuade Miss Pamela J. Meldrum


Mr. and Mrs. Brian D. Melton Mr. and Mrs. Roger Mesker Dr. James A. Meyers Mrs. Edgar N. Mills Dr. and Mrs. J. Ernesto Molina Mrs. Marguerite Montagnet Mr. Jose F. Montes Mr. and Mrs. James C. Moran Mr. and Mrs. Eugene A. Morgenthaler Mr. and Mrs. John L. Moseley, Jr Mr. and Mrs. James V. Mroczkowski Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Mueller Dr. William Mullins Mrs. Mary E. Muntel Mr. and Mrs. Victor J. Muse Deacon & Mrs. Douglas K. Myler Mr. Joseph B. Naylor Mrs. Anita C. Neiner Drs. Harold and Lynne Neitzschman Mr. and Mrs. Gerald F. Nettler Mr. Richard J. Neuenfeldt, Jr Mr. and Mrs. William E. Nicholson Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Niemann Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Noonan Mr. and Mrs. Brian W. North Mr. Patrick G. O’Beirne Mr. and Mrs. Albert K. Oberst Mr. and Mrs. John C. O’Brien Rev. Robert E. O’Brien Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence P. Oertling Mr. L. Glenn O’Kray Mr. Michael J. Oleszkiewicz Mr. and Mrs. Carl F. Orgeron Mr. Ernest J. Orillion Mr. Antal Oroszlany Mr. Mark L. Ostenfeld Mrs. Thelma L. Otten Mrs. Teresita W. Park Mr. Larry B. Pascal Mr. and Mrs. Robert Pasken Capt. and Mrs. Conway D. Paternostro Mrs. Vicki C. Patterson Mr. and Mrs. Ralph N. Pautz Mr. Frederick G. Pedro Mrs. Anne M. Pepple Dr. and Mrs. William J. Perret Mr. and Mrs. Claiborne W. Perrilliat, III Drs. Fred & Frances Pestello Mr. Daniel F. Petru Mr. and Mrs. Steve Piske, Jr Mr. and Mrs. George Pivach, II Ms. Mary Ann and Dorothy Plasmeier Mr. and Mrs. Francis J. Poche Mr. and Mrs. John B. Poche Mr. and Mrs. Gary B. Pohrer Mr. Jack E. Pohrer Mrs. Ruth P. Politte Mr. and Mrs. David Poole Mr. Albert J. Portelance Mrs. Carol M. Porter Mr. and Mrs. David F. Postell Ms. Andree M. Postick Mr. and Mrs. Joseph T. Powers Ms. Gail M. Presbey Mr. and Mrs. Jack Proffitt Mr. Kenneth E. Raab Mrs. Linda A. Rabalais Ms. Christine E. Rankin Mr. and Mrs. Carl J. Ratermann Mrs. Jenny Rausch Mr. Raymond M. Reiminger Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Reintjes Mr. and Mrs. Jerome R. Renaudin Mr. James M. Reynolds Mr. and Mrs. Gregory S. Rickerd Mrs. Mary T. Ries Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Ritter Mr. and Mrs. Paul F. Rizzuto Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Robbins Mr. and Mrs. Marc L. Robert, II Mr. Jerry W. Rodriguez Ms. Elma L. Roesch Mr. and Mrs. George D. Rogers, Jr Mr. Richard H. Roos Ms. Linda Roth Mr. and Mrs. Larry Roy Mr. and Mrs. Mark D. Rudloff Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Ryan, Jr

Mrs. Rosemary G. Ryan Mr. and Mrs. Peter W. Salsich, Jr Ms. Mary Caroline Saracini Mr. and Mrs. Jack E. Saux, Jr Dr. and Mrs. John C. Scharfenberg Mr. and Mrs. Philip Schenkenberg Mr. Gerald J. Schenking Mr. and Mrs. John M. Schmidt Judge and Mrs. Patrick M. Schott Mr. and Mrs. Donald Schreiber Mr. and Mrs. John T. Schreiber Mrs. Mary E. Schroepfer Mr. F. Joseph Schulte (†) Mr. and Mrs. Alant T. Schumacher Mr. and Mrs. Matthew C. Sciuto Miss Myrtle M. Servat Mr. Robert C. Sessler Mrs. Hee Jeong Shaneen Ms. Bridget Brennan and Mr. Jerome L. Shen Mr. Thomas W. Shepard, Jr Mr. Edward J. Sido, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Simms Mr. and Mrs. Earl W. Simoneaux Ms. Mae Olivastro-Skubiz Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Slowik Dr. and Mrs. William S. Sly Ms. Jennifer Spangler Dr. and Mrs. James M. Stedman Mr. and Mrs. Richard Stegemeier Mr. and Mrs. G. Gregory Stephen Mr. Raymond A. Stevison, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Donald J. Stewart Mr. Steven M. Straub Mr. James R. Strong Mr. and Mrs. Mark M. Suellentrop Mrs. Dominique C. Swan Mr. and Mrs. George A. Swan, III Dr. Lyla Thomas Dr. and Mrs. Kevin T. Thorpe Dr. Karen Tichy Mr. and Mrs. Dave Tobey Mr. and Mrs. Edilberto I. Tolentino Miss Alicia Trevino Ms. Micheleen Troutman Mr. and Mrs. Patrick S. Turner Mr. and Mrs. Milton L. Vavasseur Mr. and Mrs. Pedro Villalva Mr. Joseph M. Voss Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Wacker Ms. Joyce B. Wagner Dr. and Mrs. Roland S. Waguespack, Jr Mr. Francis X. Waldo Dr. David W. Wall Dr. and Mrs. Williams D. Wall, IV Mr. and Mrs. Francis X. Walsh Mr. James H. Walsh Dr. and Mrs. Terence E. Walsh Mr. Michael O. Warner Mr. and Mrs. Peter B. Wetzel Mr. and Mrs. Bryan White Dr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Whittaker Dr. Carol F. Williams Mr. and Mrs. Earl G. Williams Ms. Bonnie E. Wilson Mr. and Mrs. John G. Wilson Mr. and Mrs. Robert N. Wilson Mr. and Mrs. Roland J. Wiltz Mr. and Mrs. Michael E. Winters Mr. Alan C. Wolf Mr. and Mrs. Ronald J. Wolf Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Wolken Mrs. Melanie Wood Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Young Mr. and Mrs. Ronald A. Zagone Mrs. Mary Elaine Zeller Ms. Karol E. Zipple Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. Zoellner Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation Holy Cross Catholic Church Holy Family Catholic Church Immaculate Conception (Old Monroe, MO) Olinde Financial Group Our Lady of the Oaks Retreat House The Stevens Group, Inc

Companions of

St. Stanislaus Kostka

($36 to $99) Anonymous (2) Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Abel Mrs. Marianne Abrams Ms. Katie Ackels Mrs. Denise J. Alberg Mr. and Mrs. David R. Andrews Mr. and Mrs. Gary L. Austin Ms. Mary Laura Barnett Mr. and Mrs. Ricardo R. Bartelme Mrs. Kathleen Beaton Mrs. Elizabeth R. Bellaire and Family Mrs. Mary Lou Bennett Mr. and Mrs. John W. Black Mr. and Mrs. Walter G. Bohn Mr. and Mrs. Donald E. Borey Mrs. Julia M. Bouchex Mr. and Dr. Michael S. Bourg Mr. and Mrs. James W. Brandau Mrs. Lorelie Brannan Mr. John H. Bres Mr. and Mrs. Steven C. Bublitz Mrs. and Mr. Dora Calles Mrs. Claire W. Carbo Mr. and Mrs. John M. Carbonneau Mr. Terry W. Cardwell Mr. and Mrs. Paul J. Carty, Sr Mr. Gregory L. Cascione Mr. Michael Cognevich and Family Mr. and Mrs. Cary Combs Mr. Robert Concha Mr. Frank W. Conn Mrs. Margaret C. Conner Mr. and Mrs. Francis G. Connor, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Gary J. Conoryea Mr. and Mrs. Wayne P. Conway, III Mrs. Mary Anne H. Creagan Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Croghan Mrs. Mary Jane Crowe Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Dahlke Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy L. Dauzat Mr. Ronald J. Deck Mrs. Lucile E. DeLage Mr. and Mrs. Albert A. Demarest, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Diederich Mr. and Mrs. James W. Dippel Mr. and Mrs. Ernest P. Doclar Mr. and Mrs. James B. Donahue Mr. and Mrs. Russell Duplechain Mr. and Mrs. Marvin A. Dupree Mr. and Mrs. George C. Ebelhar Mr. Sherif A. Ebrahim Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Efken Mr. and Mrs. James R. Erler, Sr Mr. and Mrs. Wallace J. Farge, III Mrs. Linda H. Favaloro Mr. Fred C. Feddeck Mr. and Mrs. Franz Feldmeier Mrs. Jean M. Feldmeier Ms. Betty Fitzgerald Mr. and Mrs. J. William Fleming Mrs. Nancy S. Fontenot Mr. and Mrs. Michael W. Frick Mrs. Lucille F. Fuegner Mr. and Mrs. Steve Gadd Mr. and Mrs. David M. Gaines Mr. Thomas R. Gassner Mr. and Mrs. Paul Gazzerro, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Roy A. Giangrosso Mr. Michael J. Gianino, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Robert Goldkuhl Mrs. Anna A. Gonzales Mr. and Mrs. David L. Good Mr. and Mrs. William T. Gorman Mr. Joseph E. Gotch Ms. Catherine Green Mr. and Mrs. Bucky L. Guidry Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Hamilton, III Ms. Catherine Hanna Mr. Martin J. Hannauer Mrs. Jerry Hebert Mr. and Mrs. George C. Heine, III Mr. and Mrs. Michael S. Hermes Mr. and Mrs. William E. Hickman Mrs. Julia D. Hiemenz Mr. Earl J. and Dr. Janet B. Higgins Mr. and Mrs. Gary R. Highberger Mrs. Kathleen A. Hirt

Rev. Robert Hochreiter Ms. Shirley J. Horstman Mr. and Mrs. Gene Hoskinson Mr. and Mrs. Wesley J. Hudson Cmdr. and Mrs. Patrick N. Huete Mr. and Mrs. William G. Hutchison Mr. and Mrs. Brandon J. Iglesias Mr. and Mrs. John M. Indyk Mr. and Mrs. Robert P. Ingram, III Mr. and Mrs. Scott E. Janoch Mr. Thomas J. Jensen Mr. and Mrs. Stanley G. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. John T. Jung Mr. and Mrs. Gaven T. Kammer Mr. and Mrs. William N. Kammer Mr. Joseph D. Karam Mr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Kavanaugh, Sr Mr. and Mrs. Timothy S. Kearns Mr. Richard J. Keefe Mr. and Mrs. Raymond L. Kell Mr. Joseph F. Kelley Mrs. Sara A. Kelley Ms. Sandra J. Kennon Mr. Tom Kline Mrs. Mary F. Knoll Ms. Emily Kreikemeier Ms. Judith A. Lauer Mr. Steve M. Lauinger Mr. and Mrs. David W. Lawson Mr. and Mrs. Joseph V. LeBlanc Mr. William Lederer Mr. and Mrs. J. Kenneth Leithman Dr. Lawrence B. Lewis de Fordham Mrs. Janet T. Lillis Mr. and Mrs. Joseph G. Lipic, Sr Mr. and Mrs. Jude A. Lirette Mr. and Mrs. Paul Loh Mrs. Margie MacMillan Mr. Jim D. Maloney, Jr Mr. Albert H. Mangelsdorf Ms. Kathleen Manning Ms. Bridget Marks Mr. and Mrs. William T. Matlock Ms. Karen A. Maxey Mr. James W. McCartney Mrs. Mary I. McDevitt Mr. and Mrs. John C. McDowell Mr. and Mrs. John D. McEnroe Mrs. Mary C. McGranahan Mr. and Mrs. Denzil M. McLaughlin Ms. Maurine L. McLean Mr. and Mrs. George J. McLiney, Jr Ms. Susanne O. McMillan Mrs. Patricia Mego Rev. Msgr. Louis J. Melancon Mrs. Mary E. Meyer Miss Joan M. Meyers Mr. and Mrs. Eugene P. Miller Mr. and Mrs. Martin O. Miller, II Mr. and Mrs. Ross A. Miller Mrs. Mary Kay Mohr-Owens Dr. and Mrs. James E. Moorman Mrs. Barbara M. Morrissey Mr. and Mrs. Anthony H. Mulle Mr. and Mrs. John E. Muller, Sr Mr. and Mrs. Patrick W. Mulligan, Sr Mr. and Mrs. Eugene J. Murret, Sr Ms. Julie M. Muse Mrs. Mary Roberta Niet Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Nolan Mrs. Margaret Novosad Mr. Ralph Olliges, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth M. O’Renick Mr. and Mrs. Patrick F. Paleveda, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Pennington Mr. Frank J. Peragine Mr. and Mrs. Mark Pfeffer Mr. and Mrs. Kevin J. Piecuch Miss Beth Pilarski Mr. and Mrs. Luis A. Plasencia Mr. Gary Podhorsky Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Jim Powers Mr. Charles M. Prehm, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Przyzycki Mrs. Denise Quigley Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Quintana, Jr Mr. and Mrs. James A. Rabalais, III Mr. and Mrs. Mark S. Radetic

Mr. and Mrs. George R. Ramier Mrs. Jacque T. Ray Ms. Janet L. Ray Ms. Kate Regan Miss Marie R. Rinaudo Ms. Christina Riquelmy Mr. and Mrs. Steve R. Robinson Ms. Jane M. Rodenhaus Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Rotar Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Ruoff Mr. John Ryan Mr. Stephen Ryan Mr. Saul O. Sanchez Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. Santel Dr. and Mrs. John B. Sardisco Mr. and Mrs. A. Lester Sarpy Mr. and Mrs. Stanford A. Schneider Mr. and Mrs. Dave R. Schroeder Mr. and Mrs. John G. Schroeder Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Schutte, Sr Ms. Mary Jane Schutzius Mr. Neal Seago Mrs. Anita M. Sheehan Mr. and Mrs. Michael Shimek Mr. and Mrs. Francis L. Shrewsbury Ms. Patricia Shukwit Mr. Carl J. Sicard Mr. and Mrs. Eric N. Simon Mr. and Mrs. Stephen G. Sklamba Mr. and Mrs. George A. Smith Mr. and Mrs. George F. Smith, Jr Mrs. Alita Snyder Mr. and Mrs. Frank K. Spinner Mr. and Mrs. Edwin F. Stacy, Jr Mr. & Mrs. John Anthony Stann Ms. Margaret M. Stevens Ms. Margaret R. Stevens Dr. and Mrs. Donald Strain Dr. and Mrs. Gregory S. Strain Mr. and Mrs. Bart C. Sullivan Mr. James M. Sweeney Miss Mary Elizabeth Tahir Ms. Bonnie J. Tauzin Mr. Stephen H. Thomas Mr. and Mrs. Earle A. Thompson, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Timm Ms. Trang Tran Ms. H. Christine Truxillo Mr. and Mrs. John G. Vandeven Mrs. Frances A. Vaughn Mr. Eswara Venugopal and Ms. Mary Fulmer Mr. and Mrs. John Vicini Mr. and Mrs. James A. Villarrubia Mr. Michael F. Vincenc Mrs. Evelyn F. Wagar Ms. Kay Wagner Mrs. Antoinette Q. Walters Miss Karen M. Wamhoff Mr. and Mrs. John I. Weathington Ms. Debbie L. Webers Mr. Matthew W. Weis Mr. and Mrs. John Glyn Wernette Mrs. Ann N. West Mrs. Ladye P. White Mr. John F. Wiegers Mrs. Anita J. Williams Mrs. Betty J. Wilson Ms. Cheryl A. Wittenauer Mrs. Gloria M. Woods Mr. and Mrs. Dean J. Wotawa Ms. Margaret A. Wright Mr. Robert J. Wyrsch Miss Remedios O. Yuching Ms. Anora J. Zeiler Mr. and Mrs. Carl D. Zeitler, Jr Dr. and Mrs. Stephen A. Ziller, Jr Mr. and Mrs. Thomas D. Zlatic Delmar Gardens Home Care Hughes Leahy Karlovic, Inc

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in memoriam

Fr. Pistorius

Fr. Wheeler

Father Francis X. Pistorius

Fr. Fitzgerald

Fr. DeRouen

Father Raymond R. Fitzgerald

Francis Pistorius died July 13 in New Orleans. He was 75 years old, a Jesuit for 56 years and a priest for 44 years. The Shreveport, La., native entered the Society of Jesus in 1959, was ordained June 9, 1972 and professed final vows in 1978. He taught at Jesuit high schools in Shreveport, Tampa, Houston and Dallas. He was assistant novice director at the Jesuit novitiate in Grand Coteau, La., pastor of St. Rita’s parish in Dallas and associate director of the Jesuit Spirituality Center in Grand Coteau. He served eight years as director of novices for the former New Orleans Province, 10 years as pastor and superior at St. Ignatius Loyola Parish in Spring, Texas, and four as associate pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in New Orleans. He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Ann Joan Wheat and a brother, Joseph Pistorius. He is survived by two brothers, Paul C. Pistorius and Fred E. Pistorius and a sister, Mary Helen Childers.

Raymond Fitzgerald died Sept. 17 in Grand Coteau, La. He was 58 years old, a Jesuit for 36 years and a priest for 25 years. Father Fitzgerald was in his third year as president of Jesuit High School in his native New Orleans when a diagnosis of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) forced him to step down in June 2014. He faced his journey with courage, faith and humor. He entered the Jesuits in 1980, was ordained in 1991 and pronounced final vows in 1999. He taught at Jesuit College Preparatory in Dallas and Jesuit High New Orleans. He served as assistant to the provincial of the former New Orleans Province. He was chosen as president of Jesuit High School New Orleans in 2011. He is survived by his mother, Mary Caire Fitzgerald, and sister Lucy Smedstad. He was preceded in death by his father, Raymond Fitzgerald.

Father James D. Wheeler

Father Robert R. DeRouen

James (Jake) Wheeler died July 27 in Kansas City, Mo. He was 93 years old, a Jesuit for 75 years and a priest for 62 years. The St. Louis native entered the Society of Jesus in 1941 and was ordained on June 16, 1954. He pronounced final vows in 1957. He taught at Rockhurst University from 1956 to 2011, interrupted only to work on his doctorate. He held several degrees, including a Ph.D in pharmaceutical chemistry that he earned in 1965. He taught chemistry and helped shape the pre-med program, and was known for celebrating a late-night Mass in a Rockhurst dorm, and for staying in touch with alumni. He was preceded in death by his parents John I. and Nan Donlan Wheeler, brothers W. Garrett Wheeler and John I. Wheeler, Jr. and sister Catherine Wheeler Campbell. 30 Jesuits

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Robert DeRouen died Sept. 19 in St. Louis. He was 93, a Jesuit for 75 years and a priest for 62 years. The Trinidad, Colo., native entered the Society of Jesus in Florissant, Mo., on Aug. 17, 1941 and was ordained in 1954. He pronounced his final vows in 1957. He spent more than 20 years in the classroom at St. Louis University High School; Kapuan High School in Wichita, Kan.; Rockhurst High in Kansas City, Mo.; Regis Jesuit High in Denver and De Smet Jesuit High in St. Louis. He began pastoral ministry in 1970 and began directing retreats two years later – a service he would continue for the rest of his active ministry. He was preceded in death by his parents Roy R. and Gertrude Coley DeRouen. He is survived by his brother Joseph DeRouen of Tucson and sisters Elida Gibbons of Topeka, Kan. and Adele Benter of Greeley, Colo.


What kind of legacy will you leave?

Photo by: Fr. JJ Mueller, SJ

Your charitable bequest can help support the mission of the Society of Jesus.

An Easy Gift to Make A charitable bequest enables donors to further the good work of an organization they support long after they are gone. Better yet, a charitable bequest can help save estate taxes by providing an estate with a charitable deduction for the value of the gift. With careful planning, families also can avoid paying income taxes on the assets received from an 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:

jesuitscentralsouthern.org/supportus ucsadvancement@jesuits.org 1-800-325-9924

Would you consider including the Jesuits of the Central and Southern Province in your estate plan through a charitable bequest?

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Jesuits Central and Southern

Non Profit Org U.S. Postage

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St. Louis, Missouri 63108-2191

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“Harbor no doubts about how good you are and can be ... For saints do walk among us, in greater numbers than one might suspect.” – Father Raymond Fitzgerald, SJ

www.BeaJesuit.org | UCSVocationCoordinator@jesuits.org @JesuitsUCS or @BeAJesuit

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