May 18, 2021 — Here are the latest stories from Jesuits across the Conference.
Jesuit Anniversaries
On a fall day in 1960, three men entered the Society of Jesus. On April 23, 2021, they entered Saint Mary’s Chapel at Boston College to mark their 60th anniversary as Jesuits with a celebratory Mass. Frs. Harvey D. Egan, SJ, Donald MacMillan, SJ, and John J. Paris, SJ, were honored for their 60 years of service to the Society. They were joined by Fr. James F. Keenan, SJ, who celebrated 50 years as a Jesuit.
Final Vows
Fr. Tom Neitzke, SJ, professed final vows in the Society in Chicago on April 19. Fr. Neitzke is the dean and executive director of Arrupe College — a two-year degree program for low-income students.
Fr. Bill Noe, SJ, also professed his final vows in the Society on May 10 in the Xavier High School Chapel in New York City. Final vows are the last step in Jesuit training, and Jesuits must be approved by the Curia in Rome before they can make these vows.
Ordinations
Garrett Gundlach, SJ, was ordained to the diaconate at St. Ignatius Church in Paris on May 1.
Higher Education
In honor of his longstanding career in Jesuit higher education, Fr. Michael J. Sheeran, SJ, was named president emeritus of Regis University at the school’s spring commencement. Fr. Sheeran began teaching at Regis in 1975 and became its president in 1993. From 2013 to 2020, he served as the president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). During his tenure there, he helped form lay presidents at Jesuit colleges and universities, and he became an outspoken advocate on behalf of DACA students.
“He has challenged our schools to become collaborators in mission, and has been dedicated to helping them foster administrators, faculty and students to be people for and with others,” said Fr. Brian Linnane, SJ, AJCU’s board chair.
Dr. Alan R. Miciak will succeed Dr. Michael D. Johnson as the next president of John Carroll University on June 1. Miciak currently serves as executive VP at John Carroll. “As president, my single focus will be to ensure each student receives the right mix of academic challenge, experiential opportunity and personal formation,” Miciak says.
Secondary Education
Fr. Bob Reiser, SJ, began his new role as executive director of the Jesuit Schools Network. Fr. Reiser succeeded Fr. Bill Muller, SJ, who recently was named vice president of mission advancement at Brophy College Preparatory School in Phoenix. Fr. Reiser was most recently the president of McQuaid Jesuit High School and before that was the president of Saint Peter’s Prep.
Honoring Leadership
Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ, believes that to erase our society’s margins, you have to go to them. This mantra led him to found Homeboy Industries, a gang intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in Los Angeles. For this work, he received the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry’s Alumni Distinguished Service Award. Only the second graduate to be honored with this award, Fr. Boyle was recognized for “his boundless compassion, radical kinship, and extravagant tenderness; his prophetic witness to the Gospel message of recognizing Christ in our brothers and sisters in all circumstances; his life’s ministry of faith in action,” according to a BCSTM statement.
For Fr. Rick Millbourn, SJ, being an educator means helping students “grow into their best selves.” As a religion and morality teacher at Cincinnati’s St. Xavier High School, Fr. Millbourn seeks to develop the next generation of leaders. In recognition of his work, the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) recently awarded Fr. Millbourn with its Lead. Learn. Proclaim. Award. This honor highlights leaders in Catholic education who “serve as inspiration to all of us working within the framework of Catholic education,” according to the NCEA.
Fr. Millbourn graduated from St. Xavier High in 1986 and has taught there since 2010. “Whatever I do well that deserves recognition,” he says, “I have learned from my teachers and my peers.”