CELEBRATING Jubilarians 2018
Dear Brothers, Peace of Christ! On behalf of the USA Midwest Province, I would like to thank and congratulate the Jubilarians of 2018, especially our Golden Jubilarians. Their generous and faith-filled lives of service have been sources of inspiration for their fellow Jesuits and to the Church. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! PSALM 90:17 This book provides a glimpse at the 65 Midwest Jesuits celebrating anniversaries in 2018, including reflections from the four men who have spent 50 years in service of the Society of Jesus. As you read these passages, I invite you to reflect on your own years of service and on the paths God has put before you. In these pages, you also will see a few images featuring our newest senior Jesuit healthcare community. More than a third of the Jesuits celebrating anniversaries this year live in senior Jesuit healthcare communities, where they still provide vital service to the Society. This new community was made possible by the generosity of our benefactors. But also by those of you who have aided in the With Others. For Others. campaign. I thank you for that, and encourage you in these efforts. I hope this book acts as a reminder that, from our first year in the Society until our last, we are always active in our ministry and that we in the Midwest Province have much to celebrate. I thank these Jubilarians for their service to the Society, and I look forward to their many more years working for the Greater Glory of God. In Christ, Brian G. Paulson, SJ Provincial Midwest Province
Simon J. Hendry, SJ Happy and Grateful As I look back on my 50 years as a Jesuit, my overriding sense is that I am incredibly happy and grateful. I am happy and grateful that God has been interested in me, has loved me, and has been faithful to me. And I am happy and grateful because of the people who are and who have been part of my life. God kept me a Jesuit. I do not get credit (or blame) for that. My momentous decision when I first made the Spiritual Exercises was to stay until tomorrow. It turned out to be 50 years of tomorrows. I appreciate the way God has led me on a winding path I appreciate the way God has led me on a winding path: teaching high school, doing spiritual direction and giving retreats, working in minority communities, directing the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, studying in grad school, teaching in universities, and guiding Jesuit communities as their superior. Each job challenged and delighted me, and each called forth something new and different from me. Each community where I lived and where I worked touched my heart and taught me something of how to be loved and how to love. Each brought forth deeper and deeper places in myself. Each has enhanced my awareness of Jesus presence in my life and my desire to follow and serve him. 50 July 7, 1946 August 14, 1968 June 11, 1977 Long-term friendships have become incredibly valuable for me. I have walked with so many good and wonderful people. When I was younger, I had good Jesuit role models and mentors. Various Jesuit companions have become life-long, intimate friends. I have developed and deepened relationships with men and women outside the Jesuit community. These include people I knew before I entered, former students, Jesuit volunteers, work colleagues, and so many others. They all provide a richness that I cannot fully describe except to say that I have been amazingly blessed by them. So, after 50 years, I find myself grateful, especially for the people, and I also find myself looking happily toward the future.
Mitchell C. Pacwa, SJ Gratitude For This Vocation Tremendous gratitude to God our Lord, to the Catholic Church, and to the Society of Jesus dominates my reflections on these first decades as a Jesuit. First, to God our Lord for this vocation to the Society as a circumvention of my adolescent temptations to acquire property. Beyond that, the Society I am grateful to the Church for her array of gifts. opened the more important gifts of the Spiritual Exercises, which gave a vision of service to Christ our King and the greater good, in personal accompaniment of Jesus our Lord. 50 I am grateful to the Church for her array of gifts. Her schools and universities offered an education that opened unimaginable vistas, plus the opportunities to share ideas and experiences about truth, goodness, and beauty. Ordination to the priesthood is the gift of acting In persona Christi, bringing Christ to his people in many ways, particularly in the sacraments. I stand in amazement at engaging people in their most privileged moments from birth, through Holy Communion and the extension of God s mercy in Confession, and their final moments in death. Because the Church trusts us priests to speak and act for Jesus Christ, we easily move from being strangers to sharing their deepest moments. July 27, 1949 August 21, 1968 June 12, 1976 I am particularly grateful to the Society for accepting me. Christians form the temple of the Lord (Eph. 2:19-22), as rough-edged stones needing to be smoothed out to be joined in line with the foundation. God bless the many Jesuits who have patiently smoothed out some of my rough edges and continue to do so.
J. Michael Sparough, SJ A Fool for Christ When I entered the Society of Jesus I knew I wanted to be like the Jesuits who had inspired me while I was a student at Loyola Academy. They were talented, fun-loving, hardworking, manly men who had given their lives to Christ. I wanted to walk in their footsteps following Jesus. The more I prayed, the stronger was my desire to bring others to Christ My dream was to become a doctor priest because I loved science, math and religion. But when I made the Spiritual Exercises, another part of my brain awakened a love for drama, poetry, dance, mime, and storytelling. The more I prayed, the stronger was my desire to bring others to Christ, to teach them how to pray, and to use the arts as a vehicle for this pursuit. I ve become, quite literally, a fool for Christ embracing St. Paul s metaphor for those who seek God s kingdom above all else. 50 May 2, 1950 November 25, 1978 It s been a call to deep humility as I ve discovered what I m good at and what I m not. What surprises me is that in this life of selfsurrender, I continue to uncover ever-deeper levels of my heart s true desire. I could not imagine the joy Christ has gifted me with, the amazing education I ve received, and the loving colleagues with whom I am privileged to serve. Sure, there are problems, but they pale in comparison to the treasures given. Even my own sin and failure have become opportunities for me to discover the unfathomable depths of Jesus love. To what a gifted life we companions of Jesus have been called! August 21, 1968
Robert J. Thesing, SJ Companions in Jesus As a Jesuit I have had many opportunities to work with two of my greatest loves: sharing the spirituality of St. Ignatius Loyola and fostering communities of faith and justice. Making the Spiritual Exercises in the novitiate opened for me the possibility of personally encountering the Lord. In surprising and moving ways, God meets us in our prayer and in our daily lives. In pursuing that quest I have felt the call to be a companion of Jesus. In surprising and moving ways, God meets us in our prayer I find I often learn best when I attempt to teach others, and I have had many opportunities to teach and mentor others in the spirit of St. Ignatius through my work training spiritual directors and being a superior for young Jesuits in formation. The faith and commitment of these lay and Jesuit companions of Jesus has again and again broadened and strengthened my own faith, hope, and love. For this I am most grateful! 50 December 14, 1946 August 21, 1968 June 12, 1976 Early in my Jesuit training I had the opportunity to work at Holy Family Parish in Chicago, an inner-city church with African- American, Latino, and white parishioners. I m sure I learned more there than I ever gave to them! I learned about community, trust in God, cultural diversity, the lives of the poor, and striving for justice. That foundation set the stage for my serving as pastor in four different parishes in Chicago and Cincinnati during my Jesuit career. In these faith communities I have continually found fellow companions of Jesus. I have been deeply touched by their example, friendship, and support. My ministry as a Jesuit has been an enormous blessing for me, and I pray for others as well.
75 70 Thomas A. Caldwell, SJ January 24, 1926 Eugene F. Merz, SJ April 19, 1931 G. Paul Peterson, S.J. September 26, 1927 August 8, 1943 August 15, 1948 August 19, 1948 June 20, 1956 June 15, 1961 June 11, 1961 70 Francis A. Prokes, SJ February 3, 1923 Thomas H. Radloff, SJ February 11, 1930 August 15, 1948 August 19, 1948 Thaddeus J. Burch, SJ June 4, 1930 August 14, 1948 June 18, 1961 Eugene M. Dutkiewicz, SJ June 4, 1931 John R. Crocker, SJ April 3, 1930 July 24, 1948 June 11, 1961 John L. McCarthy, SJ December 28, 1928 June 12, 1957 Robert C. Thul, SJ April 3, 1930 August 19, 1948 June 11, 1961 June 15, 1961 M. John Wymelenberg, SJ May 21, 1926 August 8, 1948 June 16, 1960 August 15, 1948 August 8, 1948 June 15, 1961 June 12, 1962
65 60 Richard W. Anderson, SJ December 28, 1934 Gerald F. Cavanagh, SJ September 13, 1931 Thomas G. Boedy, SJ March 1, 1936 Casimir R. Bukala, SJ July 14, 1931 September 1, 1953 September 15, 1953 September 3, 1958 June 9, 1966 June 18, 1964 June 4, 1970 June 14, 1966 Patrick J. Connolly, SJ July 27, 1935 James E. Fitzgerald, SJ June 9, 1935 Eugene L. Donahue, SJ May 4, 1937 Keith J. Esenther, SJ November 18, 1940 August 17, 1953 August 17, 1953 August 25, 1958 July 28, 1966 June 9, 1966 June 10, 1970 June 10, 1971 Theodore M. Kalamaja, SJ February 25, 1935 Joseph N. Pershe, SJ March 2, 1934 Joseph D. Folzenlogen, SJ April 1, 1940 M. Dennis Hamm, SJ January 18, 1936 August 17, 1953 August 8, 1953 August 14, 1958 May 30, 1967 June 9, 1966 June 11, 1971 June 10, 1970 Robert T. Sears, SJ April 22, 1934 Michael P. Zimmerman, SJ April 11, 1934 John A. Hennessy, SJ November 28, 1934 Daniel P. Liderbach, SJ March 17, 1941 August 8, 1953 May 7, 1953 September 3, 1958 July 31, 1966 May 27, 1969 June 2, 1973
60 Donald J. Petkash, SJ Robert W. Schneider, SJ Casey C. Beaumier, SJ November 10, 1941 May 17, 1938 December 1, 1970 April 2, 1958 August 21, 1993 June 12, 1971 June 10, 2005 25 Mark A. Carr, SJ June 19, 1970 August 21, 1993 June 10, 2005 Peter E. Sharkey, SJ Raphael Shen, SJ Michael P. Caruso, SJ Christopher J. Manahan, SJ June 1, 1940 October 29, 1937 January 20, 1956 July 30, 1956 November 5, 1958 August 21, 1993 August 21, 1993 December 21, 1974 May 30, 1970 June 5, 1982 June 6, 2003 John R. Sima, SJ Michael J. Zeps, SJ October 5, 1939 December 2, 1940 August 25, 1958 June 10, 1971 June 9, 1971 Many Jubilarians this year are able to receive necessary healthcare while still living in a Jesuit community, such as St. Camillus.
YEARS IN 65 THE PRIESTHOOD 50 YEARS IN THE PRIESTHOOD Joseph F. Eagan, SJ October 29, 1922 September 1, 1940 June 17, 1953 Hubert G. Boschert, SJ September 5, 1937 August 8, 1955 Donald A. Doll, SJ July 15, 1937 September 1, 1955 YEARS IN 60 THE PRIESTHOOD William J. Ellos, SJ May 15, 1937 Paul J. Faulstich, SJ July 25, 1937 August 7, 1955 September 1, 1955 March 24, 1968 R. Gerard Albright, SJ April 1, 1926 February 10, 1944 June 18, 1958 George E. Von Kaenel, SJ October 15, 1927 August 20, 1945 June 18, 1958 John L. Kieffer, SJ January 27, 1935 August 8, 1957 John D. Mace, SJ May 1, 1937 August 17, 1955 June 13, 1968 June 27, 1968 D. Edward Mathie, SJ May 20, 1937 Donald R. Matthys, SJ February 23, 1936 August 17, 1955 August 17, 1955 June 8, 1968
YEARS IN 50 THE PRIESTHOOD Michael G. Morrison, SJ Edward L. Pigott, SJ March 9, 1937 August 28, 1937 August 8, 1955 August 8, 1955 June 6, 1968 Donald F. Rauscher, SJ Thomas N. Schloemer, SJ December 23, 1932 July 30, 1935 August 25, 1956 August 8, 1955 Thomas L. Schubeck, SJ March 21, 1936 August 8, 1957 June 12, 1968 Fr. Joseph F. Eagan, SJ, is celebrating his 65th year in the priesthood in 2018 and is one of twenty Jubilarians living in a healthcare community. Albert R. Thelen, SJ October 25, 1933 August 25, 1956
YEARS IN 25 THE PRIESTHOOD James G. Gartland, SJ John F. Montag, SJ January 2, 1958 June 12, 1960 September 11, 1983 August 17, 1980 June 5, 1993 June 11, 1993 Joseph G. Mueller, SJ Paul R. Mueller, SJ January 2, 1960 September 10, 1960 September 4, 1982 September 4, 1982 June 12, 1993 June 5, 1993 Frederick P. Zagone, SJ April 30, 1958 September 4, 1982 June 5, 1993 Senior Jesuits in need of healthcare provide a vital service through their prayers for the Church and the Society. Fr. Douglas J. Leonhardt, SJ, (left) is the superior of St. Camillus, where more than fifty Midwest Jesuits reside.
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