August 26, 2025 鈥� Here鈥檚 the latest news from the 蜜桃视频 in Canada and the United States.
Jesuit Astronomers Featured in The New Yorker, CBS Segment
Br. Guy Consolmagno, SJ, director of the Vatican Observatory, was recently profiled a New Yorker article, 鈥�.鈥�
The article covers Br. Consolmagno鈥檚 role as director of the Vatican Observatory, his work with meteorites, and his ongoing discussions on how religion and science can complement each other without replacing one another.
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鈥淚f people think you have to be a weird kind of scientist to be religious, or a weird kind of religious to be a scientist, then we鈥檝e missed the point,鈥� Br. Consolmagno said. 鈥淭he point is that our faith 鈥� our ordinary faith 鈥� fits perfectly with our ordinary, but wonderful, delightful science.鈥�
Br. Consolmagno鈥檚 10-year term as director ends in September, and Pope Leo XIV has appointed Fr. Richard Anthony D鈥橲ouza, SJ, to succeed him. Fr. D鈥橲ouza has a doctorate in astronomy and has been a staff member at the observatory since 2016.
The Vatican Observatory was also featured recently on a highlighting the observatory鈥檚 work with students from around the world at their summer school. Br. Consolmagno and Br. Bob Macke, SJ, appeared in the clip. Br. Macke, custodian of the observatory鈥檚 collection of meteorites, joked that, 鈥淪ometimes I wear the white lab coat over the collar, just for fun.鈥�
Three 蜜桃视频 Ordained in Haiti
Frs. Frantz Georges, SJ, Rivelt Siln茅us, SJ, and Antony Simon, SJ, were ordained to the priesthood on August 2, 2025, at Paroisse Notre Dame du Perp茅tuel Secours in Ouanaminthe, Haiti. Earlier this summer 19, 蜜桃视频 were ordained at seven different Masses in the United States and Canada. Get to know all 22 of our ordinands at听jesuits.org/ordination.
22 Jesuit Novices Pronounce First Vows
In August, 22 Jesuit novices from the United States and Haiti professed first vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. A novice spends two years at the novitiate for the first stage of Jesuit formation, culminating in the profession of first vows in the Society of Jesus.
Vow Day Masses were held in five different cities: Los Angeles; St. Paul, Minnesota; Syracuse, New York; Denver; and Ouanaminthe, Haiti. Read more.
Jesuit Tells PBS about Accompanying Migrants at Immigration Court
Fr. Brian Strassburger, SJ, appeared on to share what he witnessed at an immigration court hearing in Harlingen, Texas. Fr. Strassburger, director of Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries, said that a man named Carlos, who fled persecution in Nicaragua and has been seeking asylum for five years, had his case dismissed. Leaving the courtroom, Carlos was apprehended, shoved into an unmarked vehicle and sent to a Louisiana prison.
New Jesuit Superior in Haiti
Fr. Stanley Charles, SJ, has been appointed as the new superior of the Jesuit territory of Haiti by Fr. Jeffrey S. Burwell, SJ, provincial of the 蜜桃视频 of Canada. He succeeds Fr. Jean Denis Saint F茅lix, SJ.
A native of Port-au-Prince, Fr. Charles has ministered in both Haiti and abroad. He entered the Society of Jesus in 2007 after an initial period of formation with the Congregation of Holy Cross. He completed his philosophy studies in Colombia and theology studies in Rome and has worked with migrant communities along the Haitian-Dominican border. Since his ordination in 2015, he has been involved in accompanying young people and at the Pedro Fabro Center for Spirituality. At the time of his appointment, he was serving as novice master in Ouanaminthe, Haiti.
Awards & Milestones
Fr. Len Altilia, SJ, Honored for Half Century of Service in Jesuit Education
Fr. Len Altilia, SJ, received the JSN Insignis Award at the 2025 Jesuit Schools Network Colloquium in June, which honors Ignatian educators for their exceptional dedication, leadership and service in secondary education.
Fr. Altilia has devoted more than 56 years to Jesuit education, including many years at Loyola High School in Montreal, where he is currently chaplain and has served previously as teacher, coach, club moderator, assistant principal, principal and president.
First Mass Homecoming
Following his ordination to the priesthood in Yap, Micronesia, on June 26, 2025, Fr. Dickson Tiwelfil, SJ, celebrated his first Mass on July 6 at Peter Canisius Church on his home island of Wottegai Woleai, a small island of Yap.
Fr. Tiwelfil said, 鈥淭o have my first Mass on my home island was really a special treat to my people because it was a home return for me since I left the island 13 years ago to enter the Society of Jesus.鈥� He will now serve a pastoral year in Micronesia. Meet our ordinands.
Jesuit Posthumously Awarded King Charles III Coronation Medal
Fr. Jacques Monet, SJ (1930鈥�2024), was posthumously awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal following his nomination by the Canadian Council of Churches. This national honor is conferred by Governor General Mary Simon upon Canadians who have made outstanding contributions to public life and the common good.
Fr. Monet was a historian, archivist, professor, ecumenist, commentator and trusted advisor. His academic work was rooted in historical rigor and pastoral sensitivity, and he was widely regarded as one of the foremost experts on the Crown in Canada.
Appointments & Transitions
Fr. Joseph Riordan, SJ, became the ninth president of Campion College at the University of Regina in Canada on July 1, 2025. Fr. Riordan has served at Xavier High School in New York City and the University of Notre Dame.
Fr. Riordan shared how his previous roles helped prepare him for this new position: 鈥淢y studies and experiences at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome helped me to appreciate the educational and spiritual importance of interreligious, ecumenical and cross-cultural dialogue and to see firsthand how different academic cultures work (and sometimes don鈥檛 work). I carry these invaluable insights and memories with me as I begin my tenure as president.鈥�
Fr. D. Scott Hendrickson, SJ, was named as interim president of Regis University in Denver. He succeeds Salvador D. Aceves, who will become president of the University of San Francisco.
Fr. Hendrickson has nearly three decades of experience in Jesuit higher education. Prior to his appointment at Regis, he served as associate provost for global and community engagement and was associate professor in the department of modern languages and literatures at Loyola University Chicago. Previously, he also held a faculty position at Rockhurst University.
Fr. Tom McClain, SJ, has been appointed the interim president of Loyola High School of Detroit. A native of Detroit, Fr. McClain brings decades of experience in education, finance and pastoral ministry to this role. He succeeds Dr. Deborale Richardson-Phillips.
Fr. McClain currently serves as the superior of the Detroit Jesuit Community, caring for 蜜桃视频 in two residences and supporting the six Jesuit works in the Detroit area, a role he will continue in while interim president of Loyola High School.
Fr. Michael Garanzini, SJ, stepped down as president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) at the conclusion of his five-year term on August 15, 2025. AJCU鈥檚 Vice President of Government Relations Jenny Smulson will serve as interim executive director during the search for Fr. Garanzini鈥檚 successor.
At AJCU, Fr. Garanzini brought together its members around shared mission and purpose. From reminding Congress of the importance of Pell grants, to helping students achieve the American dream, to deepening partnerships among Jesuit institutions, Fr. Garanzini pushed the work of Jesuit higher education forward.
Pope Leo Visits the Vatican Observatory
Pope Leo XIV celebrated the anniversary of the first crewed moon landing on July 20, 2025, with a visit to the Vatican Observatory to peer through one of its telescopes, just like St. Paul VI did when he watched the historic moon landing in 1969.
The pope asked U.S. Jesuit Fr. David Brown to position the massive instrument toward a particular spot for a look. Fr. Brown, an astronomer specializing in stellar evolution, serves as caretaker of the telescopes in Castel Gandolfo.
Today, on the anniversary of the 1969 Moon landing, after praying the Angelus, Pope Leo walked from his summer palace over to the Vatican Observatory to check out the telescopes at the Vatican Observatory. 馃獝馃摲 Vatican Media
鈥� Colm Flynn (@colmflynnire)
Final Vows
Fr. Joseph Fortier, SJ, pronounced his final vows in the Society of Jesus on June 1, 2025, at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Keller, Washington. Fr. Fortier is a professor of biology at Wenatchee Valley College and a pastoral assistant for the Rocky Mountain Mission on the Colville Reservation.
Fr. Jason Downer, SJ, pronounced his final vows in the Society of Jesus on August 9, 2025, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, New York, during the same Mass where . Fr. Downer is superior of the Loyola Jesuit community in Syracuse.
Fr. Joseph O鈥橩eefe, SJ, pronounced his final vows in the Society of Jesus on August 22, 2025, at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in Los Gatos, California, where Fr. O鈥橩eefe serves as superior.
