Three Jesuits from New England Ordained to the Priesthood

Celebrating the priesthood of Fr. Michael Rogers, SJ, and Fr. Bret Stockdale, SJ and Fr. E. Joseph O’Keefe, SJ
June 19, 2013 - PRLog -- The Society of Jesus welcomes three Jesuits from New England to the priesthood. The Society of Jesus of New England announced the ordination of Fr. Michael Rogers, SJ, and Fr. Bret Stockdale, SJ. The two men were are among seven Jesuits who were ordained on June 8 by Bishop Thomas Donato, D.D., Auxiliary Bishop of Newark at the Fordham University Church in the Bronx, New York.

The Society of Jesus of California announced the ordination of Fr. E. Joseph O'Keefe, SJ.  Fr. O’Keefe was one of five Jesuits ordained to the priesthood on June 8 at Blessed Sacrament Church in Hollywood; CA. at a Mass celebrated Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City.

Fr. Myles N. Sheehan, SJ, Provincial of the New England Province of Jesuits, said, “The ordination of these men to the priesthood is an especially joyous moment for our Church. I am confident that the spirit, courage and generosity of St. Ignatius will both inspire and guide their service to God and His people.”

Fr. Michael Rogers, SJ, 32, was born in Hartford, CT. After graduating from Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford, he attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA, earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 2002. At Holy Cross, Rogers first became acquainted with the Society of Jesus as a member of the college’s vocation discernment group and by making the five-day version of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. During his college years, Rogers also interned at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C. In 2002, Rogers entered the Jesuit novitiate in Boston, where his experiments included time at St. Francis Mission on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota and teaching at Fairfield College Preparatory School in CT. Missioned next to Saint Louis University, Rogers earned a master’s degree in philosophy while working with campus ministry and the Pax Christi group. During these years, he  traveled to El Salvador to learn Spanish and to work as a chaplain at Georgetown University Hospital. For his regency assignment, Fr. Rogers taught religious education at Boston College High School, where he also directed orientation for incoming students and coached the junior varsity and varsity tennis teams. Following regency, Rogers was missioned to Rome to the International College of the Gesù to complete his studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in preparation for ordination.  Currently the national coordinator for MAGIS 2013, the Jesuit pastoral program that will be held this summer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, preceding World Youth Day, Rogers will return to Rome this fall to continue his studies in fundamental theology.  I

Fr. Bret Stockdale, SJ, 37, grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts. A 1993 graduate of St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Stockdale attended the University of New Hampshire, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1997. He worked for a year in the mutual fund industry and, realizing he was called elsewhere, accepted a position in the Office of Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Worcester in his hometown. For the next year, Stockdale organized retreats and special events for the diocese before next accepting a job as a youth minister at St. Luke the Evangelist in Westborough, MA. While working at St. Luke’s Parish, Stockdale enrolled in the Master of Divinity program at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. His conversations with the Jesuits combined with his work during the summer of 2002 at World Youth Day in Toronto, convinced Stockdale that his discernment was leading him to a vocation with the Society of Jesus. After two years at the Jesuit novitiate, Stockdale was missioned to Loyola University Chicago, where he earned a master’s degree in philosophy as well as a master’s degree in social work. For his regency assignment, Stockdale taught history and theology for two years at Fairfield College Preparatory School in CT and worked with the school’s campus ministry office. Missioned next to the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, where he had earned his Master of Divinity degree in 2003, Stockdale earned a Licentiate in Sacred Theology while serving as a deacon at St. Luke’s Parish, the same church where he worked as a youth minister more than a decade earlier.

Fr. E. Joseph O’Keefe, SJ, 48, was born and raised in Boston. His family belonged to St. Theresa of Avila Parish in his home neighborhood of West Roxbury; he attended the parish grammar school and graduated from Catholic Memorial High School in 1982. Fr. O’Keefe attended Saint John’s Seminary in Brighton, MA, earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1990. Even before his time in the seminary, Fr. O’Keefe began working in Massachusetts state government, the beginning of a public policy career he pursued with distinction for more than two decades. In addition to serving as a legislative aide, the chief of staff for a state senator and as a senior staff member for the president of the Boston City Council, Fr. O’Keefe also worked for the Massachusetts Department of Economic Development. Fr. O’Keefe earned his Master of Business Administration degree from Suffolk University in Boston while continuing to discern a vocation. At the Jesuit Urban Center in Boston, he came to know and appreciate Ignatian spirituality and the Jesuits’ multifaceted ministry. In 2006, while serving as chief of staff to the Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs, Fr. O’Keefe entered the Society of Jesus. After his time in the novitiate, Fr. O’Keefe was missioned to Loyola High School of Los Angeles where he taught  government and politics from 2008 to 2010. Missioned next to the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California, Fr. O’Keefe earned a Master of Divinity degree while also pursuing a master’s degree in education at the University of San Francisco and serving as a deacon at Santa Maria Parish in Orinda, California. Following ordination, he will serve for the summer at St. Ignatius of Loyola Church and return to California in the fall for an administrative position at Loyola High School.

Fr. Rogers, Fr. Stockdale and Fr. O’Keefe are among sixteen Jesuits being ordained Catholic priests across the country this summer. Read more at:
http://www.jesuit.org/blog/index.php/2013/06/society-of-j...

About the New England Province The New England Province of the Society of Jesus consists of nearly 300 Jesuits serving the Church in educational, pastoral and spiritual ministries. To learn more please visit www.sjnen.org ,follow JesuitNE on twitter and become a fan of JesuitsEast on Facebook.

Photos available. Please contact  Alice Poltorick apoltorick@sjnen.org
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