A Jesuit’s entry date is the day he arrives at the novitiate,
not the date of first vows or ordination as some might think.We
also mark 60 and 70 years in the Society and 50 and 60 years
in the priesthood.
In rare instances of special longevity, some men have attained
75 years in the Society. This year we will be honoring Fr.
Bill Kegel, SJ for this achievement. Fr. Kegel turns 93 this
November and is still working as an associate pastor at St.
Ann’s Parish in Walnut Creek, California.
The oldest Jesuit residing in our Province is Fr. Larry Kelly,
SJ who will be 93 in August and celebrated his 70 years in
the Society last year.While Larry is very popular with graduates
of Marquette High in Milwaukee, don’t confuse him with Fr.William
Kelly, SJ who remains very active as minister of the Marquette
University Jesuit Community. He is celebrating 50 years in
the priesthood this year. Also attaining that milestone in
2004 is Fr. Gene Jakubek, SJ. Extremely active in the Omaha
area, Gene is planning to bring a large group of friends and
family together to commemorate the occasion.
Another well-known Jesuit celebrating 50 years as a priest
is Fr. Ed Sthokal, SJ. A popular fixture at the Demontreville
Jesuit Retreat House in Minnesota, Fr. Sthokal is a very spry
and energetic 82 years of age. I’m sure that comes as good
news to Fr. Bob Hilbert, SJ, featured on the cover of this
magazine, who at 78 goes vigorously about his work with the
Arapaho at St. Stephen’s Mission in Wyoming and doesn’t want
to think about slowing down. He will celebrate 50 years as
a priest in 2006. Asked by a friend on his birthday years
ago what it felt like to turn 70, Bob replied, “Like 16 with
worse skin.”
Thinking about the jubilarians and our other elder Jesuits
reminds me of how much there is to admire about the lives
led by so many of my brother Jesuits. It is humbling to know
so many men who have given so much of their lives to others.
I am also privileged in my work as president of the Jesuit
Partnership to get to know our younger novices, scholastics,
and other Jesuits in training. Just as I’m looking forward
to June and the jubilarian celebration, so too I look forward
to August when our second-year novices Ben Bocher, Joe Hoover,
and Paddy Gilger are expected to pronounce first vows of poverty,
chastity, and obedience. They are young men with great potential,
preparing to carry on the tradition of service to others that
is such a large part of Jesuit life.
In addition, five first-year novices are preparing to transition
to their second year at the novitiate in St. Paul.We will
then be ready to receive another strong class of quality men
who will enter as our new firstyear novices in the days following
the First Vows Mass in August.
All told, with our older men, novices, and everyone in between,
we have a little over 300 Jesuits in the Wisconsin Province,
all of whom share a special connection with our generous Jesuit
Partners whose prayers and financial gifts support the mission
of the Jesuits. Our partners help us train our young men,
be it at the novitiate or later in the subsequent phases of
their formation.
Our partners also help us sustain existing ministries, start
new ones, and reach out to distant locales such as eastern
Africa, northeast India, and other places to help the international
Society of Jesus spread the Good News of Christ’s love for
us.
I began this article extolling the activities of some of
our older men who remain active long after the age when most
people retire. Our Partners also help us care for these men
when they eventually slow down or require medical assistance.
So at this time of year when I have so much to look forward
to with excitement and joy, I again extend a warm thank you
to all our Partners and lay colleagues on whom we depend to
help us do God’s work and build His kingdom on earth.
