Milwaukee – Jesuit Fr. General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach has named Fr. G. Thomas Krettek, SJ the next provincial of the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus. He succeeds Fr. James E. Grummer, SJ who was missioned by Fr. Kolvenbach late last year to take on a new assignment in Rome.

“Tom brings significant talents and broad experience to the mission Fr. Kolvenbach has given him,” Fr. Grummer said. “I am grateful to all who took part in the process of selecting a new provincial and helped identify the needs of the province and who could address those needs. That input was extremely important to all those involved in the discernment. The strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and opportunities articulated will help determine future directions in the Wisconsin Province.”

Born and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Fr. Krettek, 54, attended Creighton Prep in Omaha and Xavier University in Cincinnati before entering the Society of Jesus in 1971. After studies at St. Louis University and regency at Marquette University High School, he studied theology in London and Toronto leading to priestly ordination in 1982. Upon completion of a doctorate in philosophy at The Catholic University of America in 1987, he taught seminarians in Nairobi, Kenya for a year before joining the philosophy faculty at Creighton University, where he also served as director of the Jesuit Humanities Program at Campion House. In 2000 he was assigned to Marquette University as rector of the Jesuit Community and as a professor of philosophy.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the many works and men of the Wisconsin Province in forwarding the mission of Society of Jesus in service of the Church. I will pray for the wisdom to assist and guide all they do to fulfill God's will,” Fr. Krettek said. “I am also grateful to Jim Grummer who, in his four years as provincial, has shown great vision in advancing the province both locally and globally. He has set worthwhile goals and established a strong foundation for achieving them. I expect to continue the efforts of the province in the pursuit of those goals. ”

The Society of Jesus, whose members are commonly called Jesuits, is the largest religious order in the world with more than 80 provinces on 6 continents. The Wisconsin Province Office is based in Milwaukee. The provincial is responsible for administrative operations as a whole, including the assignment of Jesuits to province-sponsored educational institutions, ministries, and other posts, as well as the general well-being of individual Jesuit priests and Brothers. The province comprises seven states: Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota.