On July 31, the Jesuit community -- both at Georgetown and worldwide -- celebrated the annual Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola Mass to honor the traditions held by the Society of Jesus, the work the order does and the future of the brotherhood.
The Georgetown community gathered in Dahlgren Chapel of the Sacred Heart for the Friday afternoon Mass. The celebration is a special day for Jesuits, and for those who espouse Ignatian principles, notes the
Rev. Philip Boroughs, S.J., vice president of mission and ministry.
"For Jesuits and our colleagues this day gives us a reason to gather and enjoy who we are becoming within this tradition," Boroughs explains. "Around the world at other Jesuit schools and institutions people like us are working together to promote spiritual growth, community development and social justice. And as people who generally work very hard, having a great excuse to celebrate life is always a good thing!"
For one Georgetown Jesuit, this year marked the first time he celebrated the founder’s Mass on campus. Though the
Rev. Patrick Rogers, S.J. has been a part of the Georgetown community for the past four years, he was traveling during recent Feast of St. Ignatius Masses. Staying on the Hilltop this year meant Rogers also could attend a later Mass held at nearby Holy Trinity Church just for members of the Society of Jesus from Washington, Maryland and northern Virginia.
"What I love about the Feast of St. Ignatius is that it brings all of the local Jesuits together," says the director of Main Campus Ministry, "and I get to see people I don’t see everyday. It’s very much like a family reunion."
The Call to PriesthoodRogers joined his Jesuit family in 1992 after a successful career in music.
He graduated from Maryland’s Towson University in 1987 with a degree in music performance, played the clarinet professionally and also worked as the assistant director of the Towson Orchestra for two years. He sang in the Baltimore Opera Chorus for five years and has taught music at several institutions in the Baltimore area.
Rogers (right) gives a guitar lesson in
his office to Tommy Wiederhold (C'09)
Although very much satisfied with his life and work, he began to feel pulled in a different direction.
"I’d had an inkling I was being called to the priesthood, but I just started asking myself about my life and where I wanted to go," he says.
Rogers’ twin brother, Pete, had studied theology at Catholic University, and encouraged him to look into the Society of Jesus. As he learned more about the order, Rogers felt a connection.
"I loved teaching and academics, and the international flavor of the Jesuits," he says. "And they welcomed and encouraged my passion for music."
Once Rogers entered the Society of Jesus, he subsequently earned degrees from Fordham University in New York and also the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Calif. He was ordained in June 2002 and joined the Georgetown community in 2005.
Embracing Diversity and Jesuit IdentityRogers is a part of a community at Georgetown where there are fewer than 60 Jesuits, including international graduate students. Twenty-one of the 60 teach on the university’s three campuses, and 11 work in administration and staff. Rogers is one of 14 Georgetown Jesuits under the age of 50.
"It is always a privilege for us to have younger Jesuit priests serve our students at Georgetown as members of the faculty or staff," Boroughs says. "Students react very favorably to the presence of Jesuits who are closer to them in age and who understand a bit more easily than others of us, their generation with its unique cultural realities."
Members of Georgetown’s Jesuit community regularly meet with a group of students considering a vocation in the order, Boroughs notes. About one Hoya alumnus enters the Society of Jesus every year, he says.
Rogers says opportunities for interreligious dialogue and shared experiences at Georgetown among Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Orthodox traditions help students understand their faith better, as well as encourage unity.
He notes that the percentage of Catholics in Georgetown’s student body is not as large as at Jesuit institutions such as Fordham and Loyola College in Maryland, but "that’s exactly because John Carroll wanted a diverse institution from its inception," he says.
