In June, John Shea, S.J., M.Div. ’14 was ordained a Jesuit priest at Church of the Gesu in Milwaukee by the Most Reverend Richard Sklba, DD, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Milwaukee. A native of Willowick, a suburb of Cleveland, Father Shea developed an appreciation for the Jesuits, particularly through an eight-day silent retreat in his senior year of college. He went on to earn a doctorate in evolutionary biology at The Ohio State University, where he was active in the school’s Newman Center and discerned a vocation to the Jesuits. Three days after handing in his dissertation in 2003, Fr. Shea entered the Society of Jesus. As a novice, he worked with Catholic Charities serving refugee families in San Jose, California. He was next missioned to Loyola University Chicago, where he earned a master’s degree in applied philosophy. For his three-year regency assignment, Fr. Shea taught biology and conducted parasitological research at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. At the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California, Fr. Shea earned a Master of Divinity degree. He also served as a deacon at the Newman Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and as a member of the ministerial team at the Apostleship of the Sea, a Catholic ministry operated out of the Port of Oakland, one of the nation’s busiest ports.

 

In an expression of gratitude on the occasion of his ordination, Fr Shea writes: “I’m most grateful for the many relationships that have formed me as a Jesuit priest. I’m grateful for my parents who first taught me how to love, especially to my mother who modeled compassion. I’m grateful for my brother, sister, nephew, niece, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and godparents who showed me how to give and receive love in good times and in bad. I’m grateful