Our Leadership

 

St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus

St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus, which was founded in Rome in 1540 by St. Ignatius Loyola, is the largest order of Catholic priests and brothers in the world. There are roughly 20,000 Jesuits currently serving on six continents and in 127 nations. Jesuits around the world are organized into geographical territories called provinces. Each province is headed by a provincial superior, usually just called the provincial. The provincial of the Chicago-Detroit Province is Fr. Timothy P. Kesicki, SJ. As provincial he was appointed by and reports directly to the Society’s Superior General or Father General. Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, SJ, currently serves as the Society’s Superior General. He is responsible for the governance of the Society of Jesus. Authority for governance is transferred locally to provincials, who are responsible for the care and maintenance of the apostolates and Jesuits in their province.

provincial of the Chicago and Detroit Province

Fr. Timothy P. Kesicki, SJ, provincial of the Chicago and Detroit Province

Fr. Timothy P. Kesicki, SJ, is the Provincial of the newly combined Chicago-Detroit Province. He was named Provincial of the Detroit Province in 2008 and, additionally, was named Provincial of the Chicago Province in 2009. The two provinces were officially united in January 2011.

Fr. Kesicki was born in 1962 to Robert Kesicki and Carmella Adorante in Erie, Pennsylvania. After attending Catholic schools in Erie, Fr. Kesicki received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.

Fr. Kesicki entered the Society of Jesus at Loyola House Jesuit Novitiate at Berkley, Michigan, in 1984. His formation as a Jesuit included philosophical studies at Loyola University Chicago, theological studies at Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, and studies in educational administration at Teacher’s College in Columbia, New York.

From 1988 to 1991, Fr. Kesicki worked at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, where he taught Theology, directed the service program, and served on the pastoral team. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1994. After his ordination, Fr. Kesicki worked for a year at the Jesuit Refugee Service in Adjumani, Uganda, and then taught theology at Loyola High School in Detroit, Michigan until 2000. From 2000 to 2008 he served as president of St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio.