On Saturday, August 14, at Saint Thomas More Catholic Church in St. Paul, nine Midwest Jesuits pronounced their first vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. These vows are the culmination of the two-year period spent at the Jesuit Novitiate of St. Albert Hurtado in St. Paul, Minnesota, where these men further discerned their vocation and were introduced to various aspects of Jesuit life, including living in a community. 

The nine Jesuits, listed with their hometowns, are: 

• Noah Banasiewicz (Virginia Beach) 

• Brian Burtka (Farmington Hills, Michigan) 

• Nathaniel Cortas (Louisville, Kentucky) 

• Thomas Doran (Omaha) 

• David Herr (Fontanelle, Iowa) 

• Benjamin Jansen (Greenwood, Indiana) 

• Min Keun Park (South Korea, then Des Plaines, Illinois) 

• Ryan Serfas (Omaha) 

• John Wahlbrink (Cincinnati)