Fr. Jack E. McLinden, SJ

Entered Society of Jesus: 2014

As a Jesuit: Father McLinden taught, worked as a campus minister and coached baseball at Loyola High School in Detroit.

Assignment Following Ordination: Father McLinden will work on the religious studies faculty and in Adult Faith Formation at Christ the King Jesuit College Prep in Chicago.

Call to the Priesthood: God’s grace is moving through every corner of my life’s journey and through all who have been part of this journey with me. I feel so much gratitude for the choices and sacrifices my parents Maura and Andy made for me and my sister Colleen. You have been a channel of God’s love in our lives and have formed us into the people we are today. Thank you also to the family and friends who have been with me since birth, and those whom I have gotten to know only recently. I marvel at the way God has brought you into my life, and the ways your friendship and love have supported me throughout the years. Thank you also to all my teachers and formators, and to all who make our Jesuit formation possible. I’m grateful for the experiences and opportunities that have been part of my journey as a Jesuit and have shaped my ministry as a priest.

There are so many Jesuits throughout the world whom I feel blessed to know and with whom I am grateful to be friends in the Lord. The first Jesuits I got to know and who inspired me to become a Jesuit were those at Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland. Although many of them are now deceased, some who are still living were my teachers and first examples of Jesuit life. As a high school student, I admired this community of men whose calling in life was to serve, and I’m grateful for the ways they have accompanied me both in prayer and through their companionship in this life.

Large photo by: Steve Donisch