Welcome to the Canisius Jesuit Community page, a religious community of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits work in one of three educational apostolates in Buffalo:
Many do additional pastoral work in the Diocese of Buffalo. All of these men work to fulfill the Jesuit goals of serving faith and promoting justice in dialogue with diverse cultures and religions. Further, they labor with their colleagues to develop “men and women for and with others” in all three of their ministries. In so doing, they follow the ideals of the Community’s namesake and patron saint, the 16th Century Dutch Jesuit Peter Canisius who showed great zeal in promoting education and the Catholic faith.
The Jesuits live in Loyola Hall on the Canisius University campus. It has been home for the Jesuits, since it was first built in 1949.
Community Reflection
We, the members of the Canisius Jesuit Community, in prayer and conversation with one another, set out our community mission statement. In companionship with Jesus Christ we are inspired by the Sacred Scriptures and documents of the Society of Jesus: The Spiritual Exercises, The Formulas of the Institute and The Constitutions, the documents of our General Congregations and the U.S. Assistancy’s strategic discernment document, Responding to the Call of Christ: A Renewed Way of Proceeding for Our Mission Today.
Our current circumstances invite this communal reflection and expression. We are priests and a brother ranging in age from our forties to our eighties. Drawn from provinces across the United States, we serve the New York Province of the Society of Jesus in Buffalo in three primary apostolates: Canisius University, Canisius High School and the NativityMiguel Middle School of Buffalo. With our lay colleagues we teach in classrooms, labor in administrative offices, offer guidance and spiritual direction, and serve in campus ministry. In all, we seek to build the body of Christ across the Diocese of Buffalo chiefly through the works of the intellect, ministries of the Word, spiritual direction and companionship, sacramental service, and the corporal works of mercy. We follow the traditional apostolic works and Jesuit way of proceeding initiated five centuries ago by our Society’s founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and his first companions. We, like them, search for God in all things by serving the faith and promoting the justice of God’s Kingdom. We desire to discern God’s will for ourselves and to assist others in doing the same.
As “friends in the Lord” we live and share a common life rooted in our vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. As an international order with a special vow to the Pope, we are available for mission anywhere in the world as directed by our provincial and general superiors as well as by the Holy Father. As brothers in Christ we pray in private and in common. The Eucharist is at the center of our sacramental life. Living with Jesus Christ, a grace of The Spiritual Exercises, is at the heart of our Jesuit spirituality. Through these Exercises and in light of our human experiences, we recognize we are sinners called to be companions of Jesus Christ in our world. United in the Holy Spirit, we offer one another and our world our diverse gifts in a spirit of fraternal hospitality and Ignatian discernment. As we experience our life in and among the Body of Christ, we see we are men at work alongside our colleagues in the centers and on the frontiers of our Church. We engage in dialogue with people of other religions as well as with members of society who have no religion. In all our labors we witness to the Gospel values of faith, hope, love, justice, and reconciliation for the greater glory of God.