“I am very inspired by the creation of the Ratio Studiorum and the management of our schools in the 17th and 18th centuries before the suppression of the Society. Our commitment to a carefully calibrated humanistic education was the source of a massive corporate initiative engaging the vast majority of Jesuits during that period. “
Will pursue a master’s degree in art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.
A convert to Catholicism from Austin, Texas, Pierce Gibson, SJ, entered the church as a teenager in 2004 and deepened his faith through the study of philosophy during his undergraduate years at the University of Dallas. Following graduation, and after discerning with the Franciscans for two years, he first met the Jesuits in Chicago and subsequently joined the Chicago-Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus in 2014 after a year of teaching Latin and coaching lacrosse at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati.
After completing his novitiate in St. Paul, Minnesota, Pierce made his first vows in 2016 and was sent to New York City for first studies, where he earned a master’s degree in classical languages from Columbia University. During regency, he taught Latin, Greek and theology at Saint Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, where he also coached golf. For the past three years, Pierce studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in preparation for ordination to the priesthood while living at the Collegio Internazionale del Gesù. While in Rome, Pierce also taught Latin at the Gregorian University. After ordination, he will pursue a master’s degree in art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.
Bachelor’s degree, philosophy, University of Dallas; Master’s degree, classical languages, Columbia University; Bachelor of Sacred Theology, Pontifical Gregorian University
Since studying in Italy, I have gradually cultivated a "hobby" in languages. I originally studied Latin and Greek because I wanted access to the literature and philosophy of those cultures, and I originally studied German and eventually Italian because of necessity. It was only recently that the languages themselves have become not merely a useful tool in an international setting, but a real delight.
I am very inspired by the creation of the Ratio Studiorum and the management of our schools in the 17th and 18th centuries before the suppression of the Society. Our commitment to a carefully calibrated humanistic education, whose aim was the formation of the soul in virtue and intellectual acuity, was the source of a massive corporate initiative engaging the vast majority of Jesuits during that period. To my mind it bore serious apostolic fruit.
The father of one of my students died while I was in regency, and I was invited to preach at the funeral. It was not something I was initially prepared to handle, and I struggled with trying to set the perfect tone while accompanying the family in their grief. The experience taught me a lot about the nature of loss, grief and the ways in which our faith works during these times in our lives.
I had no intention when joining the Society to live for an extended period overseas. I had, only much later, suggested the idea of studying theology in Paris, but after the pandemic set in and it seemed increasingly unlikely that I would be able to seriously study French, I had assumed I would be studying theology at either Boston or Berkeley. It ultimately came as a surprise when I was told I would be going to Rome for theology studies, and the experience of living in a large international community (men from 33 different countries) has been, overall, an enriching experience.
