“I found accompanying Kairos retreats at Boston College really inspiring. The students came from a variety of faith backgrounds, but in retreat after retreat, I got to hear about how students found God’s love at work in new ways over the course of the weekend.”
Will conduct research and pastoral work in Beirut, Lebanon, with Saint Joseph University of Beirut and the Jesuit Refugee Service.
Doug Jones, SJ, grew up near Scranton, Pennsylvania — home of NBC’s “The Office” and some of the world’s finest pizza! He attended the University of Scranton, where he studied political science and international studies. It was at “the U” that he got to know the Jesuits, especially through the Special Jesuit Liberal Arts Program, in which he first had Jesuits as professors and learned more about Ignatian spirituality and the Society’s history. Doug also studied Arabic and spent a semester abroad in Amman, Jordan. After graduating from Scranton, Doug completed a Ph.D. in Middle East politics at Rutgers University, during which time he spent another year in Jordan. Toward the end of his doctorate, he decided to revisit an attraction to the Society that had been nagging him since his Scranton days, and he entered the novitiate in August 2016.
As a novice in Syracuse, New York, Doug ministered in schools, studied Spanish in Bolivia and San Antonio, and worked at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. He was also sent back to the Middle East, for the first of many times, to work with the Jesuit Refugee Service in eastern Lebanon, near the border of Syria. After first vows, Doug completed first studies at Loyola University Chicago. He was missioned for regency to Fordham University in the Bronx, where he served as a postdoctoral researcher and taught political science classes. For theology studies, Doug was sent to the Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry. In addition to his studies, he served as deacon at Saint Mary of the Assumption Church in Brookline, Massachusetts, and accompanied undergraduate Kairos retreats at Boston College.
After ordination, Doug will spend a year doing research and pastoral work in Lebanon, with Saint Joseph University of Beirut and the Jesuit Refugee Service.
Bachelor’s degree, international studies, University of Scranton; Master’s degree and Ph.D., political science, Rutgers University; Master of Divinity, Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry
When I was in college, I played trombone in a German oompah band with some friends. We were a pretty hot commodity in the fall, around Oktoberfest time.
I've always admired some of the missionaries of the Society's early years, like Matteo Ricci. Specifically, I find inspiring the ways they used creativity and care to translate their Christian faith to people from many different cultures and backgrounds.
I found accompanying Kairos retreats at Boston College really inspiring. The students came from a variety of faith backgrounds, but in retreat after retreat, I got to hear about how students found God's love at work in new ways over the course of the weekend. The retreat leadership teams spent eight weeks preparing for each retreat weekend, which gave us meaningful time to grow together as a team, to pray together and to encourage one another.
At Boston College, I got the chance to participate in a practicum course on giving preached weekend retreats on the Spiritual Exercises. This is a ministry I had never experienced before, and I had no idea whether I would be any good at it. With our instructor, Fr. Casey Beaumier, SJ, our group of four prepared hours of retreat talks each, practicing them in front of each other.
In March 2024, I gave a men's retreat at the Jesuit Retreat House in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Getting to share my faith in that context was something I would never have expected getting to do, but I felt comfortable and well-prepared. The ministry introduced me to people I probably never would have met otherwise, and I had a number of meaningful conversations about faith with men from different backgrounds and ages. I returned to Oshkosh in March 2025 to give another retreat, and I doubt it will be my last time!
