“In these years of formation, I’ve been so moved by how people have invited me into their hearts and how they’ve shared with me their moments of triumph and joy, as well as moments of defeat and pain. These are truly moments and places of hope and grace, and I am blessed to be invited into them.”
Will serve in pastoral ministry at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City.
Jonathan Pennacchia, SJ, grew up in Wappingers Falls, New York, the middle child of John and Josephine Pennacchia’s three children. His family was active at their local parish and grade school, St. Mary’s, and Jonathan was especially active as an altar server. It was there that the first seeds of Jonathan’s priestly vocation were planted. His first encounter with the Society of Jesus was during a 5th grade field trip to the National Shrine of the North American Jesuit Martyrs, on whose feast day in 2024 Jonathan was ordained to the diaconate. It was not until college at Loyola University Maryland that Jonathan actually met Jesuits. During those formative years in Baltimore, he was active in campus ministry assisting with campus liturgies. It was at Loyola, and especially in his work in campus ministry, that Jonathan’s calling to the priesthood as a Jesuit became clear. He entered the Novitiate in Syracuse, New York, in August 2014.
Of the many experiments during the novitiate, two stand out: the time spent caring for the patients at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, New York, and his five months teaching middle school math at the Gesu School in Philadelphia. After professing vows, Jonathan was missioned to Saint Louis University for philosophy studies. He then was missioned to Atlanta for regency and served for three years as the sophomore math teacher at Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School. While teaching was a highlight, Jonathan loved simply spending time with his students and colleagues.
Finally, Jonathan was missioned to the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California, for theology studies. During this time, he assisted at the Church of Santa Maria in Orinda, California. Jonathan is excited to celebrate his First Mass of Thanksgiving at his home parish, St. Mary’s Church in Wappingers Falls, New York. After ordination, he will serve in pastoral ministry at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City.
Bachelor’s degree, economics, Loyola University Maryland; Master’s degree, philosophy, Saint Louis University; Master of Divinity, Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University
I’ve inherited a devotion to St. Anothony of Padua from my maternal grandmother. He’s my “go-to” intercessor, even beyond simply asking him to help me find something I’ve lost!
During my regency, a colleague and dear friend had a strong devotion to St. Joseph. I’ve found myself relying on his assistance as well.
I’ve always had a devotion to Mary: from my home parish and grade school, St. Mary’s, to high school at Our Lady of Lourdes, to the many stained-glass windows in the chapel at Loyola Maryland that depicted different Marian titles. Finally, during these years of formation, the image and title of Our Lady of the Way has captured my heart.
I love to cook. This was true before I entered too, as I used to cook dinner regularly for my college roommates. But, as a Jesuit, I’ve found cooking to be not only a hobby but also a form of prayer. From cooking on Entrance Day during my second year of the novitiate, to Sunday dinner for the archbishop of St. Louis, to the “pasta marathon” the night before several theologians ran a race in Oakland, as a Jesuit, I love to gather people around the dinner table, to break bread together, to laugh and enjoy each other’s company. And there are always plenty of leftovers!
The easy answer is my three years of regency at Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School. There are too many stories to tell of my interactions with students and colleagues that shaped and continue to shape who I am as a minister. From tying countless neckties before my students went to work, to brainstorming academic solutions with my principal in the midst of online and hybrid learning, to Thursday sophomore teacher meetings and lunch runs, my time in Atlanta was filled with grace.
One experience helps to capture this: In the start of my final year, my sophomores — and really, the entire student body — had a catch-all phrase that I did not like: “Ain't no way!” They would use it in any and all situations. Very quickly, I began to respond to it by saying, “There is a way!” It became a bit of a call-and-response that, soon enough, landed on just the truth that “there is a way!” Over my three years, my students continually showed me that there is a way, and they filled me with such great hope. My job, the job of a Jesuit priest, is to point out the same for them. Fast-forward to graduation two years later (in 2024), I was able to return to Atlanta from Berkeley to be present for the festivities. My students, now high school graduates, were still quoting that mantra: “There is a way!”
The geographic answer is Micronesia! I had the opportunity to visit the island of Chuuk, where we have a high school, this summer. After only a day into my two-week visit, I was asked to travel to another island, Pohnpei, and to preach a weeklong retreat to the deacons there. While that trip was wonderful and unexpected, I think the location where my Jesuit vocation has taken me that I did not fully realize is the depths of people’s lives. I think, of course, of my students and their families, especially those I got to know so well during the pandemic. In these years of formation, I’ve been so moved by how people have invited me into their hearts and how they’ve shared with me their moments of triumph and joy, as well as moments of defeat and pain. These are truly moments and places of hope and grace, and I am blessed to be invited into them.
