Former Jesuits Talk About Their Lives

For a number of years men who once were Jesuits in the California province have come together annually to renew old friendships. Today our group is officially incorporated as the Westcoast Companeros, and I have been serving as its webmaster (http://www.westcoastcompanions.org). Its membership now includes former Jesuits from a number of provinces as well as a few other individuals who have a close link to us.

One recently completed project has been to put together some of the recollections of former Jesuits. About three dozen men are represented in a volume now available through Amazon.com as well as other online bookstores. The title is Unexpected Company: Former Jesuits Talk About Their Lives. It is a book that I would like to see promoted in part because of the approximately 6000 former Jesuits in the United States so few have managed to come to grips with their past. Most of us who are from an older generation basically had to hide this part of our lives once we left the Jesuits. It was, I believe, a loss to the Church and the Society as well as to ourselves. Being able to talk openly about who we were and what we have made of ourselves since is something very important.

One reason for this blog is to encourage such communication.