"More Ex-Jesuits, Than Jesuits"

David Gregory is a candidate for entering the Jesuit order upon graduation from Georgetown.

During his senior year here, he will apply to the Jesuit Novitiate, a process which consists of a 15- to 20-page spiritual biography, several 4- to 6-hour long interviews and a psychological evaluation.

The Novitiate itself is a two-year process, at the core of which is a 30-day silent retreat and “apostolic experiments,” which are various service projects to serve the needs of the community. This is still a time of discernment for the young men.

As Gregory puts it, “There are more ex-Jesuits than Jesuits.”

Jesuits are known for their intellectual talents, and the education process is rigorous. There are four years of theology and three of philosophy, along with three years of either a missionary or teaching position before ordination.

Witnessing the sacrament of ordination was what confirmed Gregory’s belief in his calling. “There’s a part where the ordinates lie prostrate and everyone present blesses them,” he says. “Tears came to my eyes, and I thought that’s where I want to be, that’s where I’ve been led to.”

“People need to listen, there is a tendency to immediately quiet that voice,” Gregory says about the calling to vocation. According to Gregory, Georgetown sends about one student every year into the priesthood and Father Thomas King, S.J., echoes that statistic, placing the number at about 50 students during the 40 years he has been at Georgetown. King stresses the importance of the student in the discernment process. “There are ideas that pop into our heads and then pop back out. So, what kind of idea is it? We [the Jesuits] help them deal with different inclinations and making those inclinations their life.”

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