On June 14, 2025, the USA East Province ordained five Jesuits to the priesthood at St. Ignatius Church in Manhattan–Fathers Kieran Halloran, SJ, Douglas Jones, SJ, Joseph Lorenz, SJ, Jonathan Pennacchia, SJ, and Melvin Rayappa, SJ. Dickson Tiwelfil, SJ, will be ordained in Yap, Micronesia on June 26.
From different experiences and backgrounds, they entered the Society of Jesus and have completed a decade of formation that began as a discernment and a call of the Holy Spirit. Please keep them in your prayers as they embark on their vocations to serve the Catholic Church and the people of God as Jesuit priests.
Kieran Halloran, SJ, grew up in North Salem, New York, and first met the Jesuits as a student at Xavier High School in New York City. He attended Georgetown University, where he studied international development, with a focus on post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction. At Georgetown he also was active in the Georgetown Knights of Columbus and campus ministry, and he worked for the Berkley Center and the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life.
As a novice, Kieran did apostolic work at a grammar school in Syracuse, New York, and at the Nativity School of Worcester in Massachusetts. While studying philosophy at Saint Louis University, he taught ESL classes, assisted GED classes and ministered at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. After graduating, Kieran worked for two years at Saint Peter’s Prep in Jersey City, New Jersey, teaching freshman religion and working in campus ministry. After those two years, he spent a year at the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Arizona/Sonora. During that year, Kieran managed clothing distribution, served as volunteer coordinator and taught classes to the children staying in the shelter. He then completed theology studies at the Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry, earning both a Master of Divinity and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology focusing on the theology of reconciliation. He also helped teach RCIA classes at St. Mary of the Angels, a parish in Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he later served as a deacon. His first Mass was at the Church of St. Francis Xavier in New York.
Kieran will serve as parochial vicar at Saint Raphael the Archangel Catholic Parish in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Douglas 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. His first Mass was at Fordham University Church.
Doug will spend a year doing research and pastoral work in Lebanon, with Saint Joseph University of Beirut and the Jesuit Refugee Service.
Joseph Lorenz, SJ, grew up in Takoma Park, Maryland, and attended Montgomery Blair High School in nearby Silver Spring. During high school, Joe started attending his grandmother’s Congregational Church in Washington, D.C., where he was baptized at age 17. While at Williams College in western Massachusetts, Joe became interested in the Catholic Church and reached out to the pastor of the local parish, who happened to be a Jesuit (Fr. Mark Burke, SJ). Joe entered the Catholic Church as a senior at Williams, before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Arabic and religion. He then joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and worked for two years as a caseworker at Catholic Charities’ center for immigrant legal aid in Houston. In 2012, Joe moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to complete a master’s degree in Islamic studies at Harvard Divinity School. During that degree he discerned joining the Society of Jesus and entered upon graduating in 2014.
Joe then went to the Jesuit novitiate in Syracuse, New York, finishing with a “long experiment” at what was then Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, West Virginia. For first studies, he was sent to Loyola University Chicago for three years to complete a master’s degree in social philosophy. He then taught religion and Spanish at Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx, New York, where he also assisted the cross-country team and the dramatic society. For his third year of regency, Joe was sent to Beirut, Lebanon, where he taught English at the Jesuit schools Collège Saint-Grégoire and Notre-Dame de Jamhour. Joe has just completed three years of theology study at Facultés Loyola Paris in France and is preparing for doctoral studies in the history and philosophy of science at the University of Notre Dame. His first Mass was at Fordham University Church.
His first pastoral assignment will be at St. Peter Catholic Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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 celebrated his First Mass of Thanksgiving at his home parish, St. Mary’s Church in Wappingers Falls, New York.
He will serve in pastoral ministry at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City.
Melvin Rayappa, SJ, a native of Queens, New York, first encountered religious life at Immaculate Conception Church and School in Jamaica, Queens, which was supported by the Sisters of Joseph and the Passionist priests and brothers. He then met the Jesuits at Regis High School in Manhattan. After graduating from Regis in 2008, Melvin attended Carnegie Mellon University where his experiences included serving as a resident assistant, projecting analog film as part of the movie club and going on a service trip to Rwanda. He earned bachelor’s degrees in electrical and computer engineering and engineering and public policy in 2012. A year later he graduated with a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering.
Following a career at Silicon Valley and New York tech startups working on electronic hardware and software, Melvin joined the Society of Jesus in 2015. During his two-year novitiate in Syracuse, New York, he served in various ministries such as jails, hospitals and schools — including five months teaching in Kingston, Jamaica. He also completed the Spiritual Exercises, a 30-day silent retreat, before taking perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in 2017.
After vows, Melvin went to Saint Louis University where he received a master’s degree in philosophy in 2020. He was then missioned to Loyola University Maryland where he taught electrical and computer engineering courses while also assisting with campus ministry retreats and prayer programs. In 2022, Melvin began his theological studies at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, California. He served as a deacon at St. Augustine Parish in Oakland, California, where he also worked with youth faith formation by teaching Sunday school and running the Children’s Liturgy of the Word. His first Mass was at Immaculate Conception Church in Jamaica, New York..
Melvin will spend the summer at St. Peter Catholic Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the fall, he will study at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem to complete a Licentiate in Sacred Theology in Scripture from the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. In 2026, Melvin will serve as the USA East Province assistant director and promoter of vocations.
Ordained in Yap, Micronesia on June 26
Dickson Tiwelfil, SJ, was born and raised on Wottegai Woleai, a small island of Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia, by his loving and caring parents and relatives. He is the third oldest among his seven living siblings. Dickson was baptized by the late Fr. John Hagileiram, SJ, who was the first Jesuit priest from the outer islands of Yap. Fr. Hagileiram became an inspiration to Dickson because of his creativity and style in both the content and the delivery of his homilies. During Dickson’s freshman year of high school, another newly ordained Jesuit priest from Satawal Island, the late Fr. Kenneth Urumolug, SJ, came to do his pastoral year on Woleai. Fr. Urumolug became the second Jesuit from the outer islands of Yap who, along with Fr. Hagileiram, made a great impact on Dickson’s consideration for priesthood throughout his high school years until college when Dickson finally made up his mind to apply for the Society of Jesus after graduation.
After taking first vows in Syracuse, New York, Dickson completed his philosophy studies at Saint Louis University. He spent three years of regency teaching Micronesian history to freshmen and Christology to sophomores at Xavier High School (XHS) in Chuuk, Micronesia. He also served as both a dean of discipline for two years and a campus minister for the rest of his time at XHS. For theology studies, Dickson attended the Loyola School of Theology in Manila, Philippines. While completing both his Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology and Master in Pastoral Ministry, Dickson served at various apostolates: vocation promotion for the Philippines Province Jesuits; campus ministry at Ateneo de Manila University; and pastoral ministry at Philippine General Hospital and other hospitals. His first Mass was at St. Peter Canisius Church on his home island of Wottegai Woleai. He will now do a pastoral year in Micronesia.
