Belize City, Belize – On Friday, January 17th, Fr. Jeremy Zipple, S.J. pronounced his final vows as a Jesuit at a school-wide mass in the Landivar Gymnasium on the campus of St. John’s College. Fr. Zipple was joined in this celebration by his Jesuit brothers, both from Belize and from the United States, his mother, sister and her family, other clergy from the Diocese, and countless friends and loved ones from around Belize.
In the Society of Jesus, final vows represent a man’s final incorporation into the Jesuits. This can be confusing for many, so some brief explanation might be required.
In one sense, a man becomes a Jesuit from the day he enters the novitiate. At the end of two-years of novitiate, a Jesuit takes his “First Vows” of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Unlike many other religious orders whose first vows are temporary, a Jesuits’ first vows are perpetual, meaning that they bind us forever, much like marriage vows.
After first vows, the Jesuit spends around 11 or 12 years of formation, which consists of study and work. During that time, the man is not only being prepared for ministry as a priest or as a brother, but he is also learning how to be a Jesuit. He learns, just by being in the order for such a long time, how to think and act in a manner consistent with our founding documents.
For Fr. Jeremy, he began his novitiate training in Grand Coteau, Louisiana (USA) in 2002, and after first vows in 2004, he went to study philosophy at Fordham University in New York. After that, Fr. Jeremy, who had an extensive background in video production, spent several years producing documentaries at National Geographic, and then one year teaching at Loyola University in New Orleans.
Throughout that whole time, Fr. Jeremy was learning what it means to be a Jesuit. “Like any life journey, my journey as a Jesuit has had its highs and lows, its graces and challenges,” he said, “but the Lord has stayed faithful the whole way.” Coming to know oneself as a “loved sinner,” and coming to know the boundless love and mercy of God, is at the very heart of what it means to be a Jesuit.
Now, here is the part that many find confusing. At the end of the 11 or 12 years of formal training, the man is ordained as a priest. He becomes “Fadda,” and he is usually assigned to work at a parish or school, but that is not the end of his formation.
Fr. Jeremy completed his theology studies at Boston College in 2013, was ordained as a priest, and spent the next five years working at America Media, based in New York. In 2018, he was assigned to Belize, where he became the Associate Pastor at St. Martin de Porres parish. During that time, Fr. Jeremy learned how to be a priest, and how to walk with the People of God. This not only included becoming proficient in sacramental ministry, but also in preaching, teaching, and giving retreats. For Fr. Jeremy, this was a time of truly falling in love with Belize and with her people.
Fr. Jeremy undertook his final stage in the formal training as a Jesuit, when he went to Mexico for a year of “tertianship.” Tertianship refers to a “third” (tertiary) year of novitiate. During this time, a Jesuit makes the Spiritual Exercises 30-day, silent retreat again, but this time with years of his education and pastoral work as a Jesuit under his belt. A Jesuit “tertian” also studies the foundational documents of the Society of Jesus, but this time through the eyes of a seasoned minister.
Some years after tertianship, whenever the leadership of the Society of Jesus thinks a man really and truly embodies what it means to be a Jesuit, he is invited to profess his final vows. Once again, he takes the three main vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, but Jesuits are also invited to take a fourth vow of “special obedience to the Roman Pontiff [the Pope] in regards to missions.” This fourth vow is essentially a promise to go on mission, whenever and wherever the Pope would choose to send the man.
Jesuits are unique in how we do final vows. All other religious orders take their final vows before they are ordained as priests. For Jesuits, final vows are the central moment in our Jesuit life. Priesthood is one ministry that we Jesuits do (albeit a very special and privileged moment of joining Christ in his priestly mission), but for us, final vows are the defining moment of our vocation: it is what makes us Jesuits. Not all Jesuits get ordained (we have Jesuit brothers, like Brother Karl Swift, SJ), but all Jesuits take final vows.
So, after nearly 23 years of being a Jesuit, and more than 11 years as a priest, Fr. Jeremy Zipple became a full-fledged Jesuit! The journey of Jesuit formation is long, but it gives us the opportunity to spend more time walking with, and learning from, the People of God. As Fr. Thomas Greene, SJ, the Provincial of the Central-Southern Province of the Jesuits, remarked at the mass at SJC, “It takes a village to raise a priest!”
As Fr. Jeremy reflected, “Final vows was really just an experience of being grateful to Jesus for his faithfulness on this journey, and gratitude, too, for all the friends, brother Jesuits, parishioners, students, and family who have walked with me on this journey.”
The celebration of Fr. Jeremy’s final vows on January 17th at St. John’s was truly a moment of great gratitude.
“I feel like SJC, along with St. Martin’s and the whole country of Belize, have played such an important part in ‘raising me’ as a priest! I’ve learned so much about being a priest from the people of Belize, from their love, support, prayers, and nurturing guidance,” he said.
Indeed, that gratitude goes both ways, as we express our love and affection for Fr. Jeremy’s prayerfulness and playfulness, for his commitment to the people of Belize and his down-to-earth humility! It was truly an occasion for celebration!
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