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By Colleen Hogan
“If you’ve met one Jesuit, you’ve met one Jesuit.” This familiar saying captures the wide range of personalities, backgrounds, and approaches among Jesuit priests and brothers. For Fr. Jean-Marc Laporte, Fr. Kevin Kelly, and Br. Justin Sauro — three Jesuits across three generations — it couldn’t be more accurate. Their journeys of discovering and living out their vocations are as unique as their lives. Yet each one’s openness to God’s call reveals something deeply shared: the joy, freedom, and fruits that come from trusting and following one’s vocation.
God calls each person in different ways and at different times in their lives. But as in the case of Fr. Jean-Marc, Fr. Kevin, and Br. Justin, God often works through other people over time.
The Call Is Not Always Loud — But It Is Always Personal
Born in 1937, Jean-Marc Laporte grew up in a French Catholic household. It wasn’t until encountering Jesuit priests at Loyola High School and Loyola College in Montreal, however, that he began to consider religious life.
“During that time, my interests in academics and teaching grew, and, gradually, so did the idea of becoming a Jesuit,” Fr. Jean-Marc recalls. Getting to know his Jesuit teachers and participating in spiritual direction helped him overcome a feeling of unworthiness and solidified his calling, leading him to enter the former English Canada province in 1958.
For Fr. Kevin Kelly, the call to the priesthood came much later — and much more dramatically. Though he first sensed a vocation in his early 20s, Fr. Kevin says he “wasn’t ready for it” due to issues with aspects of the Church and his own personal challenges. He pursued a corporate career instead, eventually becoming an executive at a multinational pharmaceutical company in Switzerland. In 2010, when a volcanic ash cloud grounded European air travel, Kevin found himself unexpectedly still for the first time in years.
“I started to have a crack in my schedule that changed my life,” he shares. “I started to think maybe I had a vocation.” A priest encouraged him to connect with the Jesuits. Within a few months, Kevin had begun the application process and entered the novitiate the following year, at age 38.
Then, there is Justin Sauro, who began his journey as an evangelical Protestant. Through study and reflection, he found his way to the Catholic Church, learning about religious life during his conversion. Having encountered the writings of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Justin first discerned with the Carmelites. Though he loved their spirituality, it didn’t feel like the right fit. Six months after returning to his military career, the call returned. Remembering a teacher’s admiration for the Jesuits, Justin reached out to a vocation promoter and began meeting with a spiritual director. As he learned more about Ignatian spirituality and met the Jesuit community, he fell in love with the order and entered the novitiate in 2021. “I chose to become a brother for two reasons: firstly, because I felt called by the Jesuit way of life, but not at all by that of priests, and secondly, because I was inspired by the way the brothers supported the priests and knew that a deep part of me wanted to serve those who served others.”
“I chose to become a brother […] because I felt called by the Jesuit way of life, but not at all by that of priests.” – Brother Justin Sauro
One Mission, Many Expressions
Just as Br. Justin, Fr. Kevin and Fr. Jean-Marc took different paths to religious life, they each embody their Jesuit vocation in distinct ways. Br. Justin recently completed his novitiate, which included working at Ferme Berthe-Rousseau and as a prison chaplain. Now in his first studies, he’s earning a certificate in spiritual direction.
“Accompanying people through their spiritual life has been my favourite thing so far,” he says. “So much of it is just listening; the Holy Spirit is the one doing the work.”
Br. Justin is also drawn to interreligious dialogue, particularly connections between Catholicism and Buddhism. After a recent Zen meditation retreat in Japan, he hopes to explore this integration as a possible future ministry.
Fr. Kevin, now nearly 15 years into his vocation, serves as the executive director of the Ignatian Spirituality Centre of Montreal and as Provincial Assistant for Ignatian Spirituality. One of his greatest joys has been revitalizing the retreat house to serve people who may not identify with the Church but are still seeking something spiritual.
“It’s not retreatants from parishes,” Fr. Kevin explains. “It’s people in twelve-step programs, in recovery, people who don’t have any definitions around spirituality but are deeply seeking. This is probably the greatest gift: building something new that meets people where they are today.”
“This is probably the greatest gift: building something new that meets people where they are today.” – Father Kevin Kelly
Fr. Jean-Marc has held many roles throughout his nearly seven decades as a Jesuit. He spent more than 30 years teaching at Regis College, including time as its president. In his sixties, he expected to retire quietly into more teaching — until he was asked to serve as socius to the provincial, then provincial superior, and later as an administrator at a parish and spiritual center in Halifax.
“I described being assigned to Halifax as a kick in the solar plexus,” Fr. Jean-Marc shares. “But I went, and I discovered a whole other dimension of priestly life. It was one of the best things that ever happened to me.”
Even with such different vocation stories, all three men named the same spiritual threads that hold Jesuits together: their mission of service, the centrality of discernment and listening, and the joys and trials of community life.
“My basic identity is not priest or teacher,” Fr. Jean-Marc reflects. “It’s Jesuit. When I was provincial, most of the men told me that whatever I asked them to do, they would do. In them, there was a spirit of generosity, of availability. Indeed, availability is at the core of Jesuit identity.”
“Availability is at the core of Jesuit identity.” – Father Jean-Marc Laporte
Br. Justin and Fr. Kevin echo this commitment and readiness to serve.
“You can have different political opinions and ways of going about your work,” Br. Justin says. “But we’re all working to bring about the kingdom of Christ in the best way we can, and that’s a really beautiful thing to see.”
Fr. Kevin adds, “I can’t imagine being as happy as I am now anywhere else, and it’s because I feel more aligned with God’s call for me. When you give over to God in a way that’s maybe a little surprising, it helps you grow more in freedom. Then you begin to fall more in line with God’s plan. It’s not that what I was doing before wasn’t fulfilling or consoling or challenging — I just never appreciated that when you do that in ways that bring about God’s kingdom, more powerful opportunities open up.”
Fr. Jean-Marc, Fr. Kevin, and Br. Justin may have taken different paths, but each one said yes to the same quiet invitation: listen, trust and go where God leads.
