The phrase “becoming all God imagines” resonates deeply with members of the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University (JST-SCU) community who are in formation. To them, it’s a call to action, a question posed: “For whom?”
For five graduating students of the JST-SCU Class of 2025, who are also members of religious orders, the structure and support they found at JST-SCU has ensured they will launch into their next phase of ministry and calling with theological education and formation, as well as a strong community of support. They have a far richer knowledge of what God imagines for them—and what it will take to uncover all God imagines for those they will go on to serve in their vocations.
Five JST-SCU students who are graduating in 2025 and are members of religious communities recently shared their experiences:
Didier Cimalamungo, S.J. (DRC) has been a Jesuit for 21 years. Hongcheol Jeong, S.J. (South Korea) was ordained as a new priest last summer. Jack McLinden, S.J. (USA) is an ordained deacon who will be ordained a priest in June. Patrick Saint-Jean, S.J. (USA) is an ordained deacon who will be ordained a priest in June. Agatha Umenyi, A.G.M. (Nigeria) has taken the religious name of Maria Paola.
For each of these students, their education at JST-SCU has been more than simply the sum of its parts. It has been a place of welcome and learning through diversity. Some of the Jesuits talked about how learning from and alongside women, lay people, and members of other religious orders has been a microcosm of the Church and the world that they will go on to serve in all of its beauty and complexity.
This diversity of experience extends beyond the classroom through collaborative initiatives with other theology centers around the world. McLinden, who recently had the opportunity to live and study at Hekima University College in Nairobi, Kenya, for a semester talks about how the opportunity to study abroad gave him a chance to be immersed in a “new culture, a new understanding of church, and a new way of living.”
This is the kind of opportunity that is increasingly available to JST-SCU students through the recently unveiled Collaborative Theology Initiative (CTI), which is a worldwide partnership between Jesuit theologates that seeks to strengthen theological education and foster intercultural dialogue. The CTI’s mission builds on Pope Francis’s call to cultivate a theology that bridges divides and addresses global challenges. “In a fractured world, this initiative embodies a synodal spirit of cooperation and hope-filled imagination,” said Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, SJ, dean of JST-SCU and inaugural chair of the CTI Coordinating Committee.
For those called to religious life, theological education is a vital part of vocational formation. This is especially true for the 2025 graduating class of JST-SCU, whose members carry with them a rich grounding in diverse religious communities and global experiences.
Each has experienced the transformative power of theological education at JST-SCU. Each also embodies JST-SCU’s commitment to “becoming all God imagines” for the changing face of the global Catholic Church, as laid out in the school’s strategic plan “En Camino.”
The journeys of the students began with profound, and very different, encounters with God.
From Near and Far: Many Paths to Religious Life
One theme common to each of the five graduating students at JST-SCU is the different kinds of journeys that can lead to religious vocations. Some, like Cimalamungo, Umenyi, and McLinden, were nurtured in deeply Catholic families where faith was an integral part of daily life. Others, such as Jeong and Saint-Jean, discovered their faith along a different path.
Reflecting on his call to ministry, Cimalamungo shares that he “grew up in the church,” and knew he wanted to be a Jesuit and a priest from an early age. With a humorous shrug, he attributes his vocation to being the second oldest of five boys, suggesting the family needed a priest.
The deeply personal nature of Umenyi’s journey is intertwined with her cultural context. Explaining the origins of her name, which are rooted in her ethnic tradition, she reflects on the anticipation and worries surrounding her birth as her parents yearned for a son. “At birth, I was given a native name, Ejiakaedonwa, which means ‘a child is not made or created by hand,’” Umenyi explained, adding, “My Dad’s reason for the name was to respond to people’s curiosity about a baby girl and distance himself.” However, her parish priest, whose dedication to drawing people closer to God profoundly inspired her, offered a supportive perspective on her baptismal names, Agatha, which means “goodness” in Greek. This revelation became a “new set of coordinates” for her that “reinforced her native name,” propelling her towards academic excellence and a life of service.
Coming from a strong Catholic family in the American Midwest, McLinden credits his Jesuit education and the raw honesty of a song by a Christian band with solidifying his call. The lyric “Would I love You (Jesus) enough to let go?” became a personal challenge to follow Jesus, leading him to the Jesuits.
Starting on a path outside Catholicism, Jeong was eventually baptized during his military service in South Korea. He was drawn to the faith’s “calm atmosphere and self-giving tendency.” When Jeong suddenly lost a close friend, he began to grapple with the meaning of life. Although previously a “very selfish man,” Jeong’s journey brought him to a place of longing to live with an “undivided heart.” This prompted him to dedicate his life to serving God and others as a Jesuit.
Shaped by his Haitian, American, and French roots, Saint-Jean’s journey is a testament to the global reach of faith. Though not raised Catholic (his grandmother was a Baptist preacher), his family’s international connections led to an association with Father General Pedro Arrupe. He was baptized at 16 and entered formation nine years ago.
A Synodal Pedagogy: Learning and Becoming
Each student found JST-SCU to be a nurturing ground for vocational growth, providing scholarships and support for those who would not have access to theological training and ministerial formation otherwise.
Umenyi highlights the school’s commitment to accessibility, citing the full tuition scholarship she received and her gratitude for the school’s donors. She praises JST-SCU’s synodal approach to learning and how the S.T.L. director, Eduardo Fernández, S.J., met her with genuine curiosity when she first arrived, valuing her experiences and interests.
The diversity in the classroom—from the international student body, to the presence of smart and activist lay classmates, to the faculty who hail from and have worked all over the world—was experienced by the students as a vital introduction to the needs they will meet as ministers.
McLinden views the international community at JST-SCU as a transformative environment. “We come from many cultures, nations, languages, and even religious traditions,” he says. This global perspective has enriched his faith and calling as a Jesuit, broadening his understanding of the Church.
Jeong noted the vast experience of his advisor, Léocadie Lushombo, i.t., assistant professor of theological ethics, whose scholarly expertise is matched by her holistic care and attention to the academic, emotional, and spiritual needs of her students. Her selection to work with the Vatican as part of the Synod on Synodality’s study group examining the cry of the poor and the earth reflects the school’s engagement with global issues, and gives her students a front-row seat to this vital work of the Catholic Church.
Saint-Jean describes JST-SCU as a place where he was welcomed to be himself while being formed for service. This welcoming hospitality animates the learning experience.
As the group ponders the question “for whom” one becomes all God imagines, Umenyi asks, “How do we help people achieve the greater design or desire of this person in God’s grace?” For her, this starts with recognizing that we are “all God’s children, recognizing the goodness inherent in all people.”
Community is central to this journey.
Cimalamungo, who prayed for the opportunity to study at “the Jesuit school in Silicon Valley,” plans to continue his studies at Santa Clara in the fall, blending his theological formation with his engineering background to serve his homeland and the marginalized people.
The degrees earned at JST-SCU are more like launch pads than end points. Empowered by their education and formation, these graduates will carry the Gospel’s message of hope and service into a world hungry for meaning. They are becoming all God imagines—for the Church, for their communities, and for the world.
By Preston Carmack, Director of Marketing and Communications, Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University