FR. JACK TIERNEY ORDAINED TO THE PRIESTHOOD

WE WELCOME A NEW PRIEST Fr. Jack Ordained; Begins Assignment at St. Rita High School

After months of patience and uncertainty, Augustinian Father Jack Tierney was ordained to the priesthood in a private ceremony on Saturday, July 25th at Chicago’s St. Rita Shrine Chapel. Originally slated for April 25th, Tierney’s Ordination was put on an indefinite delay as Illinois enacted shelter-in-place orders following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following his diaconate ordination in the summer of 2019, Fr. Jack began serving at St. Turibius Parish in Chicago, where he had planned to spend his first months as a priest. “All of my summer plans were conditioned on my becoming a priest at St. Turibius Parish, saying the Masses and performing the sacraments,” said Fr. Jack in an interview shortly after the initial delay was announced. “I have been preparing for the day of my ordination for seven years, so the “big day” was truly a big day for me. So it was disappointing and honestly a bit frustrating that [this delay] had to happen due to circumstances beyond our control.”

Nevertheless, the re-scheduled ordination arrived just in time for Fr. Jack to begin the academic year at St. Rita High School under his

first Provincial assignment as School Chaplain. Before a small audience of friars, family, and friends, Fr. Jack made his priestly vows to Most Rev. George J. Rassas, Retired Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago. During his homily, Bishop George

“We pray with you Fr. Jack that the Lord always fill your heart with the grace of your ministry, the Grace of God’s love, and know that the Lord in every circumstance is always with you,” said Bishop George in his homily. “ I know that you have a great gift of the joy of life and joy of faith, and I know by your words, your actions, and your example that you will encourage many young people to follow what the Lord Jesus calls them to be. And may you always be young at heart.”

Alongside his Divinity studies at Catholic Theological Union, Fr. Jack used the time of his formation to cultivate his interest in government policy and issues of global justice. “After my work Masters of Divinity, I went on to pursue my Masters of Public Policy and Administration at Northwestern University. [As part of my formation,] I wanted to ask how we can best serve society at large. What is the greatest good we can do for the greatest number of people?” In the year of his internship, Fr. Jack worked at the United Nations alongside Fr. Bob Dueweke, O.S.A. within the Order’s NGO, Augustinians International. “That experience helped me better understand our roles as Christians amidst global problems.

Fr. Jack first began discerning a call to the priesthood during his second year of college, soon after which he connected with the Augustinians through an online religious discernment survey called Vocation Match. “When I visited the Augustinians, I could tell that these men loved the Lord. They were committed to Christ. But also they were friends with one another. They liked living together and that always struck me as something special.”

For the Midwest Augustinians, this was an extraordinary occasion as well, with Fr. Jack being the first priest ordained in the Province since Fr. Stephen Isley, O.S.A. in the summer of 2017. By the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we now have a great number of young men finishing their formation behind Fr. Jack. To learn more about these men, please visit our BEAFRIAR.ORG, our Vocations Outreach site.

"Who would have thought last year, when you entered into your novitiate, that you'd be facing so much transition in your life. Starting off with two Novices. The pandemic and its restrictions, and worldwide protests. You had to adapt quite a bit in a short period of time. "