COVER Story
Rev. José-Luis Salazar, S.J.
Brent Otto, S.J.
Assistant Professor of Theology
Jesuit Scholastic in Regency
When you teach four sections of Introduction to Theology at Saint Peter’s College, you are going to be well known among the student body. Rev. José-Luis Salazar, S.J., or Father Lito to many in the College community, enjoys teaching one of the core curriculum classes at the College, as well as getting to know his students in and outside of the classroom. Father Salazar taught at Saint Peter’s during the 2009–2010 academic year as an adjunct. Now a full-time member of the Department of Theology, he appreciates the ethnic and religious background of his students. The diversity he has found is as enriching for the faculty as it is for students. “It’s a good thing,” said Father Salazar. “It stretches us beyond our comfortable limits and provides the opportunity to become better teachers.” A native of the Philippines and a member of the New York Province of the Society of Jesus, Father Salazar has taught at several educational institutions, including Fordham University and Saint Peter’s Prep. The Jesuit earned different academic degrees on three continents, and he speaks or reads six different languages. Father Salazar completed his doctoral studies at Radboud (Katholieke) Universiteit-Nijmegen in the Netherlands. His book, Conspiring unto the Good: Bernard Lonergan’s Critical Contribution to Theology of Religions, was published in July 2010, by Lambert Academic Publishing. Outside of the classroom, Father Salazar assists with marriage preparation and officiating at weddings of former students from Fordham and Saint Peter’s Prep. He also offers spiritual direction for individuals and assists with parish groups in Jersey City as well.
People are often surprised to learn that Brent H. Otto, S.J., didn’t attend Catholic grammar or high school. Otto first met the Jesuits as an undergraduate at Holy Cross College in Massachusetts and from there, he says, his spiritual life took off. “I resisted the call to religious life,” he recalled, “but I couldn’t deny that God was pushing my buttons.” So before entering the Society of Jesus in 2004, Otto taught high school and was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in India to study how Catholic education operates in a primarily Hindu culture. He was in India when the World Trade Center fell and says it was formative to observe 9/11 through the lens of another country and culture. Otto is a Jesuit scholastic in the regency stage of formation, preparing for eventual ordination to the priesthood. He recently completed a double master’s degree program in international and global history from Columbia University and the London School of Economics and Political Science. At Saint Peter’s, Otto is teaching two history classes and is also assisting with campus ministry and retreat planning. One of the things he noticed about The Jesuit College of New Jersey is “the care for individual students. People here experience it every day, even if they don’t name it as Jesuit.” Otto also describes the reception from his Jesuit brothers as “wonderful.” “They’ve been so welcoming to me,” he added. “My work is much more than teaching at Saint Peter’s—it’s shared with a Jesuit community that has been connected to the College for so many years.”
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