On June 6, Jesuit priests from around the country concelebrated Mass with newly ordained Dominican priest Fr. Reginald Bruce Hoefer, O.P. ’09. The Mass was celebrated on Baronne St. at the Immaculate Conception Jesuit Church. Concelebrating and assisting were Fr. Richard Hermes, S.J. (president of Jesuit High School of Tampa, FL), Fr. Cassian (Todd) Derbes, O.P. ’93, Fr. David Paternostro, S.J., Fr. Jason LaLonde, S.J., Fr. Aaron Pidel, S.J., Jesuit president Fr. John Brown, S.J., Fr. Thomas Greene, S.J. ’81, Fr. Sean Salai, S.J., Fr. Anthony McGinn, S.J. ’66, Deacon Jody Fortunato ’98, Christopher Ross ’18, and Robert Schiaffino. 4,664

A New Orleans native, Hoefer was a longtime altar server at St. Patrick’s parish before attending Jesuit and later graduating from Catholic University of America. After returning to New Orleans to work with Iberia Bank for a brief stint, he entered the Dominican novitiate. He described his vocation in this way:

“Each time I went to visit the House of Studies, something kept drawing me back—something which I couldn’t pinpoint. Finally at some point I realized that each time I saw a Dominican open his mouth, he began to exude a certain wise understanding about the order of creation, an understanding that was grounded in the peace of Christ and the joy of following Him—and I knew that was exactly what I wanted.”

Photos provided by Fr. Sean Salai, S.J.