The Society of Jesus has one of the longest formation periods of any religious order, requiring over ten years of rigorous education, spiritual development, and practical ministry before a man can take his final vows.
But Rev. John “Jack” Butler, S.J., Boston College’s soon-to-be 26th University president, has undergone another kind of formation—one deeply shaped by his years of service and leadership at the University.
According to Rev. John Siberski, a psychiatrist at BC’s Office of Ministry to Priests, Butler has been profoundly shaped by both BC and his work within BC’s Division of Mission and Ministry (UMM).
“Over the 15 years that Father has been in Mission and Ministry, he has been formed by Boston College,” Siberski said. “And to now be in a position to help to form Boston College as she moves into the future.”
Butler, who was announced as the next University president on Tuesday, Feb. 18, has spent the last 22 years working at BC as an administrator and Jesuit priest. He currently serves as the Haub Vice President for University Mission and Ministry.
Butler’s time in UMM has left a lasting imprint on both BC’s mission and his own personal and spiritual development.
The Division of Mission and Ministry
In his role as Haub vice president, Butler oversees the departments and programs within the UMM, working to advance BC’s mission as a Jesuit, Catholic university.
“Before he was the vice president, we were pretty small,” said Mike Sacco, Executive Director of the Center for Student Formation and Office of First Year Experience. “We had something called the Intersections Project, we had Campus Ministry, we had a center for Ignatian spirituality, but there were some other offices that now exist.”
By creating these new offices, Sacco said Butler extended UMM’s reach and influence across campus.
“He’s really grown and helped the whole division kind of become bigger and have a bigger impact on the campus,” Sacco said.
Under Butler’s leadership, the departments focused on both supporting BC students’ development and providing opportunities for students to serve the broader Boston community, according to Lisa DiPietro, special projects manager for UMM.
“He came up with Student Formation, and he brought that on, and then he brought in the Volunteer Service and Learning,” DiPietro said. “All of the chunks that he’s built is all about us serving others.”
DiPietro said Butler has a deep commitment to serving people from less-privileged backgrounds.
One of the initiatives Butler helped create is Montserrat, a UMM office that supports students with high levels of financial need.
“Some of these kids come into Boston College, and they’re walking around in windbreakers in this weather because they don’t have the money to buy a coat,” DiPietro said. “Montserrat was the brainchild of someone who actually went to school at BC and saw our need, presented it to Jack, and now there’s an office.”
Although students may not realize it, UMM’s programs are integral to many aspects of student life, from leadership development and service opportunities to spiritual formation and community engagement.
Ellen Modica, a campus minister for catechesis, said many students come to BC without realizing that they engage with or benefit from UMM’s departments.
“If you come under their category, based on your family’s income and the number of people, you’re automatically a part of Mission and Ministry,” Modica said. “You’re obviously one of the people that Mission and Ministry will be interacting with again, even if you don’t know it, right?”
Jesuit Identity
Many of Butler’s UMM colleagues view his identity as a Jesuit as a cornerstone of his work at BC.
“He’s a Jesuit who loves the Jesuit mission and history, and who also loves Ignatian spirituality,” said Tomeu Estelrich, director of the Center for Ignatian Spirituality.
Estelrich said promoting and educating the BC community on Ignatian spirituality and the Jesuit mission ranks high on Butler’s list of priorities.
According to Dan Ponsetto, the Welles R. Crowther director of the Volunteer and Service Learning Center, Butler is deeply rooted in his connection with Jesus.
“He is a person who is deeply grounded in his relationship with Jesus,” Ponsetto said. “I mean, that defines Jack. And I think this is the most important thing that I can say about him, and it’s the gift that I think he will bring to his work as president, and it’s the reason why I think BC made a great choice.”
His sincerity and devotion show through in his work as a pastoral counselor, Modica said.
“When he speaks to them about matters of religion, I believe they feel they can trust him because he comes across as so authentic in his own relationship with God,” Modica said.
Sacco believes that Butler’s caring approach will be an asset as he steps into the presidency.
“I’m excited because we’re getting somebody who’s got, I think, the skills necessary to be a leader of a major organization, but also has a pastoral quality,” Sacco said.
DiPietro said that with Butler’s appointment, BC is gaining a leader who combines qualities from both former University president Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J., and current University president Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J.
“I was in the Father Monan era,” DiPietro said. “Father Monan was a very vivacious guy. When he sang, you could hear the angels in heaven. And then we have Father Leahy, and Father Leahy is a really brilliant man, more reserved than Father Monan. Now, you’ve got Jack. You’re melding two guys.”
Chris Darcy, director of the Office of First Year Experience, emphasized Butler’s focus on Ignatian identity within the University.
“What Father Jack has done, I think, has challenged our division to make sure that we are lifting up, honoring and doing the work within the structure of the mission, the Ignatian identity of Boston College, in the spirit of St. Ignatius of Loyola,” Darcy said.
This work requires collaboration between UMM and other entities, including the Division of Student Affairs, to address all aspects of life at BC, Darcy added.
“That means making sure that we are involved in the intellectual, social, spiritual aspects of our students’ lives,” Darcy said. “And being able to help support that in any way that we can.”
Focus on Community
The key to Butler’s success, Sacco said, lies in his ability to build and sustain connections and collaborations across campus.
“The greatest thing is that Jack has always been involved across campus in every facet of BC,” Sacco said. “He’s great at relationships. He’s got great relationships with administrators, with faculty members, with athletic staff. He has great relationships with the football team having been the chaplain.”
Ponsetto said the two Jesuit qualities of service and relation building often go hand in hand, even when their involvement is not explicit.
“Good example of that is the program BC BIGS. That’s a partnership with Big Brothers, Big Sisters,” Ponsetto said. “And that’s not something that’s explicitly religious, but it’s profoundly Ignatian in the sense that it’s very relational, and so, he’s been very supportive of that.”
Butler prioritizes developing personal connections with students, according to Burt Howell, executive director of Intersections at BC.
“He cares for students and wants to help them grow,” Howell said in a statement to The Heights. “They line up at his office door because he listens with attention and understanding. He also challenges them—sometimes telling them things they may not want to hear—to live up to their potential.”
DiPietro emphasized that Butler’s desire to connect with students lies at the heart of his admiration for BC.
“BC is his love,” DiPietro said. “So, he is a steward of Boston College, and he is going to make sure that it is successful, that he cares more about the people in it.”
Davidson saw firsthand how Butler worked to provide a voice for many different members of the BC community.
“He was present,” Davidson said. “He made you feel safe. He made you feel wanted. He gave us a voice. He made us visible. He allows us to own and share our own stories?”
Butler supports the community through more than just conversation, though.
“He is a hands-on person,” Davidson said. “He’s something about Jack—he walked the talk.”
This hands-on approach translated into his leadership style in the workplace, Sacco said.
“He’s a guy that puts his money where his mouth is when it comes to supporting the people that work on his team,” Sacco said.
Sacco referenced Butler’s role in growing and developing the Montserrat program as evidence of his direct approach of supporting the BC community and the Division of Mission and Ministry.
“A lot of the work that Father Jack has really supported have been some of our programs—for example, our Montserrat Program that helps first year or helps students who are coming from low socioeconomic backgrounds,” Sacco said.
According to Davidson, Butler helped provide funding that enabled Montserrat to increase the number of students it served and also proposed a trip to Spain for Montserrat students to learn more about Ignatius of Loyola .
The first trip is set to occur this summer, Davidsion added.
“He was able to shepherd this program from a small seed to what it is today,” Davidson said.
Estelrich sees Butler as someone who looks out for the people who might otherwise go unheard or fly under the radar.
“I know that he has been real from the very beginning, since before he was vice president, always has been very attentive to the people who he is in the borders of society, or more suffering in that,” Estelrich said.
Sacco sees working with those suffering in the world as integral to the BC community, and he believes that Butler’s commitment to this aligns closely with the Jesuit values that guide the University.
“One thing that’s drawn me toward the charism of the order and the works that they do at the universities is that it’s a special place that you can go and receive a world class, top-notch academic experience,” Sacco said. “But also this notion of formative education that we believe in here about giving students opportunities to integrate what they’re learning in the classroom with how they’re living their lives.”
A large piece of Butler’s work of supporting underprivileged peoples occurs in his development of the Ministry to Priests Program.
The program provides pastoral care and services to priests in the area.
“It’s a very different life,” Siberski said. “And Jack is very aware of that, so this program was begun so that priests would have an opportunity to get some continuing education on a wide variety of topics that are relevant to priesthood.”
While Butler’s work focused primarily on students at the Division of Mission and Ministry, he is now tasked with supporting the entire BC community. Still, Ponsetto believes that his deep faith and genuine care for others will propel him in this new role.
“His own experience of faith animates the way that he treats and cares for other people, and I’ve not met many people that care more for our students,” Ponsetto said. “I’ve met very few people care as much as Jack does for our students and for the larger BC community and want to advocate for them and want to support them.”
Reactions Across Campus
The Board of Trustees asked presidential candidates to maintain confidentiality during the search process, according to multiple UMM administrators. Sacco partially attributes Butler’s silence during the process to his background in counseling.
“I think because Jack is a psychologist by training, he takes confidentiality very seriously,” Sacco said. “So, as funny and accessible and as approachable as he is, you can be assured that he also prioritizes discretion and confidentiality.”
When the team at the Division of Mission and Ministry got the news about Butler’s appointment, there were many different reactions.
Butler has been a friend and colleague of Modica’s for 22 years, so she was overjoyed upon receiving the news that he would be taking the new position.
“My first reaction was joy,” Modica said. “I think he is a marvelous choice to be the next president of this university. He’s been here for a long time. I think it’s a unique opportunity for us to have a president who’s from here, who’s one of us, knows the school already.”
DiPietro’s initial reaction was also one of joy, but it was also mixed with a touch of sadness, as her colleague and leader of 15 years would be leaving her office.
“So, there’s the part of me that is excited, and there’s also that little twinge of selfishness losing him, and I don’t want to lose him,” DiPietro said.
Ponsetto was both excited and surprised that Butler had been selected as University president.
“By surprise, I mean, institutions don’t always make the best decisions, right?” Ponsetto said. “There’s a feeling you’re like, ‘Wow, Boston College got it right.’”
But according to Ponsetto, the University could have asked almost anything of Butler and he would have stepped up to the job.
“If Jack had been told by his community, ‘Jack, you’re going to be the groundskeeper over at St. Mary’s Hall, and you’re going to mow the lawns, and then when you’re done with that, you’re going to mop the floors and clean the toilets,’ I have no doubt in my mind that Jack would say, ‘This is what they need me to do,’” Ponsetto said.
Sacco’s reaction mirrors the feelings of both faculty and students across campus.
“BC made a really good decision,” Sacco said. “A really good decision.”
Modica believes one of the greatest asset’s Butler brings to the presidency is his character.
“I’ve known Jack for a very long time, and he’s always been who he is,” Modica said. “He has values and standards that he has for himself, that he does not let go by the board. Who he was as director of vocations, who he has been as vice president for Mission and Ministry, have all been the same person.”
Ultimately, the excitement following the announcement has sparked hope for the future, DiPietro said.
“For the 15 years that I have worked for Father Jack, I have learned so much from him,” DiPietro said. “I am so grateful to him. He has been there for me professionally and personally. I can’t stress enough that BC made the right decision on this one. BC is only going to go up now.”
Looking Forward
Butler’s appointment comes at a critical moment for universities, according to Estelrich.
“It is not an easy moment for universities, well, for any university,” Estelrich said. “It is also not an easy moment for, it’s a politically delicate moment for the life of research, even for the international relationships and international students here, it is not an easy moment.”
Despite the challenges, Estelrich believes Butler is the right person to take on this job.
“We know how good he has been in Mission and Ministry, and we assume that he will be as good or better for the University,” Estelrich said.
Amid the conflict and turmoil the country is currently facing, Modica highlighted how students’ daily fears are likely to intensify—an aspect Butler will need to consider as University president.
“They’re worried about their parents’ ability to stay in this country,” Modica said. “They’re worried about rights being taken away from them.”
But Modica is confident in Butler’s ability to approach these issues tactfully and with a focus on student needs.
“Father Jack is someone who will listen and care about the needs of the students who are worried about their own ability to stay in this country,” Modica said.
His innate spirituality that he has fostered within the Division will translate into his new role, according to Modica.
“I believe he will take with him his overriding concern for the spiritual life of everybody around him into the presidency, and I think he will infuse the presidency with that,” Modica said.
At the heart of it all, Butler will rely on his experiences in Mission and Ministry, as a Jesuit, and as a pastoral counselor as he works to form BC’s future.
“One thing I can tell you, when you encounter him, you won’t leave the same way, and I’m speaking from experience, right?” Davidson said. “He’s a person who’s going to be with you when you’re in the valley, and when you’re on the mountain top.”
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