Two religious orders serving in the Archdiocese of Atlanta shared some news.

LaSalette Father Phil M. Negley, of Friendswood, Texas, was recently elected provincial superior of the

Missionaries of Our Lady of LaSalette, Province of Mary, Mother of the Americas, at their Provincial Chapter held in Orlando, Fla.

Father Negley has been pastor of Mary Queen Catholic Church in Friendswood, Texas, for the past eight years. He recently directed the construction of the new Mary Queen Church.

Also, the Jesuits of the Maryland Province will soon extend their ministry to Georgia and South Carolina. The reconfiguration of this geographical boundary shared with the New Orleans Province comes out of strategic discernment that began in 2004.

Jesuits began ministry in Georgia and South Carolina in 1887, making the region part of the New Orleans Mission. Their ministry in the Southeast includes three parishes, a novitiate house and a retreat center, Ignatius House Retreat Center in Atlanta, which offers spiritual counseling and directed retreats.

The official transfer is to occur on Jan. 1, 2013, with Maryland Jesuits at the center in June 2013. They will be supported by the present Jesuit community, which has helped sustain this beacon of Ignatian spirituality in Atlanta for the last 50 years.

Jesuit Father James Shea, provincial of the Maryland Province, said he hopes to build up the order’s efforts in the city, where an invitation has been issued to the Society of Jesus to participate in the inception of a new Cristo Rey School in Atlanta.