Father Sylvester G. Tan, SJ

NEW ORLEANS—Four men were ordained as priests of the Society of Jesus, U.S. Central and Southern Province, on June 10 in New Orleans. Sylvester G. Tan, who grew up near Atlanta, and was a parishioner of Our Lady of Assumption Church, was one of the four.

Father Tan, 38, grew up in the Atlanta area, where he was active in Boy Scouts, attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. He helped to inaugurate the Venturing program and became the first recipient of its Silver Award. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in environmental studies in 2000 at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He entered the Jesuits in 2006. He worked in campus ministry at Loyola University New Orleans, where he was named 2014 Honors Professor of the Year. He returned to Regis College at the University of Toronto to complete a master of divinity degree. After ordination, Father Tan will serve as associate pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in New Orleans.

He celebrated two Masses of Thanksgiving, including one at Our Lady of the Assumption in Atlanta on July 2.

Preparation for ordination in the Society of Jesus takes from eight to 12 years. The four are among 31 new Jesuit priests ordained in the United States and Canada this year.