The first and only biography of Father Joseph Fessio, S.J., is published

SAN FRANCISCO — In a biography that reads more like a Catholic adventure novel, the only biography of Father Joseph Fessio, S.J., has finally been published by his own publishing company. Written by one of Fessio’s earliest Jesuit mentors, historian Father Cornelius Buckley, S.J., FATHER JOSEPH FESSIO, S.J.: CALIFORNIA BLACKROBE (Ignatius Press) tells the story of the founder and editor of Ignatius Press and the University of San Francisco’s Saint Ignatius Institute.

Buckley was born in California in 1925, served in the Navy during World War II, and graduated from the University of Santa Clara in 1950, the same year he joined the Jesuits. After his studies, he was a professor of history at the University of San Francisco until his retirement in 1998. In 2004, he became a chaplain at Thomas Aquinas College, a position he held until 2022, when he moved to the “Jesuit Finishing School,” his term for the Society of Jesus’ retirement community in Los Gatos, California. Here, he awaits his final assignment. | More

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