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The Servants of Christ Jesus (abbreviated SCJ) is a Catholic private association of the faithful in the Ignatian and Franciscan traditions, following the formula of the Institute of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and based in Denver, Colorado.

Two of its members, Paul Kostka and John Ignatius, were commissioned by Pope Francis as Missionaries of Mercy for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2016.

History

The Servants were founded on Ash Wednesday of 2004, by then-Franciscan University students Matthew Fenter and Aron Little who had both been inspired to found a religious order through the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. Bishop Robert Conlon of the Diocese of Steubenville received their request to form an association of the lay Christian faithful. The two men offered their First Professions on October 29, 2005, and received the black cassocks (the habits for professed brothers) and new names: Brother Paul Fenter and Brother John Ignatius.

In June 2006, the community moved to the Archdiocese of Denver at the invitation of Archbishop Charles Chaput, in large part due to the presence of Saint John Vianney Seminary there. In 2009, Chaput recognized the group as an Association of the Lay Christian Faithful in the Archdiocese, and in 2013 Archbishop Samuel Aquila recognized them as a Clerical Association of the Faithful under the Code of Canon Law.

On May 18, 2013, the two founders, Frs Paul Kostka and John Ignatius, were ordained as the first priests of the community by Aquila in the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. The community's third and most recently ordained priest is Fr. James Claver, who became a priest in May 2016. Fr. Paul Kostka and Fr. John Ignatius, were commissioned by Pope Francis as Missionaries of Mercy for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2016. As of April 2022, the community has ten total members: three priests and seven brothers in formation.

Promises, prayer and apostolates

Members of the Servants take promises to the Evangelical Counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, as do most Catholic religious orders and communities. A special focus is given to evangelical poverty, with each member of the community only having 2 or 3 sets of clothes, the community abstaining from meat on Wednesdays and only consuming bread and water on Fridays, and each Servant making a month-long poverty pilgrimage with only a change of clothes and a Bible.

A life of common prayer is central to the spirituality of the Servants—Daily Mass and a Holy Hour, along with common recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours, weekly Confession, and yearly Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola are observed by the whole community, the community states.

They are involved in various apostolates, including high school and college campus ministry, youth apostolates such as Catholic Youth Summer Camp and LifeTeen, family ministry through the men's Patriarch program, as chaplains to groups such as the Augustine Institute, University of Denver, and United States Naval Academy as well as the core missions of preaching, teaching, and spiritual direction.

References

1. "Our Community". Servants of Christ Jesus. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
2. ^ "Pope Francis designates three Denver priests as Missionaries of Mercy". Denver Catholic. Denver, CO: Archdiocese of Denver. 2016-02-25. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
3. "Full History". Servants of Christ Jesus. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
4. "Servants of Christ Jesus minister through preaching, teaching, spiritual direction". The Troubadour Online. Steubenville, OH: Franciscan University of Steubenville. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
5. ^ Tschanz, Anne (2019-10-22). "Servants of Christ Jesus Approved as an IRL Affiliate Community". Vocation Blog. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
6. "No longer servants, but friends of Christ". Denver Catholic. Denver, CO: Archdiocese of Denver. 2015-03-02. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
7. "Meet Denver's newest priests: James Claver and Matthew Magee". Denver Catholic. Denver, CO: Archdiocese of Denver. 2016-05-16. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
8. "Vision". Servants of Christ Jesus. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
9. "Community". Servants of Christ Jesus. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
10. "Prayer". Servants of Christ Jesus. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
11. "Patriarchmen.org". Patriarchmen.org. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
12. "Rev. James Claver, S.C.J." archden.org. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
13. "Spiritual Life | The Cultural Center | University of Denver". www.du.edu. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
14. "Apostolates". Servants of Christ Jesus. Retrieved 2022-04-06.

v t e Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver
Ordinaries	Bishops Joseph Projectus Machebeuf Nicholas Chrysostom Matz John Henry Tihen Archbishops Urban John Vehr James Vincent Casey James Stafford Charles J. Chaput Samuel J. Aquila
Auxiliary bishops	David Monas Maloney George Roche Evans Richard Charles Patrick Hanifen José Horacio Gómez James D. Conley Jorge Rodríguez-Novelo
Churches	Cathedral Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Parishes Annunciation Church, Denver St. Dominic's Church, Denver St. Ignatius Loyola Church, Denver St. Joseph's Church, Denver Holy Ghost Catholic Church, Denver St. Joseph's (Polish) Church, Denver St. Anthony's Church, Sterling Chapels Chapel on the Rock St. Patrick Mission Church, Denver
Education	Higher education Regis University Augustine Institute Seminary Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary High schools Arrupe Jesuit High School, Denver Bishop Machebeuf Catholic High School, Denver Holy Family High School, Broomfield Mullen High School, Denver Our Lady of the Rosary Academy, Mountain View Regis Jesuit High School, Aurora St. Mary's Academy, Cherry Hills Village Former high schools Marycrest Girls High School, Denver Colorado Catholic Academy, Wheat Ridge
Priests	Hubert Newell R. Walker Nickless John Baptist Pitaval
Miscellany	John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization Our Lady of the New Advent Servants of Christ Jesus
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