Timothy R. Breen Biography

Tim was born and raised in Redondo Beach, California, where he, his parents and his brother, John, were all very involved in the local parish. He first got to know the Jesuits at Loyola High School of Los Angeles. Tim began college at Loyola University Chicago where he was a member of the Ignatian Leadership Learning Community. Sister Jean, chaplain of the men’s basketball team at Loyola, recommended him for a job in campus ministry, but vocation questions were stirring. Tim left college after his freshman year to enter the Jesuit novitiate in Culver City, California. As a novice, Tim served as a hospital chaplain at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, California, and later studied at the University of San Francisco while ministering at St. Ignatius Parish. After making first vows, he returned to Loyola Chicago, graduating with a double major in philosophy and Spanish. While in Chicago, Tim taught confirmation classes in Spanish at St. Procopius Parish. He also served as chaplain to the Loyola Chicago men’s soccer team and briefly was the goalkeeping coach for Loyola women’s soccer, including for a trip to Italy. Tim spent his first two years of regency at Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, Washington, where he taught Spanish, coached boys’ and girls’ soccer, and served as assistant athletic director. He then was missioned to Omaha, Nebraska, joining the coaching staff of Creighton University’s men’s and women’s soccer teams. Tim studied theology at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, completing Master of Divinity and Master of Theology degrees while serving as a deacon at St. Ignatius Church in Chestnut Hill and as chaplain for Boston College’s baseball team. He will celebrate his first Mass at his home parish, American Martyrs in Manhattan Beach, California. After ordination, he will pursue a master’s degree in sports administration at Gonzaga University in Spokane while doing pastoral work on campus and in town.