Raymond Anthony Parcon, SJ, was born and raised in the Philippines and is the eldest of two children. As an undergraduate at Ateneo de Davao University, he met the Jesuits while studying for his mechanical engineering degree. After college, he served briefly in local politics and then moved to the United States to pursue graduate studies in software engineering at National University. After working in sales engineering for a few years, Raymond went back to school to pursue graduate studies in cyber security at National University before joining Jesuits West. As a novice, he accompanied Yu’pik communities in Alaska; worked with the Jesuit Restorative Justice Initiative (JRJI) by visiting detention centers and prisons in California; and worked as a prison chaplain at San Quentin State Prison. After professing first vows, he studied social philosophy at Loyola University Chicago while volunteering as a hospital chaplain at Loyola University Medical Center. For his regency, Raymond was missioned back to San Quentin State Prison. He gave the Spiritual Exercises retreat of St. Ignatius of Loyola to people behind bars; was chaplain for the English and Spanish choir; ministered to people on death row; and provided pastoral support to corrections officers. He also was active with the Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition. Raymond studied theology at Regis College at the University of Toronto, earning a Master of Divinity degree while serving as a deacon and spiritual director at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. During his summer breaks, he accompanied refugees from Africa, the Middle East and Ukraine through the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Malta and Romania. He will celebrate his first Mass at San Quentin State Prison. After ordination, Raymond will spend one month working with JRS Europe in Brussels, Belgium, and then head to Georgetown University to pursue a master’s degree in international migration and refugees.
