By Tracey Primrose
On Saturday, September 14, Dominic Chai, SJ, was ordained to the diaconate at St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish on the campus of Boston College. Dominic, one of eight Jesuits ordained that day, is a third-year theology student at the Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry.
In his homily, the Most Revered Robert Reed, auxiliary bishop of Boston, said, “This day, you begin by placing all of your gifts, your very selves at the service of God’s good people. This is a moment to rejoice in God’s care for the Church and for the Jesuit ministry and mission, which extends from the seat of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, to this very gathering this morning.”
Bishop Reed continued, “As members of the Society of Jesus, the Church calls you today to service, yes, the Lord himself, our dearest friend calls you, he knows what he is doing. … How God has prepared you is, in part, beyond our understanding, and how he will use you for the salvation of the world is at this moment, likewise, hidden from our minds.”
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to the Church and to the world of Christ, who came ‘to serve and not to be served.’ As ministers of the Word, deacons proclaim the Gospel, preach and teach in the name of the Church. As ministers of Sacrament, deacons baptize, lead the faithful in prayer, witness marriages, and conduct wake and funeral services. As ministers of Charity, deacons are leaders in identifying the needs of others, then marshaling the Church’s resources to meet those needs.”
During his Jesuit formation, Dominic earned a master’s degree in theological studies from Loyola University Chicago. During the pandemic, he was missioned to the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, where he co-coordinated the Vatican COVID-19 Commission’s Economy Taskforce. Responding to Pope Francis’ call for human fraternity, Dominic contributed to several critical initiatives: supporting debt relief efforts for impoverished nations; engaging with various agencies in the international development sector to address child labor; and cultivating partnerships to implement the teachings of Laudato Si’.
For the Jesuits West Province, Dominic serves on the Investment Committee and, recently, on the Apostolic Planning Implementation Committee. He is also collaborating with the International Association of Jesuit Business Schools to explore how Jesuit higher education can address contemporary societal challenges. While finishing his S.T.L. (Sacred Theology Licentiate) thesis on ecclesiology, he is serving as a deacon at St. Ignatius Parish in preparation for his priestly ordination next June.
