Vocations Team – Framed Round

Fr. Radmar Jao, SJ, is the Director of Vocations for the USA West province. He is originally from Valparaiso, Indiana and a graduate of Indiana University. He was an award winning actor in Los Angeles, appearing on film, TV, and stage before entering the Jesuits in 2001. Fr. Radmar now uses his acting skills to witness to his faith and calling as a Jesuit priest. Prior to his ordination in 2011, he chronicled his path to priesthood in a series of YouTube videos, before serving as the vocation promoter for the former California Province. He later returned to Hollywood for a few years when he was missioned to be a full-time actor once again. Most recently, he served as the associate chaplain for the students at Boise State University and coordinator for FirePit Ministry, an inter-parish, post-college, young adult ministry in Boise, Idaho. He is a seasoned spiritual director who is passionate about Ignatian Spirituality and ministering to young adults in their 20’s and 30’s, especially with Christus Ministries. Fr. Radmar recently completed the final stage of Jesuit formation called tertianship in Salamanca, Spain, and is excited to call the LMU Jesuit Community home for the next few years. During his free time, he enjoys CrossFit, hiking, cooking, baking, watching movies, good conversations, and people who make him laugh. (UWEVocationDirector@jesuits.org)

Fr. Andrew Laguna, SJ, is the vocation promoter for the Jesuits West Province. He was ordained in June 2019. After ordination, he served at a Jesuit parish in Tabasco, Mexico for several months before starting his current assignment as an associate pastor at Most Holy Trinity Church in San Jose. As an undergrad at the University of California, Irvine, Fr. Laguna was a pre-med biology major, but during his senior year he realized that he did not want to be a doctor. He began considering a vocation to the priesthood when he realized that the greatest source of joy and fulfillment in his life came from retreat ministry to Confirmation students at his home parish of St. Paul the Apostle in Chino Hills. He learned more about Ignatian spirituality and the Society of Jesus through a single Jesuit priest missioned to serve the Catholic community at UC Irvine. He is looking forward to accompanying the people of God at Most Holy Trinity and continuing to grow in his priesthood. (alaguna@jesuits.org)

Victor Cancino, SJ, studied at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. He lives on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana where serves as pastor to the local communities. He first met the Jesuits at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. The rest is history. It was at LMU where he fell in love with scripture and Ignatian Spirituality fostered by the many Jesuits who dedicated their life to study, scholarship, and to an ever-expansive vision of God. His favorite communities he has lived in since entering the Society include, San Salvador, North St. Louis, Brighton, Massachusetts, Xiamen, China, Boyle Heights in Los Angeles, Rome, Italy, and Hollywood. Of course, his most favorite place is where he lives now in St. Ignatius, MT, on the Rez among the Salish, Kootenai, and non-native Montanans. If you visit him, please bring as your peace offering a vinyl of your choice to add to his ever-expansive record collection.

Fr. Greg Celio, SJ, serves as one of the part-time regional promoters for the Northwest region of the USA West province.  He recently completed his theology studies at Regis College of the University of Toronto and was ordained to the priesthood this past July.  In addition to being a regional promoter, Fr. Greg teaches and serves as a campus minister at Seattle Preparatory School.  Fr. Greg discerned his way to the Jesuits while teaching in Catholic schools. As a Jesuit, he has enjoyed living in Mexico and Canada and considers relationships among diverse people to be one of the greatest gifts he’s received. (gcelio@jesuits.org)

Dan is a graduate of Strake Jesuit College Preparatory in Houston and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. While teaching primary school in Greater Phoenix, he earned a master's degree in education from Arizona State University. After entering the Jesuit novitiate in 2011, Dan attended Saint Louis University in Missouri for First Studies and was a social studies teacher at Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, WA for his Regency assignment. After graduating from Santa Clara University's Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Dan returned to Spokane as the associate pastor of St. Aloysius Gonzaga Parish, his first mission as an ordained priest. He enjoys travelling, hiking, racquetball, antiquing and handwriting cards.

Fr. Matthew Pyrć, SJ, serves as one of the part-time regional promoters for the Northwest region of the USA West province and is the Parochial Vicar at St. Joseph Parish in Seattle. He recently completed his tertianship in South Africa. Before entering the Society in 2006, he worked for 10 years with the Spokane Public School System on a dropout prevention program for underserved youth. Since becoming a Jesuit, Fr. Pyrć has worked in campus ministry at Seattle University, taught Theology and was the director of liturgy at Jesuit High School in Sacramento. He also has several years experience of being a Spiritual Director, assisting people in their vocational discernment and giving Ignatian retreats. When he is not working or meeting with people you may find Fr. Pyrć riding his bike, kayaking, or laughing at memes. A great grace in Fr. Pyrć's Jesuit vocation has been discovering how the Spirit of God is working and how to recognize it. (mpyrc@jesuits.org)

An Nguyen Vu has been a Jesuit since 2016. Growing up in a practicing Vietnamese Catholic family, the thought of religious life never entered his mind as he trudged on through life studying pre-dentistry. Yet, God has a strange but albeit gentle way of leading him along a circuitous route to the Society of Jesus. Through three years of off and on discernment with a Jesuit spiritual director, he finally committed to applying to the Society after a 2015 discernment retreat in Portland. Flashing forward, he recently finished his philosophical studies at Loyola University of Chicago and just now entered the ‘regency’ phase of the Jesuit formation, which involves working as a member of the vocation team for the West Province of the Society of Jesus. In his spare time, he enjoys horror slasher flicks, Chinese net novels and painting digital art. He also adores cats and possesses a wry sense of humor.