Profiles Of Second Year Novices 08-09

Grant Tungay, 28, South Africa

I met the Jesuits while studying at university in Cape Town in 1999. They taught me how to pray, and their positive spirituality and loving interaction with the students at the university left a mark on me. My heart stayed with the Jesuits when I left Cape Town to work in Johannesburg, and I realised that I wanted to make the same positive impact in the lives of other people. As a Jesuit novice I have worked with refugees and with patients at a hospice, sharing my experience of Christ in my life and learning more about God through interaction with the people I meet.

Grant took his Frist Vows on 5th September 2009 and now begins his philosophy studies.

Kensy Joseph, 27, Britain

Kensy grew up in Kuwait and India. He studied Computer Science and Engineering at university. Before entering the Society, he worked in management consulting and banking. Kensy loves chess, blogging, science fiction and Manchester United.
“Raised Catholic, I had drifted out of the Church by university. I was drawn back through a Charismatic retreat in 2002. As I discerned that God was calling me away from the world of computers and business, I began to look at apostolic orders with a passion for social justice, education and intellectual reflection. Once I met the Jesuits, I just knew this was it.”

Kensy took his Frist Vows on 5th September 2009 and now begins his philosophy studies.

Philip Harrison, 25, Britain

I grew up in Bristol and moved away to study English Literature at the University of Leeds. There, getting involved in the student chaplaincy opened my eyes to issues of social justice. After university, I worked with the homeless in Glasgow as part of the Jesuit Volunteer Community, and later lived with people with learning disabilities in Liverpool. These experiences helped me to deepen my faith and clarify my own calling.

Phil took his Frist Vows on 5th September 2009 and now begins his philosophy studies.

Many things have happened in the first nine months of the novitiate: befriending refugees, living in a deprived area of Dublin, completing the Spiritual Exercises. I have much to be grateful for!

Ricardo Da Silva, 24, South Africa

I was born in Portugal and later immigrated to South Africa. Worked in online marketing and website management for almost six years and studied communications before joining the Society of Jesus.

I was a catechist, preparing candidates to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation and was involved with youth and charismatic renewal groups in my home parish.  Through this involvement and an increasingly dissatisfying corporate career, God was calling me to consider my vocation to the priesthood and especially to Religious Life.  My friends told me about the Jesuits. They had met them as chaplains at university and were thoroughly impressed.

Ricardo took his Frist Vows on 5th September 2009 and now begins his philosophy studies.

Eddie Cosgrove, 32, Ireland

I grew up in Co. Leitrim, Ireland, and after completing a doctorate in civil engineering in Dublin, I worked for four years with a consultancy firm. From a desire to explore my faith, I came across Sli-Eile, a young adult Jesuit initiative in Dublin, and was attracted by their open, generous and creative engagement with young people in faith and justice. I participated in faith-sharing groups, pilgrimages, retreats and volunteering in Colombia and with the Jesuit Volunteer Community in Dublin, and found these activities to be life-giving, and enjoyed working with and for others. After studying spirituality I joined the Jesuits.

Eddie took his First Vows on 5th September 2009 and now goes on to begin Philosophy studies.