The Holy Name Church and the University Chaplaincy are served by the Jesuit Community here in Manchester. Currently there are four permanent members of the community, Fr Brendan Callaghan SJ, Fr William Pearsall SJ, Kensy Joseph SJ and Br Geoff teBraake SJ.
You'll also come across our Chaplaincy staff team which consists of Office Manager Stephanie Meredith, Interfaith Coordinator Hinna Parvez, Sister Cecilia Connolly FCJ and Sister Alicia Pérez FCJ.
FR BRENDAN CALLAGHAN SJ
Fr Brendan has spent most of his Jesuit life in university settings, but started life ‘living over the shop’, or rather the surgery, since both his parents were doctors in GP practice. Educated at Jesuit schools in the north-west of England, he had the good fortune to do a gap year in what is now Zimbabwe, teaching and working in a Jesuit school there, before entering the novitiate of the Jesuits in Edinburgh in 1967. Philosophy and theology studies at Heythrop were punctuated by five years of psychology at the universities of Oxford and Glasgow, leading to his qualifying as an NHS-trained-and-recognised Clinical Psychologist.
After his ordination in 1978, Brendan taught psychology of religion at Heythrop for thirty years, serving as Principal for thirteen of these years, before being appointed Master of Campion Hall Oxford for five years.
Alongside his academic work, Brendan was involved in Jesuit formation, living in the small communities of Jesuits dotted around London. He also worked in medical ethics, and was for a while the General Secretary of the Institute of Medical Ethics.
His early encounter with Africa, and subsequent friendships with South African Jesuits, led to a number of visits to South Africa over academic summers and during one sabbatical year.
From Campion Hall, Brendan was missioned in 2013 to the role of master (or director) of novices, looking after men embarking on the first stage of their Jesuit life. This work was disrupted by an encounter with cancer, involving initially emergency surgery but then some very uneventful chemotherapy; (score so far Brendan: 1, Lymphoma: 0).
And then came Manchester….
FR WILLIAM PEARSALL SJ
As a student Fr William studied Philosophy at Innsbruck in Austria. He joined the Jesuits in England in 1971, continued studies in Classics (Greats) at Oxford. Then William continued his theological studies at Heythrop in London. He was ordained in 1983 at Stamford Hill, London. Subsequently, he served the Church as a pastor to the down and outs in London and worked in Jesuit parishes in Glasgow and Paris.
After having worked with refugee groups in Norway and then the L'arche community in France, he served as Parish Priest at Farm St, London for 8 years. Fr William is passionate about music; he has given piano recitals and was organist at Campion Hall, Oxford. He also love literature, languages, the arts and science.
BR GEOFF TeBRAAKE SJ
Br Geoff was born in Zimbabwe and lived in Harare until he moved to South Africa when he was nine years old. After studying information technology he moved to England in 2000 to look for a job. He worked as a software developer, mostly in London, for several years.
His association with Mount Street Jesuit Centre (http://www.msjc.org.uk/) and Christian Life Community (http://www.clc-ew.org.uk/) played significant roles in his decision to investigate a vocation in the Society of Jesus. After two years based at the novitiate in Birmingham (https://manresaamigos.wordpress.com/) he moved to London to study philosophy and theology. He joined the team at the chaplaincy in September 2015.
KENSY JOSEPH SJ
Kensy was born in Kuwait of Indian parents. After graduating in Computer Science and Engineering, he worked in management consulting before moving to the UK to join the financial services industry. He entered the Jesuit noviciate in Birmingham in 2007 and took vows two years later. He subsequently completed an MA in Philosophy in London before being missioned to Limerick, Ireland, to teach philosophy, religion and mathematics at the Jesuit comprehensive school there. He returned to London to study for a Bachelor of Divinity degree. Kensy joined the Manchester Jesuit community in 2016 and is currently studying for an MA in Theology from the University of Manchester, as well as being on the chaplaincy team. He loves chess, table-tennis, science fiction, Game of Thrones, philosophy as well as science and maths.