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 Tim Byron 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, Communications Officer Lisa Burns, Interfaith Coordinator Hinna Parvez, and Sister Cecilia FCJ.
FR TIM BYRON SJ
Fr Tim was born in Merseyside in 1974. After studying Philosophy at Edinburgh and working to pay off his student debt, he entered the Jesuits in 1998. After further studies including Education and Psychology in London and Theology in Madrid, he was ordained a priest in 2007 in Wimbledon.
His main work has been in secondary education as a qualified teacher and chaplain in London. Also, he helped to set up schools in Karnataka, India and in Dodoma, Tanzania. 2012 was a special year spent in the Philippines and India on Tertianship which entailed further study and living in the slums of Manila, in a leper colony and with the so-called 'untouchables' in India. He arrived in Manchester in September 2012, to take over the running of the chaplaincy.
Tim is a keen cyclist, fisherman and stargazer. He feels most at home in wilderness and loves mountains and islands. A keen football fan too, he occasionally slips off to Anfield to watch the five- time European Cup winners, his beloved Liverpool. In his spare time he designs websites, tweets about Jesuit History and blogs . You can follow him on twitter @timsj or @jesuithistory.
Read Fr Tim's blog HERE
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
You'll also come across our Chaplaincy staff team which consists of Office Manager Stephanie Meredith, Communications Officer Lisa Burns, Interfaith Coordinator Hinna Parvez, and Sister Cecilia FCJ.
FR TIM BYRON SJ
Fr Tim was born in Merseyside in 1974. After studying Philosophy at Edinburgh and working to pay off his student debt, he entered the Jesuits in 1998. After further studies including Education and Psychology in London and Theology in Madrid, he was ordained a priest in 2007 in Wimbledon.
His main work has been in secondary education as a qualified teacher and chaplain in London. Also, he helped to set up schools in Karnataka, India and in Dodoma, Tanzania. 2012 was a special year spent in the Philippines and India on Tertianship which entailed further study and living in the slums of Manila, in a leper colony and with the so-called 'untouchables' in India. He arrived in Manchester in September 2012, to take over the running of the chaplaincy.
Tim is a keen cyclist, fisherman and stargazer. He feels most at home in wilderness and loves mountains and islands. A keen football fan too, he occasionally slips off to Anfield to watch the five- time European Cup winners, his beloved Liverpool. In his spare time he designs websites, tweets about Jesuit History and blogs . You can follow him on twitter @timsj or @jesuithistory.
Read Fr Tim's blog HERE
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
