Baltimore's Legacy of Jesuit Education: A Conversation with Fr. Bill Watters, SJ

A Jesuit vocation can mean a lot of things: there are Jesuits in medicine, astronomy, international relief and development, journalism, publishing and so much more. But perhaps the line of work most often associated with Jesuits is education. Fr. Bill Watters is passionate about education—and he’s my guest today. Fr. Watters knows the value an education can have on an individual and a community. And he’s spent a good number of years expanding the educational opportunities available to young people by founding schools in the varied and diverse communities in Baltimore, Maryland. Fr. Watters has been a priest for more than 50 years, and he shares, here, reflections and stories from the many people he’s encountered over that time. His memory for people—their names, their faces, their stories—constantly amazes me. It’s one of the reasons he was such a beloved pastor of St. Ignatius Church in Downtown Baltimore, transforming the parish from a struggling institution on the verge of closure to the vibrant community it is today.