Photo provided by Br. Jimmy Henke, C.S.C.
I have long felt a call to go to foreign lands. In high school, I loved learning about the Jesuit missionaries to both South and North America. I was inspired by the movie Motorcycle Diaries and dreamed of visiting the fabled Andes Mountains. In college I studied Arabic, spent a summer in Israel and Palestine, and took Islamic studies courses. While many of my peers would talk about wanting to backpack Europe or dream of visiting the great European cities, I wanted to see the street markets of Damascus, the slums of Lima, and the sites of the martyrs of El Salvador. Joining a religious community that was active and growing in places like Uganda, India, and Ghana spoke to my heart. I knew that this community could provide me a chance to encounter various cultures, learn from diverse peoples, and broaden my vision for God’s work in the world.
Some of this bore fruit during my time in formation when I was privileged to spend a total of 9 months in Bangladesh over a couple stints. And some of the internationality of Holy Cross has borne fruit for me in an unexpected way recently.
For three weeks in May-June this year, I traveled from King’s College in Pennsylvania to Notre Dame to join 20 of my Holy Cross brothers for the Congregational Leadership Program. This leadership program brought together priests and brothers from nearly all of our jurisdictions around the world. We took classes together, played legendary Indian card games, shared our experiences, and prayed together as brothers.
Of all the great learning experiences we had, many of us agreed that one of the most impactful was sharing case studies with each other. Guided by Notre Dame professor Stacey Noem, we each prepared a case study from our ministry assignments. The goal was to prepare a study that could open up conversations about the contexts in which we serve, the theological and spiritual insights from our work, pastoral strategies to address challenging situations, and how we were continuing to deepen our sense of who we are as priests and brothers of Holy Cross.
In my small group, we had the pastor of a parish in the slums outside Nairobi, a brother who was principal of a Holy Cross high school in Bangladesh, a pastor of a very diverse and challenging parish in India, a vocations director from our brothers in Ghana who also has worked at the diocesan level on Catholic education — the experiences this group of Holy Cross religious had to draw from were so rich and inspiring.
I have long felt the draw towards leaving my homeland and going out on mission to love God’s people. Little did I know that joining Holy Cross would also provide me with brothers from all around the world who could help me unpack my experiences, sharpen my pastoral strategies, and deepen my commitment to Christ. Joining an international community means so much more than I had previously thought. I give thanks to God for the missionary zeal of Holy Cross and how that has enriched both our work and our lives.
By Br. Jimmy Henke, C.S.C.
Provided by the Vocations Office, July 8, 2026
