A Catholic rebel with a cause

The first and only biography of Father Joseph Fessio, S.J., is published

SAN FRANCISCO — In a biography that reads more like a Catholic adventure novel, the only biography of Father Joseph Fessio, S.J., has finally been published by his own publishing company. Written by one of Fessio’s earliest Jesuit mentors, historian Father Cornelius Buckley, S.J., FATHER JOSEPH FESSIO, S.J.: CALIFORNIA BLACKROBE (Ignatius Press) tells the story of the founder and editor of Ignatius Press and the University of San Francisco’s Saint Ignatius Institute.

Buckley was born in California in 1925, served in the Navy during World War II, and graduated from the University of Santa Clara in 1950, the same year he joined the Jesuits. After his studies, he was a professor of history at the University of San Francisco until his retirement in 1998. In 2004, he became a chaplain at Thomas Aquinas College, a position he held until 2022, when he moved to the “Jesuit Finishing School,” his term for the Society of Jesus’ retirement community in Los Gatos, California. Here, he awaits his final assignment.

FATHER JOSEPH FESSIO, S.J.: CALIFORNIA BLACKROBE is a fast-paced, in-depth biography of a young man who was both reckless and determined — not a great combination at that age — and who would suddenly enter the Society of Jesus at age twenty and, by divine providence, find himself studying under three of the greatest theological minds of the twentieth century: Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).

Nothing is held back in FATHER JOSEPH FESSIO, S.J.: CALIFORNIA BLACKROBE – readers get hysterical glimpses into the engine rooms of Catholic institutions, warts and all. Father Buckley’s trademark wit shines through in this robust yet unsentimental study of Fessio’s unique life and demonstrates what effective Christian missionary work can look like in the age of media.

“As the light of Christian faith flickers across the West, one American priest leads on with inimitable brilliance,” said Mary Eberstadt, author of Adam and Eve after the Pill. “His name is Fr.  Joseph Fessio. Together with the officer corps at Ignatius Press, he fortifies the Catholic front line with unequaled intellectual firepower. As Fr. Cornelius Buckley’s charming inside account reveals, Fr. Fessio’s secret is a single weapon, brandished joyously and without apology: truth.”

For more information, to request a media review copy, or to schedule an interview with Father Cornelius Michael Buckley, please contact Kevin Wandra (404-788-1276 or KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com) of Carmel Communications.

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