Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
Students and campus visitors often tell me that Creighton University ‘feels like home.' One of the main reasons they feel at home here is the Jesuit community at the heart of our campus and our mission.
Photo gallery: See what the Jérôme Nadal, SJ, Jesuit Residence looks like on the inside.
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By Micah Mertes
This month, members of Creighton University’s Jesuit community will move into their new home, the Jérôme Nadal, SJ, Jesuit Residence.
The 37,779-square-foot building stands along 24th Street at the east edge of the Jesuit Gardens, behind Creighton Hall and St. John’s Church. In addition to a living space, the Jesuit Residence will serve as a venue for students, faculty, staff, alumni and Omaha partners participating in Mass, spiritual counseling, tutoring, mentoring and mission-based programs.
"Students and campus visitors often tell me that Creighton University ‘feels like home,’” said Creighton President the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD. “One of the main reasons they feel at home here is the Jesuit community at the heart of our campus and our mission.
“The addition of the Jérôme Nadal, SJ, Jesuit Residence makes our community an even more accessible resource, particularly for students seeking academic, cultural and spiritual growth.”
The new residence will include 28 bedrooms for Creighton Jesuits, a 961-square-foot chapel, a dining hall, a library and several spaces for spiritual activities.
The residence will also support the Creighton Jesuits’ work in Omaha and the broader global Jesuit community, hosting meetings and fellowship for those from Creighton Prep, Jesuit Academy middle school in North Omaha, Cloisters on the Platte and the Creighton Retreat Center in Griswold, Iowa. Jesuit scholars visiting from around the world will stay in the facility’s guestrooms.
The Jesuit Residence was made possible by lead gifts from Teri and Ron Quinn, BSBA’70, MBA’76; Mary Pat, BS’62, and Dick McCormick, HON’88; Physicians Mutual and the Reed Family; Ann and Ken Stinson; and Nancy and Mike McCarthy.
Ron and Teri Quinn said the Jérôme Nadal Residence will serve as a visible sign of Jesuit presence and commitment on Creighton’s campus.
“We were grateful to be part of the group leading the effort to bring this project to reality, and we are pleased to see the completion of such a beautiful building,” the Quinns said. “The intention is that it serves as a welcoming, home-like environment for Jesuit residents and guests.
“But even more important than the building is our hope that the presence of the Holy Spirit will be felt by — and faith strengthened in — all who reside and visit here. We are hopeful this new residence will inspire faculty, staff and students and foster vocations to carry on the work of Jesuits and the Church here at Creighton and throughout the world.”
Mary Pat and Dick McCormick said their interest in supporting the space stemmed from the residence’s Our Lady of Montserrat Chapel, named for the shrine and monastery near Manresa, Spain, that St. Ignatius visited in 1522.
“We wanted to support our priests with a beautiful place of prayer that reflects our support for Ignatian spirituality and Creighton, as well as for others who may use it,” the McCormicks said.
“Being removed from the distractions and noise of our world is essential in life. Our lives all depend on peace and purpose. A beautiful chapel brings us to that place of light and refuge.”
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Students strongly connected to Creighton’s values said they think the Jesuit Residence will deepen their ties to the University’s mission and the Jesuit community.
“The Jesuits and the Jesuit mission are maybe the biggest reason I chose Creighton,” said Ella Hoffman, a Class of 2026 social work major. “The values resonate with me, and they’re integrated into everything we do here. It really feels like Creighton is forming different kinds of students by implementing these values in everyday life.”
Hoffman said the Jesuits set the example for the rest of the University. One instance she mentioned involved her good friend the Rev. Jeff Sullivan, SJ, BA’03, who leads spiritual retreats through the Campus Ministry program.
One time, when she was having a particularly bad day, Hoffman ran into Fr. Sullivan in the Harper Center. He stopped her and said, “You look like you’re having a tough day. Can I pray over you?”
That’s something you can’t find at almost any other university, Hoffman said.
“There are just so many things that make this campus unique. From the way my social work professors connect my future profession to Catholic social teaching to the sense of community I feel with other students coming together for 9 p.m. Mass.”
Most of all, she said, it’s the joy and love of service displayed every day by Jesuits like Fr. Sullivan.
Fr. Sullivan was once a Creighton student heavily influenced by the Jesuits himself.
The first person he met at Creighton was a Jesuit. On an admissions tour, he and his parents chatted with the Rev. Greg Carlson, SJ, for an hour. Over his next four years as an undergraduate, Fr. Sullivan worked with such Jesuits as the Rev. Dick Hauser, SJ, who shaped his worldview and led him down the path to priesthood.
“I think I was formed to be a Jesuit because of Creighton,” Fr. Sullivan said. “The Jesuits helped me reimagine what it means to be Catholic. It’s not just doing the right thing or going to Mass but also being concerned about the poor and the marginalized.”
Andrew Triplett, a Class of 2026 accounting and finance major in the Heider College of Business, sees those concerns applied to many aspects of his program’s curriculum.
“The values are impacting my life in a way I’ve tried to embrace and make a part of who I am,” Triplett said. “The Jesuits, and by extension, my professors, have done such a good job of deeply instilling those values, such as how it’s not just about the bottom line; it’s about how your decisions impact those around you.
“These values will spill over into the career I choose and the person I hope to become.”
The person that former Creighton student the Rev. James Clifton, SJ, became was nothing like he expected.
Fr. Clifton, BSBA’79, associate dean of Mission and Identity in the School of Medicine, started his journey nearly 50 years ago, as a Creighton business freshman.
By this time, he already had a job he loved, working in the legal department of a phone company. He thought he’d be there forever. But his plans were soon spoiled.
“And I thank God for that,” Fr. Clifton said. “My plans changed as I met Jesuits and members of Campus Ministry. Through them, I discovered a faith that was a lot more grounded in making a difference in real life. As an alumnus and now a Jesuit, I believe that Creighton does as remarkable a job as any Jesuit university in the nation at inviting everyone into our world.”
Now, when he sees others’ plans “ruined” in the best way, it sparks a particular kind of joy in Fr. Clifton.
“Creighton students don’t often follow a linear, undisturbed path. They come here to discover who they are, their very best selves, their best way to serve God in the world.”
How many new paths, he wonders, will be forged at the Jérôme Nadal, SJ, Jesuit Residence?
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Adam Boblenz’ path has already veered since he started at Creighton.
The Class of 2026 accounting and finance major attended a Catholic high school, but the Jesuit values were new to him his freshman year at Creighton. Nearly two years later, he’s all in. These values are steering the course of his education and Creighton experience.
We presented Boblenz with a hypothetical:
If he were explaining the Jesuits to a prospective Creighton student who is unfamiliar, how would he describe them?
“I would say the Jesuit community is a really strong, devoted group of men who you can always go to and talk to if you need spiritual direction, advice on your vocation or even just friendly personal conversation,” Boblenz said.
“Maybe you’re having a hard time discerning, ‘Do I want to raise a family? Do I want to get this job? Do I want to continue my education? Do I want to enter religious life in some regard?’
“If you need to discuss those questions, the Jesuits are always there. You can always find one at Mass, walking down the Mall, up in the rocking chairs in front of Creighton Hall or at a Super Bowl party they’re hosting in the basement of St. John’s.”
Now, with the opening of the Jérôme Nadal, SJ, Jesuit Residence, Creighton and the Jesuits have created a powerful new way to be there for all students who are seeking spiritual guidance, a kind word and a friendly face in a beautiful new space.
Photo gallery: See what the Jérôme Nadal, SJ, Jesuit Residence looks like on the inside.
