Tara Ludwig is a spiritual director and retreat leader at The Faber Institute in Portland. Having joined the Catholic faith through RCIA in 2009, Tara is formed in Ignatian spirituality and brings the depth of Ignatian thought and teaching to all her work, along with the real-world grit and wisdom of a life fully lived. But it is motherhood that has most impacted Tara’s spiritual formation, and her characteristic warmth and playfulness as a Mom is evident in all her works. She and her husband Matt (whom she met through the St. Ignatius young adult group in 2011) homeschool their three children, Cirocco (8), Sabina (5), and Gesumina (3). Tara enjoys mysteries, word puzzles, beachcombing, and board games. If she could ask God for two things, they would be world peace and a nap.
Jack Krouse, SJ, teaches French and Theology to freshmen at Jesuit High School in Beaverton, where he also serves as a chaplain to the school community — helping with student and faculty retreats, campus liturgies, and other sacramental ministry. He grew up in San Jose, California, where he attended Bellarmine College Prep, the Jesuit high school. After graduating from college, he served in the federal government in Washington, D.C., and entered the Jesuits in Los Angeles in 2010. Before coming to Portland for his first full-time mission as a priest, he received his theology degrees at Centre Sevres, the Jesuit theology and philosophy school in Paris, where he also served as one of the chaplains to the Catholic students of Sciences Po, the political science university in France.
Growing up in Montana’s “big sky” country, Linda Kaiel was nurtured in her love of God and nature, an indirect preparation for Laudato Si. Currently she serves as a catechist at the Franciscan Montessori Earth School. There she accompanies three year olds through twelve year olds as they form an authentic relationship with God. Outside the school setting, she prepares adults in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for this work of proclaiming God’s Word (and then stepping aside.) Travel for these adult courses has taken her to countries as varied as Uganda and Uzbekistan and to Kolkata, India to work with the Missionaries of Charity. She serves on her parish synodality committee, and at home cooks, gardens and enjoys family and a small flock of hens.
San Mai, SJ, was born in Vietnam and raised in Portland when his family settled here in 1975. He entered the Society of Jesuits in 2011 after working for more than twenty years in the corporate world of Silicon Valley. He was ordained at the height of the pandemic in July 2020 at St. Ignatius Parish, where he now serves as its associate pastor. Being an introvert, San’s favorite Jesuit saint is St. Peter Faber, also known as the “Quiet Companion.”
A current volunteer with Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) Northwest, Hannah Megan has found a new home in the community of St. Ignatius and the Portland area. She serves this year at POIC+Rosemary Anderson High School, where she engages with students in the outdoors and careers that support the natural world. Shaped by the values of a Jesuit university, and stepping away from two years in healthcare after graduating in 2020, Hannah is immensely grateful for the opportunity to encounter and grow in the mission of JVCNW.
Jean Madden grew up in a large Catholic family on a farm in Iowa. Her lifetime career as a registered nurse spanned more than 39 years before her retirement in 2021. She then obtained a Music-Thanatology certification, where harp and voice are used at the bedside of the sick and dying. Jean currently works for the nonprofit SacredFlight, which serves those in hospice, in-home, and residential care. Jean, her husband Pete, and their daughters Grace and Rosa have been members of St Ignatius Parish for 11 years.
Irene Powch is a first-generation immigrant who was brought to the U.S. at the age of 2 by her Ukrainian father and Austrian mother. She graduated from Our Lady of Angels in the Bronx, then attended a tiny public high school in the Catskills, Brown University for undergrad (grateful for financial aid!), and continued on with grad school (KU) to become a licensed clinical psychologist. She has been serving at the VA for more than 25 years, helping veterans with PTSD in their journeys of healing. She joined St. Ignatius when her son was ready for first Holy Communion (Micah is now 17), lectors when needed at the contemplative Mass, helps out with camera work at the 10:30 am Mass, and recently joined the Moms Group. Irene enjoys creative projects and roaming through beautiful wilderness. She loves the welcoming, joyful spirit that is alive at St. Ignatius!
Greg Carpinello serves as the Executive Director of Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) Northwest. His journey has been forever altered, shaped, and inspired by Jesuit schools (Go Xavier and Boston College), retreat centers, and parishes. One might say, he has been ruined for life by what he has seen, heard, and loved for the last 20+ years of working with people as they deepen their commitments to faith and justice. Outside of work, Greg is a woodworker and marathoner. Since moving from Cincinnati to Portland in 2020, Greg and his wife (Maura) and three sons (Andrew, Dominic, and Joshua) have called St. Ignatius home.
Gary Smith, SJ, lives and works in Portland. His studies include degrees from Santa Clara University, Gonzaga University and the University of Toronto. Most of his ministry has been with people on the edges: community organizing in Oakland, ministering to the homeless, addicted and incarcerated in Tacoma and Portland, and years working with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Africa and Greece. He is also a writer. His most recent book is Moments in the Breach: Meditations on Life and Ministry.