William C. Manaker spent much of his younger years in Alexandria attending St. Rita Parish and School and graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
Originally born in the UK, Manaker comes from a military family. He lived in California, Utah and South Carolina before settling in Alexandria in 2005. He first followed his call to priesthood when he became an altar server in middle school.
That desire came to fruition June 14 when he was ordained a Jesuit priest in the USA Central and Southern Province in New Orleans.
He attended the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., where he earned degrees in philosophy and Catholic studies. During his time there, he was a member of an intentional living community and the Fraternity of St. Michael, prompting him to consider a vocation to religious life.
He spent his sophomore year of college studying in Rome, where he first encountered the Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits. When he returned, with the encouragement of one of his professors, he entered the novitiate for the Jesuits in Grand Coteau, La., shortly after his graduation in 2014.
He earned a master’s in English at Loyola University Chicago and then taught at De Smet Jesuit High School in St. Louis. He worked in campus ministry and was the assistant coach for the cross country and track and field teams.
After three years, he was sent to study at Boston College’s Clough School of Theology and Ministry, where he earned a master of divinity and began a licentiate in sacred theology, which he will complete in Boston. During this time, he served as a deacon at St. Columbkille Parish in Brighton, Mass.
“I love that the charism of the Society of Jesus calls us all as a body, and me individually, to serve ‘the greater glory of God’ in those places and missions where we are most needed in service to God and the church,” Father Manaker said. “I love that our ‘least society’ is meant to be useful, not necessarily in human terms, but in God’s eyes. It’s a demanding mission, because it requires a radical docility to the Holy Spirit, but it’s also an immense gift.”
