For newly ordained Father Nicholas A. Albin, ordination day is the next step into a lifelong journey as a priest in the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits. Founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola, who experienced a spiritual conversion after being wounded by a cannonball in 1521, the order is known for its charism of service to the global church.
“Sometimes in Jesuit schools, they’ll ask, ‘Hey, what was your cannonball moment?’ ” Father Albin said, “or the moment when you thought you had a plan for your life … and then something happens, or you feel like God may be calling (you) to something different.”
For Father Albin, his “cannonball moment” came when a professor invited him to discern.
Born Nov. 4, 1989, he was baptized at St. Andrew Church in Clifton, and his family attended multiple parishes in the Arlington diocese during his childhood. As a teen, he attended Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, which had a huge impact on his vocation. “I was an altar server growing up and was inspired by the priests,” he said.
With a desire to study business, he attended Xavier University, a Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2008. During this time, he experienced a revelation about his vocation. In a junior year philosophy class, his Jesuit professor gave him some unique feedback on a paper. “He emailed me back and said, ‘Hey Nick, this is great. Ever thought about joining the Jesuits?’ ” That one invitation opened up the doors to discernment.
“There’s something about encouragement,” he said. “Being opened where the Spirit can be at work.”
After graduation, he entered the Jesuit Midwestern Province in 2012, where he began his 11 years of formation. As part of the Jesuit novitiate program, he embarked on a pilgrimage, where he was given a one-way bus ticket and $35 and had to rely on the generosity of others over the course of several months to obtain food, shelter and transportation to return to the province.
In addition to his assignments in the U.S., he spent multiple summers serving at Jesuit schools and ministries around the world, including ministries in northeast India, Ecuador and at the U.S.-Mexican border. After completing another three years in theology, he was ordained to the transitional diaconate last fall and served as a deacon at the Franciscan-run St. Leonard of Port Maurice Church in Boston.
“It’s a long process, but very rewarding and fulfilling, and it has its challenging moments but also its moments of growth and prayer,” he said.
After more than a decade of study and service, Father Albin was ordained a Jesuit priest at Church of the Gesu in Milwaukee June 10. This summer, he will serve at Church of the Gesu in Cleveland before moving to his first assignment in Nebraska this fall. He will continue his core studies until his final vows, several years after his ordination.
“A Jesuit never seems to be done studying,” he joked.
