Watson Appointed Advancement VP for Jesuit’s Rome Institute

SEATTLE, WA. – The Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome recently appointed Father William Watson, S.J., its vice president for advancement.

Father Watson, president of Sacred Story Institute in Seattle, will assist the PIO with its fundraising needs.

“I look forward to working with (Fr. Watson) on the exciting future of this important apostolate for the Society of Jesus and the Universal Church,” said Rev. David Nazar, S.J., rector, treasurer and bursar at PIO. The appointment was approved by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect for the Eastern Churches.

Of the appointment, Watson said: “The “Roman Institutions” are some of the most important works of the Jesuits worldwide and I am happy to help them find the resources they need to thrive in the Third Millennium.”

Created by Pope Benedict XV in 1917, and entrusted to the Society of Jesus in 1922 by Pius XI, the Pontifical Oriental Institute is a school of higher studies that has as its particular mission the service of the Oriental Churches.

The Mission of the PIO pursues research, teaching, and publishing relating to the traditions of the Eastern Churches in their theology, liturgies, patristics, history, canon law, literature and languages, spirituality, archeology, and questions of ecumenical and geopolitical importance.

Fr. Watson has served as: Director of Retreat Programs at Georgetown University; Vice President for Mission at Gonzaga University; and Provincial Assistant for International Ministries for the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus. He holds Masters Degrees in Divinity and Pastoral Studies, respectively (1986; Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Cambridge Massachusetts). He received his Doctor of Ministry degree in 2009 from The Catholic University of America (Washington D.C.).

Watson is the author of multiple books on Ignatian spirituality, including “Forty Weeks: An Ignatian Path to Christ with Sacred Story Prayer” and “The Whole-Life Confession.” The Forty Weeks book series, which is available in English, Spanish and Italian, underwent specialization to help prison ministries and assist clergy with their spiritual development.

About Sacred Story Institute: Located in Seattle, Sacred Story Institute (SSI) is dedicated to revitalizing the classic 15-minute Ignatian Examination of Conscience. Our mission for this powerful daily spiritual discipline is to help adults, teens and youth encounter Christ, the Divine Physician, who heals us in body, mind and spirit, transforming our lives into a Sacred Story.

About Fr. William M. Watson, SJ: Fr. William Watson, S.J., D. Min., has spent over 30 years developing Ignatian programs and retreats He has collaborated extensively with Fr. Robert Spitzer in the last fifteen years on Ignatian retreats for corporate CEO’s. In the Spring of 2011 he launched a non-profit institute to bring Ignatian Spirituality to Catholics of all ages and walks of life. The Sacred Story Institute is promoting third millennium evangelization for the Society of Jesus and the Church by using the time-tested Examination of Conscience of St. Ignatius.