Bob Jansen, CPPS, Ordained to the Diaconate

June 2, 2013

Assumption Chapel at St. CharlesCenter [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][CincinnatiProvince] was filled with Community members, family and friends on May 20, 2013, as Bishop Joseph Charron, CPPS, ordained Bob Jansen, C.PP.S., to the diaconate.

Deacon Jansen and Bishop Charron during the ordination liturgy.
Deacon Jansen and Bishop Charron during the ordination liturgy.

Deacon Jansen has trusted in God’s care throughout his formation, as he has intentionally put himself into unfamiliar situations and settings. A native of the small town of St. Henry, Ohio, Deacon Jansen served his special formation at St. Agnes, a multi-cultural parish in Los Angeles.

He requested and received an extra year of formation so that he could gain more ministerial experience. He received training as a chaplain at FloridaHospital in Orlando and the VitasHospiceCenter in Chicago.

Deacon Jansen also served at the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation (PBMR) in a violence-torn neighborhood in Chicago, which he termed his most difficult assignment. “I had no idea what life was like for these kids before I went there,” he said. “There are those neighborhoods no one goes into and we don’t want to talk about that. When I was visiting the jails with our guys there I met one kid who was sentenced to 40 years for a crime he did when he was 15. That was heartbreaking, as was the fact that this is a reality for so many young people.”

Deacon Jansen with his family, Bishop Charron and Fr. Larry Hemmelgarn, Provincial Director of the Cincinnati Province.
Deacon Jansen with his family, Bishop Charron and Fr. Larry Hemmelgarn, Provincial Director of the Cincinnati Province.

He also spent six months in Santiago, Chile, to meet the C.PP.S. members in ministry there “and to gain a broader C.PP.S. experience. We talk a lot about the mission, but it’s from a distance. To actually go there and see firsthand what our members are doing, what our sisters are doing, was incredible.”

He is quick to acknowledge he could not have traveled so far without the support of his Community. “Every place I’ve gone, our members, Companions and sisters have gone out of their way to take care of me,” he said.

 Text and photos courtesy of Jean Giesige, Cincinnati Province[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]