We’ve all seen them walking around campus and at liturgies. We’re told that they live upstairs in Orton Hall, but who are they and what do they do? These men who have dedicated their lives to God and service are known as Jesuits.

Bellarmine, a Catholic Jesuit school, is clearly going to have priests helping out with school activities such as liturgies, but what are they up to outside of school? Many Jesuits cycle in and out of Orton so there are many who are never seen on campus.

One Jesuit that is seen around is Fr. Gene Delmore. When asked what he likes about Bellarmine, he said, “I like being a part of Bellarmine because of the great mix of student activities — I love the sports and music and art and drama events — and faculty and staff who are dedicated to forming the future leaders of our country, men and women for others.”

Outside of Bellarmine, Fr. Delmore has been the pastor of St. Rita’s parish on the Hilltop for the past five years.

A Jesuit who can be seen walking around campus getting his Fitbit steps in is Fr. Jerry Graham. When asked why he carries around a fist full of rolled up white papers in his hand, he commented, “Those are poems I am working on as part of a book of poetry currently titled: “Inferno For Today.” It is about a poetic conversation between Dante and a Jesuit priest.

While Graham is not working on his book he assists at St. Patrick Parish and occasionally helps with school masses.

After a year of work, Fr. Ken Baker ,who lives upstairs in Orton has translated the works of St. Robert Bellarmine from Latin to English. The book is divided into three parts: On the Word of God, On Christ, and On the Sovereign Pontiff. Baker has been involved for years in translating much of St. Robert Bellarmine’s work into English. He first studied Latin when he attended Bellarmine in 1944 and his translations can now reach a new audience.

A review by Father Robert Boyd calls Baker’s work “an elegant translation of an indispensable work… Such a translation is necessary and invaluable, since so few today are capable of reading the Saint’s work in the original Latin.”

Baker encourages students to check out a copy of his translation in the library titled: “Controversies of the Christian Faith.” He wants students to be informed of what a great scholar the patron of our school was.

Baker is currently working on translating many of St. Robert Bellarmine’s sermons. Some of these are very long, up to ten thousand words, which means that the sermon would have lasted up two hours. There are 87 sermons so he’s decided to divide it up into three volumes, the first of which is expected to be released before Christmas.

When asked what he likes about Bellarmine, Baker said, “I like the environment here. It’s where I went to school, and, when Mt. Rainier is out, I can see it from my room.”