New Provincial Appointed for Sacred Heart Jesuit Center

The Roman Catholic Church has appointed a new provincial for the Los Gatos Sacred Heart Jesuit Center who will start his new term July 31 and replace head priest, Father John P. McGarry.

Father Michael F. Weiler was selected by Father Superior General Adolfo Nicolas of Rome as the next leader of the California Province of the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits, the order announced in a press release.

The Sacred Heart Jesuit Center, at 300 College Ave., near downtown Los Gatos, includes a retirement home, an assisted-living facility and a skilled nursing infirmary. Here, 75 elderly priests live out the rest of their lives after serving in the elite order of priesthood.

McGarry has served as the center's head supervisor and leader of the 375 Jesuit priests who work in California since July 2005. He will step down after his six-year term, on July 31, he said.

At the time of McGarry's appointment, he been principal of Jesuit High School in Sacramento since 1998, he said. He's originally from Los Angeles and entered the Jesuits in 1981, being ordained to the priesthood in 1993.

At the end of his term, McGarry said he plans to take a brief sabbatical to prepare for his new assignment.

Weiler will take office on the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola on July 31. He serves as director of novices and superiors of Ignatius House Novitiate, a position he's held since 2005, according to the release.

Weiler is also a graduate of Bellarmine College Preparatory, Loyola Marymount University, Gonzaga University, Jesuit School of Theology and the California School of Professional Psychology.

He entered the Society of Jesus in 1975, was ordained in 1988 and received his vows in 2005. Following ordination, Weiler served as an associate pastor at Dolores Mission in Los Angeles and then as an instructor in counseling psychology and a psychologist at Santa Clara University, the release added.

During his tenure, McGarry participated in the 35th General Congregation in Rome in 2008 and hosted Nicolás visit to California in celebration of the Province Centennial (1909-2009).

He's also credited with strengthening the province’s priestly vocation promotion, formation and Jesuit senior care programs, reinforcing educational and pastoral ministries, helping renew Jesuit relations with China through the Malatesta Initiative, providing leadership in promoting prison reform through the Jesuit Restorative Justice Initiative and helping with pastoral and advocacy outreach for immigrants through the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, AZ, the document said.