Assistant for Vocations
Fr. Len Altilia, S.J.
Assistant for Vocations
I was born in Toronto in 1947, the third of five children. As a young student I attended St. Monica's Elementary School and De La Salle High School. Throughout these years I served as an altar boy in our local parish, St. Monica's. So I was used to being around priests and was quite familiar and comfortable with being on the sanctuary during liturgies.
During the early years of high school I began to think seriously about being a priest. But I had a problem. I really wanted to be a teacher. And I didn't know any priests who were teachers nor any teachers who were priests. As far as I knew, you couldn't do both at the same time.
Then just at the end of grade 11, I attended the Holy Name Society Communion Breakfast in our parish with my father. The guest speaker at the breakfast was a Jesuit brother, Br. Frank Dolese, S.J. He was the assistant to the Vocation Director at the time. Br. Dolese spoke about Jesuit life and the work that Jesuits do. For the first time I found out that there were priests out there who worked full-time as teachers.
As Br. Dolese spoke about the Jesuits I found my heart stirred. I was captured by the images of Jesuit life and work that he presented so eloquently. As we left the church hall, I turned to my father and said, "Dad, I'm going to be a Jesuit." He just smiled.
That same summer I contacted Br. Dolese who introduced me to the Vocation Director. During the next year I went through the various steps of the application process and at the end of the next summer, 1964, at the tender age of 17, I found myself in the Novitiate in Guelph, ON. I haven't looked back.
Subsequent to completing the Novitiate, I attended the University of Guelph where I obtained a B.A in Romance Languages and Linguistics, with a minor in Philosophy. Then I was sent to Loyola High School in Montreal for two years of Regency, and then back to Toronto for Theology studies at Regis College. I was ordained in 1974.
Since my interest and experience were still strongly guiding me towards a career as a teacher, I obtained an M. Ed. from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education during the year after ordination. Once that was completed I returned to Montreal to serve first as the Chaplain and then as the Principal of Loyola High School. In 1986, the Provincial assigned me to St. John's, NF, to be the Principal of Gonzaga High School, where I worked for seven years, before returning one more time to Loyola as President. During this last stint at Loyola I also served as the Director of Formation for our Province (English Canada) and as the Superior of the local community in Montreal.
In January of 1997, Fr. Provincial called me to Toronto to take on the role of Assistant for Vocations, a post which I have happily filled ever since. In 1999 I had the responsibility for Formation added again to my workload and I am once again a local Superior, this time of a house of studies for young Jesuits just out of the Novitiate.
So my initial desire to be a teacher and a priest has been fulfilled in ways that I could never have predicted. For twenty-three years I taught in high schools and now I teach in a different way. Now I teach young men about being Jesuits, both before and after they enter the Society. It is a satisfying and edifying experience which I treasure deeply.
If you would like more information about our English Canada Province, please browse the site to get a feel of what we're all about. If you want to make contact, you can reach me at vocation@jesuits.ca. I'd love to hear from you.