AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast

Swimming From Regis Jesuit to Olympic Gold with Missy Franklin

In honor of the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris, we’re thrilled to welcome the swimmer and five-time Olympic medalist Missy Franklin onto the podcast. Maybe you remember Missy taking the Olympics by storm back in 2012 at the age of 17. What you might now know, though, is that Missy was a student at Regis Jesuit High School in Denver, Colorado during that Olympic run. She went back and graduated the year after her historic performance. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked Missy how the school community supported her during those wild weeks and months. She couldn’t have been happier to talk about Regis Jesuit and how the school stood by her and welcomed her back to class as her whole, genuine self – and not just a newly minted celebrity. Missy described finding her faith at Regis Jesuit, as she did not come from a religious background, and she shared stories from her time at school and what she’s been up to during her retirement from competitive swimming. After the conversation with Missy, you’ll hear a piece written and read by Gretchen Kessler, one of Missy’s mentors at Regis Jesuit and the first principal of the school’s girls division. Regis Jesuit is the only Jesuit high school in the U.S. or Canada – and we think maybe in the world – that educates both young men and women but does so in distinctive, separate divisions. While students come together for extracurricular activities and other events, their core instruction is in single-sex classrooms. It’s a unique model that got its start in Denver 20 years ago. Gretchen retired from her role in recent years, but she still works at the school in alumni relations. It’s fascinating to hear her reflect on starting something new and bold two decades ago. It was an experiment that worked and has turned out hundreds of high-quality alumni like Missy Franklin herself. Missy Franklin: https://www.missyfranklin.com/ Regis Jesuit High School: https://www.regisjesuit.com/ AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Our theme music by Kevin Laskey. Also featured in this episode is "These Moments Live," by Abstract Aprils, licensed through Audiio.com. www.jesuits.org/ www.beajesuit.org/ twitter.com/jesuitnews facebook.com/Jesuits instagram.com/wearethejesuits youtube.com/societyofjesus www.jesuitmedialab.org/

Duration:: 33m
Broadcast on:: 10 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

(upbeat music) From the Jesuit Media Lab, this is AMDG. I'm Mike Jordan-Lasky. The Summer Olympics start in Paris on July 26th. I love the Olympics. I love the pageantry and the international kinship. I love getting obsessed with certain sports for a week or two that I have never watched before. I love seeing athletes in pursuit of their dreams and getting to know surprise breakout stars every four years. So you know I was excited to interview my first guest today, former Olympic swimmer and five-time Olympic medalist, Missy Franklin. Maybe you remember Missy taking the Olympics by storm back in 2012 at the age of 17 in London. What you might not know though is that Missy was a student at Regis Jesuit High School in Denver, Colorado during that Olympic run. She went back and graduated the year after her historic Olympics. I asked Missy how the school community supported her during those wild weeks and months. And she couldn't have been happier to talk about Regis Jesuit and how the school stood by her and welcomed her back to class as her whole genuine self, not just a newly minted celebrity. I was moved at how Missy described finding her faith at Regis Jesuit as she didn't come from religious background. I loved hearing her stories and finding out how she's spending her retirement from competitive swimming today. After my conversation with Missy, you'll hear a piece written and read by Gretchen Kessler, one of Missy's mentors at Regis Jesuit and the first principle of the school's girls division. Regis Jesuit is the only Jesuit high school in the US or Canada, and we think maybe in the world that educates both young men and women, but does so in distinctive separate divisions. While students come together for extracurricular activities and events, their core instruction is in single sex classrooms. It's a unique model that got its star in Denver 20 years ago. Gretchen retired from her role as girls division principal in recent years, but she still works at the school and alumni relations. I loved hearing her reflect on starting something new and bold two decades ago. It was an experiment that worked and has turned out hundreds and hundreds of high quality alumni like Missy Franklin herself. You can subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts and thanks for joining us. Well, Missy Franklin, welcome to AMDG. Thank you so much for taking the time, how are you? - Absolutely, I am great. Thank you so much for having me. How are you? - I'm doing great, thank you. It's a beautiful day in Washington, DC. Getting ready as it gets warmer for the Summer Olympics. And so I'm really excited to talk to you one of our great American Olympic heroes who also has a Jesuit education. So not always, we get those two things together. So I'm excited to talk to you about your own swimming career and then your connection with Regis Jesuit High School, which I know is still strong to this day. So maybe we can start, we can go back in time to 2012, which is when I first heard of you and I imagine a lot of our listeners first did. When you made a splash at the 2012 Olympics, I didn't even mean to make a swimming pun, but I did. - They come very naturally. - And at the time, we're a student at Regis Jesuit in Denver and then also on magazines and on TV and all over the world. And to just bring us back, what do you remember from that time as you got quite famous really quickly and while also being in high school and especially like how did the school support you in that time? - Yeah, I don't know how I would have gotten through those years without Regis, to be honest. I remember they supported me in so many different ways, one of which was allowing me to take a couple of online classes, which was huge in my year leading up to London because as you can imagine, the training that goes in to an Olympic year is huge. And I was spending four to six hours a day in training and the school was so wonderful in helping me support. They knew that my education was incredibly important to me and I was still looking to have that same quality and I was still looking to put in that same effort to my education. I just needed a little bit more flexibility and how I was gonna get it done and they were really able to work with me to provide that, which was so helpful. But I think more than anything, it was the emotional support that Regis provided me over that year is as the pressure grew, as the path I became more well known, especially after the Olympics, that's a huge transition to go through at any age, but especially at 17 years old. And so to know that as much as the world around me was changing, Regis was my home and it always felt like my home. And so when I went to school every single day, I was just Missy and I was the same Missy that they had known for those three years before. They treated me exactly the same and it truly felt like I could just go in there every day and be myself and show up truly and authentically who I was and be loved for that. And that meant so much to me at a time where I was going through such a massive transition. - Sure, gosh, I can't even imagine. I am curious. So for you, you didn't come from a Catholic background, just what kind of surprised you, what do you remember that struck you about kind of arriving at a Catholic Jesuit high school? - Yeah, I mean, as you mentioned, I didn't really have any faith background. So I found my faith. I found my relationship with Christ at Regis. And I remember being honestly so surprised that first day that I walked in from my shadow visit as an eighth grader, I walked into Regis and I truly felt God. And I had never experienced anything like that before in my life. And so that was immediately in that moment, I knew that I was being called to go there and to attend that school. And the way that that relationship grew over my four years was just incredible. And I think that that was one of the most profound impacts on me as I went from having absolutely no relationship with Christ, no faith to by my senior year, leading a chyros retreat. And it was just so beautiful to see the walk and the path that the Lord had laid out for me to walk and how big and impactful of a peace Regis was in that. - Do you remember what it was in those early times when you could feel like something was right there, something was clicking that was, I feel like it was drawing you towards something bigger? - It was peace. It was so much peace. And I remember I hadn't really felt that before. And in my mind, it's a peace you can only have in knowing the Lord as your Savior. And to have those moments of just sheer confidence that I was exactly where I was meant to be. And I was walking the path that had been laid. It gave me the peace and the calm to know that I was doing everything I could to the best of my ability and all that was left was just to give it to him and keep doing the best that I could day in and day out. - So it's been about, I guess 11 years since you graduated. I'm curious for you. - Oh, did it wait and date me? Oh my God. - Sorry, no. Look, I'm going to my 20th reunion in like a couple of weeks. So no, you got no, no sympathy for me. But I am like curious about like, are there anything that you remember, like specific lessons? I know Jesuit high schools are all about like, men and women for others. We have like our phrases that we use a lot, or just lessons or things that you carry with you that you can really kind of say, you know what, this has really been important for me, even in those years kind of since then. - Yeah, so I'll be careful because I can't fully talk about it. But Kairos did have a massive impact on me, both going out as a junior and then leading it as a senior. But LT4 is kind of the saying that comes out of Kairos. And so I know that there's still a lot of protection around that. You have to go through it to experience it. But LT4 was very impactful for me. And I think really how I implement that in my lives today is just being keenly aware of the amazing blessings that I have in my life on a daily basis and being thankful and being grateful and acknowledging those and appreciating those. And the perspective that that gives me is amazing that no matter what is going on in our life, because we are promised a life, even as believers of Christ, of struggle and of challenge. That is written so many times in his word that you will still face adversity, even when you submit your life to me and knowing that there is purpose in that and that he's going to make something from that. And even in those times to rejoice and to praise him and be thankful for the work that he has done and for all the incredible things around you. So I think today that is one of the things that really stands with me and that's really a foundational pillar of how I live my life. - And just for folks who aren't familiar, the LT4 live the fourth, right? Kind of a three day retreat with the idea then that the fourth day is kind of the rest of your life and how is it going to change you, right? Is that right? It's been a while since I went on. - Exactly, yes. I wasn't sure like how much I was allowed to say. But yes, that's exactly what it means. - Just in case. We have a lot of alumni, Kairus alumni, who this is certainly, is this still a huge movement in the Jesuit high schools? How about like any mentors or either teachers or administrators, coaches, anyone who you encountered at Regis Friends, even people who kind of really inspired you as role models and what about their witness kind of was important for you at that time? - Oh my gosh, there was so many. I mean, we talked about her at the beginning, but my principal at the time was Gretchen Kessler and she is just an absolutely unbelievable woman. I still, to this day, as you mentioned, I just turned 29, I have a three-year-old daughter and I can't call her Gretchen. Like, she's will always be Miss Kessler to me. (laughs) She's like in grain, but it's really just 'cause I have so much respect for her. I mean, she just has an absolute heart of Christ. I mean, it's just in everything that she does and how she treats people and the way she loves every person around her. And she was so supportive of me, my entire journey. She was so incredible. My athletic director at the time, John Kozlowski, was phenomenal. I don't know if he entered that job expecting what was gonna happen during my years there. And he handled it with so much grace, with so much humility, he was so helpful. And he remains a dear, dear friend of this day. And then, of course, my coaches were amazing. Nick Fraser Smith and Brian Davenport, swimming for them as a high schooler, but also having their support outside of the high school space as well. It just meant so much to me. I could list a million of the staff and faculty that I feel like had an impact on me, but I think that is, again, one of the things I'm so grateful for is I just, I had incredible role models and incredible leaders to look up to that saw potential in me, not just as Missy the swimmer, but as Missy the person. And that was what I appreciated so, so much. - Sure, so we've talked a little bit about how that exposure changed your life or that it did. What, in a specific way, what are some ways in which that was true? You're getting calls to appear on show. So how did life change within, again, the context of your high school age, then all of a sudden, on this worldwide stage? What are some of the specific ways, maybe things that surprised you about like, oh my gosh, this is what my life is like now? - Yeah, I mean, well, you nailed it. I mean, getting calls to go on the late night show with Jay Leno, getting calls to do a cover shoot with Vogue, getting all these different opportunities, to be in different magazines or go on the Today Show, not being able to go out in public without being recognized, having people coming up to me, whether we're at the grocery store, at a restaurant, having little girls come up to my door and Halloween dressed as me. There were so many that it was just like, I can't even believe this is real. I can't even believe this is happening. And I think it just really emphasized for me the fact that I was now a role model. And there's a massive responsibility that goes along with that. And it was one that I knew that I wanted to take very, very seriously. And to this day, one of the greatest compliments, especially now as a parent myself and the parent of a daughter, is when I have parents come up to me and thank me for being the role model that I was for their children. Like that to me just, it means so much hearing about that impact. 'Cause I think I always knew that your impact in the sporting space will fade with time. There's always someone else coming behind you that's gonna do amazing things. And that's how sport works. But the legacy of who you are as a person is gonna live long beyond that. And so that's really what I tried to make my focus then and now is what can I do to make people feel loved, seen, appreciated and feel the love of God ultimately. - Sure, and that leads to a question kind of about your own career because like as you were saying, when you're an athlete, your window is pretty small. And then you still have a lot of life to live after your career's over. And for you because of injuries and other things like you retired from competitive swimming at 23, something that had dominated your life to that point. Was it hard to give it up? And then like, how do you transition when you're, like this is kind of so much of your life that all of a sudden it's not there anymore? - It was so hard. You know, we actually, I do my own podcast now which is so fun. It's called Unfiltered Waters. And I do it with my co-host Katie Hoff who is an Olympian in '04 and '08 in swimming. And we just had one of our guests on who described retiring from her sport like a death. And honestly, that's exactly what it feels like. I mean, just as you said, swimming was my life. Like that was all I had known. That was all my focus, my priorities, my dreams and my goals. And so at 23 to be done with this thing that has been, you know, what you have lived your life around and to still be so young and yet not really have an idea of what's next. And also the fear of how it's gonna compare to what was before, right? Like, I think part of coming to terms with it is just understanding that, you know, I may not ever do anything again that feels like winning a gold medal for my country at the Olympics, you know? And that's okay because now I have my own version of that which is seeing my daughter grow and learn new things and see her becoming this amazing, amazing young girl. Like, that's my gold medal now. Like having those moments with her just two nights ago, I have the best two minute and 43 second video I've ever had and it includes my daughter singing an entire song from Trolls while my husband and I are sync backup dancers behind her. And I genuinely was thinking I was like this right now in this moment is the happiest I've ever been in my entire life. And so I just think, you know, the transition takes time. It's really hard, but having the faith to know that there are still wonderful and beautiful things to come and relying on God as you go through that transition for Him to guide you and also relying on others, reaching out for help was huge for me. And it's something I'm a huge advocate for now is helping athletes through that transition 'cause I don't think there's enough resources out there and it is a time where so many of them struggle so intensely with their mental health. And so, you know, learning that they are more than just the athlete than what it is that they've dedicated themselves to. They have so much more to offer. And now it's just about finding what else it is that they're passionate about that they wanna put their time and effort and energy into. (gentle music) - Hey, this is Mike and we'll get back to the show in just a second. I wanted to tell you about an awesome Jesuit organization with a global ambition, American Jesuits International. Throughout Latin America, Africa, and Asia, the Jesuits have schools, health clinics, and social centers that respond to the urgent needs of their communities. American Jesuits International mobilizes individuals and institutions in the US who are excited to support these projects. Two Jesuit NGOs, Majus Americas, and Jesuit Missions Incorporated are merging to become American Jesuits International. This is big news because it is the first time that the US Jesuit provinces share a single international solidarity organization. If you wanna learn more about the work of the Jesuits in the Global South, or to join this international community of solidarity, check out their new website, americanjazuitsinternational.org. That's americanjazuitsinternational.org. Okay, now back to the show. (gentle music) Yeah, that reminds me of the kind of the Jesuit, another Jesuit education model, like the current personality, like the care of the whole person. That like, it's not just an athlete or just a student or just a musician, whatever it is, like a whole person, body and soul, emotional, spiritual life. So caring for that. So yeah, talk a little bit about, then you mentioned this podcast and things you wanna kind of be advocating for. What have you really kind of dedicated your life to since then? What are your kind of top priorities? In addition to parenting, what are some of the, yeah, those things that you wanna make sure that you're getting out there? Yeah, absolutely. So as you mentioned, family first, my husband, my parents, my daughter, always my number one priority. But after that, the podcast has been incredible. So Katie and I really focus on having these conversations with athletes and coaches and professionals in the space. And they're just very real, raw, honest, vulnerable conversations where we don't just talk about the good and the glory, but we also talk about the challenge and the struggle and how these athletes persevered and what they learned and what they took away. 'Cause I think what Katie and I have both learned so much throughout our own journeys is how much strength and how much power there is in sharing your story and how much it can help others. Even if it's just to make them feel less alone, that can have such a profound impact. So the podcast is huge. I'm loving that. I still do a lot of work with the USA Swimming Foundation. So that's the philanthropic branch of USA Swimming. And we focus a lot on providing grants and fundraising to provide swim lessons to communities that may not have access or be able to afford them because swim lessons reduce the risk of drowning by 88%. So we're really focused on lowering the drowning rates in our country and swim lessons are an amazing way to do that. So we focus a lot on water safety, getting kids in the water, providing those lessons. And then I'm also on the vice chair for the Global Board of the Lori of Sport for Good Foundation. And that was a foundation that was started by Nelson Mandela. And it's all about using sport for good. So we promote and again, give out grants to projects globally all over the world that are using sport to uplift the young men and young women in their communities. - Well, it sounds like you have a lot on your plate, which is awesome. - I do, I do. But the biggest thing on my plate is the 37 pound, almost three year olds. That is a whirling dervish at all hours. - Yeah, yeah, no, I know that life. So I had, I want to ask about swimming a little bit specifically. So I had K to the decky on the show a couple of years ago and Esther, she swims these long distances and training is just swimming for me, I don't know. I like playing basketball, there's like a goal. I put the ball in the basket, my running, my ex is for like something. And swimming is like, it just seems so hard. It's just like, it's the grind. And she said like she would sometimes like use that time to like think about her grandparents, like the kind of practice, like a gratitude or prayer almost. Like how do you get through that? What were some of your strategies for like breaking through the wall when you're just like going and going and going? - Yeah, I think that is one of the hardest things about swimming is sometimes it just requires you to put your head down and work. Like that's just part of it is, you know, there's nothing easy about it. There's nothing quick about it. You just, you have to grit and you have to be tough and you just have to show up and put in the work. And I'm so grateful for that mentality that it gave me because of course there's days when that was the last thing I wanted to do. And there was days where it was so much harder and there was days where it came really easy. You know, it's just the roller coaster of life. But I think, you know, showing up every day at practice, very similar to Katie, you know, knowing that for these two hours, the only thing I can do is get better at swimming. Like everything outside of the pool almost kind of takes a pause and you can just kind of fully devote yourself to that. And it is very much like prayer in that sense because you're just so wholly and fully committed to this one thing and so focused on it. And allowing yourself the time and space in that moment to grow and improve. Like it's just really powerful, the impact that that has on you. But yeah, I was very, very similar to Katie, I would say. I mean, there's definitely sets where you kind of zone out and you're like going through the to-do list and like, Rachel, like sort out all these different areas of your life while you're swimming. But a lot of times for me, it's just, just grind. Just put your head down and work hard and trust in that and knowing that that hard work is gonna pay off. So the summer, we'll see a lot of grinders of folks who have put in that hard work who are competing in the Olympics. What will watching the Olympics be like for you? I was wondering, like, could you help us? Like, how do we watch swimming like you watch it? What would it be like to watch it with you? What are you looking for? What, what emotions does it bring up in you to kind of see that? Bring us into your mind as a spectator of the Olympics. - Yeah, that's a great question. Well, I'm actually gonna be in Paris this summer. So I'm really excited about that. It'll be my first time going to an Olympics and not actually competing there. So I'm so excited. Really, that's the main, the main emotion is excitement. Like I'm just, I'm so thrilled for these athletes because they've worked so hard that it's so amazing to see it pay off. But it's definitely a roller coaster. I still know a lot of the athletes very, very well. So it is this emotional up and down of like someone you love swims great and they do so well. And then maybe someone you love has a disappointing race and like you're so heartbroken for them and it's just like this major back and forth. But honestly, I think it's amazing. The competition, the opportunity to be surrounded by the best in the world at what they do to see how they can push each other to be even better. Like nothing brings people together in my mind like an Olympic Games does. It's just, there's this beautiful unifying factor to it. And so I think for all of us to stand behind Team USA and just cheer our hearts and soul out for the Olympics and for the Paralympics is so special and so powerful. So it's a lot of Team USA energy. It's a lot of excitement, a lot of jumping up and down and probably lose our voices if you are watching with me. - So just one last question. So we'll bring it back to Regis and swimming. So you were back there recently because they named the pool after you. Which was, I'm sure not your idea. I asked if they could do that. How did that come to be? And what was that experience like kind of going back for the dedication? - Yeah, that was incredible. So the current president reached out to me with this idea, David card. And I was beyond floored and honored. And yeah, I would have never in a million years imagined something like this happening. But David was wonderful in explaining this is something the school really wanted to do. It is again in line with the 20th anniversary of the women's division. And I believe the library was named after Gretchen Kessler. And that was the first thing on campus to be named after a woman. And the pool and honor of myself is now the second. So I'm an incredible company. But it meant so much to me. I mean, I feel like it should be reversed. Like Regis did so much for me that like, I don't know why I have something named after me on their campus. But they were such a huge part of my life and my journey. And it's such a crucial and important part. So I was able to go back with my parents, with my husband, with my daughter, which just meant the world to me to be able to show them the school, show them the campus. And then to know that that pool is always gonna be there and that I will forever have a footprint on that campus. It just, it means the world to me. That they were such a huge and crucial part of my life to think that I had even a small impact on the history of the school. It just means so much. - Well, Missy, thank you so much for taking this time and for sharing a bit of your story. And I think just we're proud to have you in the Jesuit family. So thanks for all you're doing and have a great time in Paris this summer. - Of course. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. - Thanks so much to Missy Franklin for that fun and interesting conversation. And now you'll hear from Gretchen Kessler, one of Missy's mentors at Regis Jesuit High School and the founding principal of the girls division there. - The year was 1999 and Regis Jesuit High School was bursting at the scenes. The school had moved to a new campus just a decade before because of decreasing enrollment. But now more than 800 boys were making use of a building constructed to house 650 students. At the same time, there was a deficit of about 300 seats for girls in Denver's Catholic high schools. Parents of those young women approached the Jesuits at the high school and asked them to help fill the gap. The Jesuits, board of trustees and school administration could easily have said no. Unlike at other Jesuit and Catholic schools around the country that had gone coed to overcome enrollment issues, Regis Jesuit was no longer facing that challenge. The school was thriving. In fact, the board had just completed a new campus master plan for recently acquired land adjacent to the new campus. And yet the Jesuits have always been responsive to the signs of the times. In that plea from those parents seeking a Catholic education for their daughters was a call to the magis, the greater good. So after a period of deep discernment, reflection and planning, the board and the Jesuits developed a new and innovative model of Ignatian education. Single sex education for both boys and girls on a shared campus. Regis Jesuit High School would provide for young women what the Jesuits had been offering to young men for centuries. In the fall of 2003, about 170 young women, just over 30 sophomores and about 130 freshmen bravely stepped over their threshold of St. Catherine's Greek Orthodox School. Their temporary home for the year while their building on this campus was being renovated. They became the first students of what we now know as the girls division. And I was blessed to be their principal. I never imagined leaving my hometown of Buffalo, New York, where I had been a teacher and administrator at Kinesh's High School for 24 years. But the Holy Spirit can be sneaky that way. I discerned my own magis call, decided to move across country with my 80 year old mother and take the reins of the simultaneously daunting and exciting new venture. We began as an enthusiastic group of 23 faculty and staff members, some who worked for Regis Jesuit already, others who were new to the school, or like me, brand new to Colorado. We were all united in the goal of offering a Jesuit education to young women in a completely new model. In their first year, our courageous band of 200 souls accomplished some remarkable things, if I do say so myself. In a school building meant for elementary students, where spaces intended as bathrooms were used as offices, we began to set the standard and to establish the traditions of the girls division. In the absence of a PA system, we pulled together and prayed together as an entire school every morning and afternoon, a blessing in disguise which served to strengthen our evolving sense of community. Beyond the full slate of academic courses, we had mission and spirit weeks, semi-formal dance, sophomore retreat, weekly masses, a father-daughter gala, and a service day. We bus students back to the campus in the afternoons to compete in a dozen different sports. They also participated in clubs like speech and debate, model UN, math club, and student council, and performed in choirs, string orchestra, concert band, and on stage with their brothers from the boys division. They published newspapers in a yearbook, which chronicled the majority of their first year. The girls division moved on to the Regis Jesuit campus during the 2004-2005 school year, where it continued to grow. Graduation for the class of 2006 was a joyous event. The 30-some girls who had transferred in in their sophomore year had grown into confident, compassionate young women. I remember each of them walking across the stage to receive their diploma and thinking how much they had changed and matured in just three years. It was just a few short years later that Missy Franklin came to Regis Jesuit for high school. By that time, the foundation of the community we were building, both within the girls division and school-wide, was solidifying. Missy's presence on campus only served to enhance and accelerate the unification of our community. We were so proud to root her on in the Olympics and celebrate her success. But we took greater satisfaction in being a community where Missy could just be at home as herself. Now, having celebrated the 20th years since it opened, we are proud to count Missy among the more than 3,000 graduates of the girls division. Each of them has left us as young women ready to tackle the world with more self-assurance and self-awareness than they likely walked in with. Each came to us at a different point in their search for a relationship with God. We walked by their sides for four years and sent them forth with much more knowledge and experience to encounter God in both the joys and hardships of our world. We know they will make a difference in the lives of those whom they meet. They have already made a difference in ours. (gentle music) (upbeat music) AMD-G is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States based in Washington, D.C. The show is edited by Marcus Bleach. Our theme music is by Kevin Lasky. The Jesuit Conference Communications Team is Marcus Bleach, Eric Clayton, Meghan Leaps, Becky Sindelar and me. Connect with the Jesuits online at Jesuits.org, on Instagram at We Are The Jesuits, on X at Jesuit News, and on Facebook at Facebook.com/ Jesuits. Sign up for weekly email reflections at Jesuits.org/weekly. The Jesuit Media Lab offers courses and resources at the intersection of Ignatian spirituality and creativity. If you are a writer, podcaster, filmmaker, visual artist or other creator, check out what we have going on at Jesuitmedialab.org. If you or someone you know might be called to discern a vocation to the Jesuits, connect with a Jesuit vocation promoter at be@jesuit.org. You can drop us an email with questions or comments about the show at media@jesuits.org. And subscribe to AMDG wherever you get podcasts, including iTunes or Spotify. And as St. Ignatius of Loyola may or may not have said, go and set the world on fire. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) [BLANK_AUDIO]