Fr Joseph Carola SJ was born in Houston, Texas, in 1962. After entering the New Orleans Province of the Society of Jesus in 1980 he was ordained a priest in 1993. In 2001 he obtained his doctorate in theology and patristic sciences from the Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome and has been a professor of patristic theology at the Gregorian University since 2002. He is a skilled retreat master, having directed retreats for many Roman and American seminarians and clergy. In the Year for Priests he published a volume of meditations on priestly life and ministry, Conformed to Christ Crucified (Gregorian & Biblical Press), to which he has since added two further volumes. Fr Carola’s “A Patristic Pastoral Trilogy: Striving after holiness for the sake of our service,” which features in his third volume of meditations, was presented at the ACCC’s 2010 International Conference in Rome.