Bio

Quare agite et primo laeti cum lumine solis
Quae loca, quive habeant homines, ubi moenia gentis,
Vestigemus et a portu diversa petamus.

Virigilius, Aeneis, VII

So come, and at the first light of the sun,
in gladness let us spread out from our anchorage,
find out what place this is, who possesses it and where their city is.

Virgil, Aeneid, Book VII  

Hello ! My name is Joris. Starting January 2022, I will be serving in Rome as a YASC Missionary of the Episcopal Church : YASC stands for Young Adult Service Corps and is a missionary program designed for young Episcopalians who wish to serve as missionaries throughout the worldwide Anglican communion.

Since 2016 my life has been one of bridging over the Atlantic ocean, of learning and listening to how God speaks and acts through different peoples and cultures. Over the last 5 years, I have lived, served, worked, taught and studied in Brittany, Paris, Boston and New York City where my home church, l’Eglise française du St. Esprit, is located. 

These have been abundantly rich years of cross-cultural, ecumenical and interreligious learning with colleagues, friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. After studying humanities and literature at the Sorbonne (Latin and Italian literature too!), I decided to pursue my long-delayed call for ordained ministry. I studied at the Institut Protestant de Theologie in Paris and later earned a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School where I was supported by the Fulbright Program. 

An aspirant to priestly ordination the Episcopal Church, I am looking forward to going back to Europe, and to Rome especially, to live, serve, and discern my calling in a place where the blood of martyrs was shed and bred so many servants of God. In Rome, I will be serving at St. Paul-within-the-Walls and the Anglican Centre. I am glad to share my experience with you on this blog! Avanti!