Rob Lorenz was a National Park Ranger who spent time working at places Arches National Park in Utah and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. One of his favorite things to do was to give tours and ranger talks to groups, explaining the extraordinary places of natural beauty in ways that were accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. During a post in Washington, DC, where he worked near the National Mall at places like the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, he started feeling like God might be calling him to something else.
Long story short, Rob joined the USA East Coast province of the Jesuits in 2019. Today, he’s in the stage of formation called regency, which is typically two or three years of active ministry that falls in between periods of philosophy and theology study. Rob is spending his regency as the outreach coordinator for the Vatican Observatory. Founded in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, the Vatican Observatory is led by Jesuit astronomers who are doing high-level scientific research in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and Tucson, Arizona. Rob’s job is to speak with groups about the wonders of the cosmos and the work the observatory – a job not too dissimilar from what he was doing as a National Park Ranger. He stopped by our Washington, DC, studio recently for a conversation with host Mike Jordan Laskey.
Rob Lorenz, SJ: https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/profile/rob-lorenz-s-j/
The Vatican Observatory: https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
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Rob Lorenz was a National Park Ranger who spent time working at places Arches National Park in Utah and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. One of his favorite things to do was to give tours and ranger talks to groups, explaining the extraordinary places of natural beauty in ways that were accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. During a post in Washington, DC, where he worked near the National Mall at places like the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, he started feeling like God might be calling him to something else.
Long story short, Rob joined the USA East Coast province of the Jesuits in 2019. Today, he’s in the stage of formation called regency, which is typically two or three years of active ministry that falls in between periods of philosophy and theology study. Rob is spending his regency as the outreach coordinator for the Vatican Observatory. Founded in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, the Vatican Observatory is led by Jesuit astronomers who are doing high-level scientific research in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and Tucson, Arizona. Rob’s job is to speak with groups about the wonders of the cosmos and the work the observatory – a job not too dissimilar from what he was doing as a National Park Ranger. He stopped by our Washington, DC, studio recently for a conversation with host Mike Jordan Laskey.
Rob Lorenz, SJ: https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/profile/rob-lorenz-s-j/
The Vatican Observatory: https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
www.jesuits.org/
www.beajesuit.org/
twitter.com/jesuitnews
facebook.com/Jesuits
instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
www.jesuitmedialab.org/
Jesuit Stories From the Middle East with Michael Petro, SJ
AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast
48 minutes 50 seconds
1 month ago
Jesuit Stories From the Middle East with Michael Petro, SJ
On October 4 and 5, the Catholic Church will observe the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Today’s guest, who recently stopped by our studio in Washington, DC, is a perfect guest for the occasion. His name is Michael Petro, SJ, and he’s a Jesuit of the American East Coast province who is currently in the regency stage of his formation.
Michael’s regency has been quite far from the norm, though – he’s working in Beirut, Lebanon with Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). Michael has worn a lot of hats in his time in the country, including setting up and running an emergency shelter for men, women and children who were displaced by the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
During a visit home to the U.S., Michael stopped by to share stories from his work in Beirut and to talk about his Jesuit vocation. It’s safe to say he never imagined he would be running a temporary emergency shelter in Lebanon when he joined the Jesuits in New York not long after he graduated college. Host Mike Jordan Laskey loved hearing from Michael about the people he has met and why it’s so important for the church to keep accompanying and serving migrants and refugees, even and especially when it’s not politically popular to do so. We think you’ll be moved by Michael’s stories and inspired by his faith in action.
Learn more about Michael:
https://jesuitspro.com/6373/
https://jrs.net/en/story/amid-bombs-in-lebanon-a-church-opens-its-doors-to-hundreds-of-migrants/
https://www.jesuits.global/2025/08/18/arrupe-migrant-center-in-beirut-to-gather-to-pray-to-play/
JRS in the Middle East and North Africa:
https://jrs.net/en/jrs_offices/jrs-middle-east/
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
www.jesuits.org/
www.beajesuit.org/
twitter.com/jesuitnews
facebook.com/Jesuits
instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
www.jesuitmedialab.org/
AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast
Rob Lorenz was a National Park Ranger who spent time working at places Arches National Park in Utah and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. One of his favorite things to do was to give tours and ranger talks to groups, explaining the extraordinary places of natural beauty in ways that were accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds. During a post in Washington, DC, where he worked near the National Mall at places like the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, he started feeling like God might be calling him to something else.
Long story short, Rob joined the USA East Coast province of the Jesuits in 2019. Today, he’s in the stage of formation called regency, which is typically two or three years of active ministry that falls in between periods of philosophy and theology study. Rob is spending his regency as the outreach coordinator for the Vatican Observatory. Founded in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, the Vatican Observatory is led by Jesuit astronomers who are doing high-level scientific research in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and Tucson, Arizona. Rob’s job is to speak with groups about the wonders of the cosmos and the work the observatory – a job not too dissimilar from what he was doing as a National Park Ranger. He stopped by our Washington, DC, studio recently for a conversation with host Mike Jordan Laskey.
Rob Lorenz, SJ: https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/profile/rob-lorenz-s-j/
The Vatican Observatory: https://www.vaticanobservatory.org/
AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.
www.jesuits.org/
www.beajesuit.org/
twitter.com/jesuitnews
facebook.com/Jesuits
instagram.com/wearethejesuits
youtube.com/societyofjesus
www.jesuitmedialab.org/
