Robert Ballecer

Robert R. Ballecer SJ (born May 28, 1974), also known as the Digital Jesuit or by his handle PadreSJ, is an American Catholic Jesuit priest who serves as Assistant for New Evangelization for the Curia of the Society of Jesus in Rome.[2] Ballecer is also a tech podcaster and was host of the shows This Week in Enterprise Tech and Know How... on the TWiT.tv network.

"Digital Jesuit" redirects here. For the video game server, see Minecraft server § Notable servers.
The Reverend

Robert R. Ballecer

SJ
Born
Robert R. Ballecer

(1974-05-28) May 28, 1974
Hayward, California, US
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Priest
  • podcaster
Notable credits

Early life

Ballecer was born on May 29, 1974, in Hayward, California,[3] and grew up in Fremont, California.[1] His parents emigrated to the United States in 1970, and he grew up in a traditional Filipino household.[4] He dumpster dove for computer parts and built his own computer.[1] In the 1980s, he ran an online bulletin board system.[5] He started working for R&A Professional Consultants in 1988.[6]

Education

Ballecer studied at Bellarmine College Preparatory and Santa Clara University, where he majored in computer engineering, and also became interested in becoming a Catholic priest.[7][1] He joined the Jesuits in 1994 and ran a computer server to put the order's California Province online.[4] He studied philosophy at Loyola University Chicago and then taught computer programming at Loyola High School in Los Angeles. He studied theology at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University.[3]

Career

Ballecer helped the Jesuits set up their own email addresses and started websites for Jesuit high schools.[4] He served at the Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in San Jose, and was named director of the Center for Apostolic Technology.

He became a fan of the TechTV show The Screen Savers, which ran in the late 1990s and 2000s.[5] He started blogging for "The Tech Stop" in 2001.[6] Leo Laporte found Ballecer in TWiT's chat room in 2010. Laporte asked the chat room who could host show on enterprise technology, and the chat room suggested "PadreSJ", the chat handle for Robert Ballecer, could host this show. Ballecer started hosting the show This Week in Enterprise Tech, anchoring live events, and hosting the do-it-yourself show Know How....[4] He has also appeared as a guest on other TWiT.tv shows, and hosted Coding 101 and Padre's Corner.[6]

As a priest, he oversaw efforts to encourage young men to pursue the priesthood.[1] For four years starting in 2009, he worked for the Jesuit Conference as the National Director of Vocation Promotion in Washington, DC.[4][1][8] He also produced a series of short films titled Jesuits Revealed to improve the Jesuits' online image.[4]

Ballecer lived in St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco in 2016 and still resides there when he is in the US.[4] As of July 2018, he works for the Roman Curia as an Assistant for New Evangelization.[2] He still makes occasional appearances on TWiT shows such as This Week in Tech and Hands-On Tech.

In December 2019, he started a Minecraft multiplayer survival server in the Vatican for "gamers who want a little less 'toxic' and a bit more community."[9]

References
  1. Cassidy, Mike (November 30, 2012). "Cassidy: Digital Jesuit Robert Ballecer aims to connect with people where they live". The Mercury News. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  2. "Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ". Retrieved June 26, 2019 – via LinkedIn.
  3. "Province News" (PDF). Mission: Jesuits of the California Province. California Province of the Society of Jesus: 4. Fall 2007. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  4. Kalish, Jon (October 15, 2016). "'Digital Jesuit' hosts shows on tech-focused podcasting network". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  5. Kalish, Jon (October 3, 2016). "Geek Squad? Nah, Try TWIT's Chat Rooms". PC Magazine. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  6. "Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ". TWiT.tv. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  7. Ryan, Zoe (February 15, 2013). "Religious life in the digital world: Three pioneers see reaching out via technology as part of their calling". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved June 10, 2018 – via The Free Library.
  8. "Jesuit Brother Appointed Director of National Vocation Promotion". Jesuits West. May 24, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  9. Ballecer, Robert R. (2019-08-31). "Ok... I want to spin up a few servers in the Vatican for gamers who want a little less "toxic" and a bit more community. What should be my first server?". @padresj. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
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