Skip to main content
Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education logo
A smiling man in a clerical collar and black attire, standing outdoors.

A smiling man in a clerical collar and black attire, standing outdoors.

Encountering Jesus: Who Do You Say that I Am?

James Martin, S.J.

James Martin, S.J.

A smiling man in a clerical collar and black attire, standing outdoors.

What does it mean to meet the Christ of faith and the Jesus of history?  Can we come to know Jesus through the Gospels?  Father Jim Martin, S.J., author of the New York Times bestseller Jesus: A Pilgrimage helps us to understand what the Son of God has to do with the carpenter from Nazareth.

James Martin, S.J., is a Jesuit priest, author and editor at large at America, the national Catholic magazine.  Fr. Martin graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business in 1982, where he received his bachelor's degree in economics (B.S. Econ.) with a concentration in finance.  After working for six years in corporate finance with General Electric, he entered the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1988. In 1998 Martin also received his M.Div. at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology (now Boston College School of Theology and Ministry) and his Th.M. in 1999.


Fr. Martin is the author of several books.  His most recent book is Jesus: A Pilgrimage (HarperOne), a New York Times bestseller, which combines travel narrative, biblical study and spiritual reflections on the life of Christ.  In 2011, he published Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor and Laughter are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life, (HarperOne), which was named as one of “Best Books” of the year by Publishers Weekly.  In 2013 HarperOne published an e-book Together on Retreat: Meeting Jesus in Prayer, which uses the technology of the e-reader to lead readers on a guided retreat.  Among his other books, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life (HarperOne, 2010), a New York Times bestseller, was awarded a 2010 Christopher Award, and was also a number one bestseller in Catholic books. His memoir My Life with the Saints (Loyola, 2006), which received a 2007 Christopher Award, was named one of the "Best Books" of 2006 by Publishers Weekly, and also received a First Place award from the Catholic Press Association. 

Jan 27, 2015
Bannan, ignatianleadership, BannanLectureArchives, Winter2015