PERSON: James Martin Jr. / Father James Martin

Jesuit Priest

James J. Martin (born December 29, 1960) is an American Jesuit priest, writer, editor-at-large of America magazine and the founder of Outreach, a LGBTQ Catholic organization.

A New York Times Best-Selling author, Martin’s books include The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life, Jesus: A Pilgrimage, and My Life with the Saints. He is a public speaker on the Ignatian spirituality as inspired by Ignatius of Loyola.

Pope Francis appointed Martin as a consultant to the Secretariat for Communications at the Vatican in 2017. In July 2023, it was announced that Martin was among the people specifically invited by Francis to take part in the final phase meetings of the Synod on Synodality.

Martin’s public outreach to the LGBTQ+ community has drawn both support and condemnation from within the Catholic Church. This is the subject of his book Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity. In 2021, a documentary film about Martin’s LGBT ministry, also called Building a Bridge, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.

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