Meet Our Team
We’d love to meet you in person – Come by!
Fr. Andrew Downing, S.J.
Vice President for Mission & Ministry and Director of Campus Ministry, adowning@saintpeters.edu, (201) 761-6018
Vice President for Mission & Ministry and Director of Campus Ministry at Saint Peter’s University, positions he has served in since 2020. Before taking these responsibilities, he was a University Jesuit Associate, which allowed him to work in the classroom, as a professor of theology, and out of the classroom, as a campus minister and a priest on the staff of St. Aedan’s Church. Before coming to Saint Peter’s, Fr. Downing taught theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Jesuit university of Rome, for three years and then completed the final stage of his Jesuit formation (“tertianship”) at a program in Dublin, Ireland. It was during this period of tertianship in 2017 that he was introduced to Saint Peter’s, when he came to the university for a field placement. Getting to know the welcoming communities of the university and of St. Aedan’s parish led him back to Jersey City the following year with a full-time assignment, and he has been there ever since.
Fr. Downing has studied at a number of Jesuit institutions over the course of his training, including Fordham University and the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, before completing his studies at the University of Notre Dame, where he received a Ph.D. in Theology in 2014. He is a member of the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
Erich Sekel
Associate Director of Campus Ministry for Community Service, esekel@saintpeters.edu, (201) 761-7395
A lifelong resident of Jersey City, NJ, Erich Sekel is committed to the residents of Hudson County through his work and service. He began his professional ascent working with seventh and eighth- grade students as a social studies teacher at Sacred Heart School in Jersey City. After four years, he moved into a ministry role as the Assistant Director of Campus Ministry at his high-school alma mater Saint Peter’s Prep, before assuming the position of Associate Director of Campus Ministry for Community Service at Saint Peter’s University. In 2015, Erich received the New Jersey State Governor Jefferson Award for Volunteer Leadership. He serves as president of Rebuilding Together Jersey City, and on the Strategy Team of Jersey City Together.
Erich coordinates all domestic community service programs at Saint Peter’s, including the Campus Kitchen and the Saint Peter’s University Food Pantry and Clothes Closet. Erich holds a M.A. in Secondary Education from Seton Hall University and a B.A. in Classical Civilizations from Boston University.
Fr. Luis Tampe, S.J.
University Jesuit Associate, ltampe@saintpeters.edu, (201) 761-7391
Although Fr. Luis Tampe, SJ was born, and lived briefly, in Chile, he and his three brothers grew up with their parents in the United States, Paraguay, and throughout Central America. Before joining the Society of Jesus, he studied mechanical engineering for six years. Fr. Luis completed a doctorate in systematic theology and has been helping at St. Aedan’s Church and teaching theology and physics at the University. He enjoys teaching, ministering, and watching science-fiction movies. He is grateful to be in Jersey City and is excited to participate in the mission of Saint Peter’s University to educate “a diverse community of learners . . . to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice..”
Joseph Hill
University Director of Music, University Director of Music, (201) 761-7389
Mr. Hill has appeared as soloist with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem and has made other solo appearances with Amherst Early Music (Purcell’s Fairy Queen), and with the Collegium Musicum of The College of New Jersey (Purcell’s Come Ye Sons of Art). He has appeared as soloist with the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra singing Bach’s Cantata 161, as well as Leonard Bernstein’s Missa Brevis and Chichester Psalms. Past engagements have also included a recital for the Princeton Friends of Opera and the title role in Handel’s Solomon with the Choral Arts Society of New Jersey. Mr. Hill is also regularly involved with the NJ based Vox Fideles, a vocal ensemble specializing in the performance of sacred Renaissance polyphony. In 2009, Mr. Hill traveled to Oakham, England for the Tenth Annual Tallis Scholars Summer School, and in 2010, he was selected as a finalist in the 6 th Biennial Bach Vocal Competition sponsored by the American Bach Society and the Bach Choir of Bethlehem. Since 2010, Mr. Hill has made critically acclaimed performances off-Broadway and in opera performances in venues throughout NYC.