Peter Le Jacq (born December 24, 1954) is a

Maryknoll Maryknoll is a name shared by a number of related Catholic organizations, including the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers (also known as the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America or the Maryknoll Society), the Maryknoll Sisters, and the Mary ...

priest who was the Special Consultant to

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on AIDS in East

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Early years and education

He grew up in

Manhasset, New York Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 at the 2020 United States ce ...

, where he attended Saint Mary's Elementary School and Saint Mary's High School. He attended St. John's University in Queens and graduated from

Cornell Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach a ...

Medical School in 1980. He did his residency at Saint Vincent's Medical Center in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Priesthood

In 1980, Le Jacq became a Maryknoll Missionary and in 1987 was ordained a priest. He has diplomas in Tropical Medicine and International Health from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in England. In 1987, he received his Masters in Divinity from the Maryknoll Seminary. Since 1984, Le Jacq has worked in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. He worked in the

Serengeti The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a Geography of Africa, geographical region in Africa, spanning northern Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game res ...

from 1984 to 1986 and then Bugando Medical Center in

Mwanza Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 1,182,000 in 2021, it is Tanzania's second largest c ...

from 1987–1997. In 1990,

made Father Le Jacq his Special Consultant on AIDS in East Africa. Father Le Jacq has also organized the Bugando Medical School in Tanzania through the non-profit organization known as the Touch Foundation. The Bugando University College of Health Sciences (BUCHS) is a school for Tanzanians interested in becoming health workers to better serve their community.

References

External links

The Touch Foundation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Jacq, Peter American Roman Catholic priests 1954 births Weill Cornell Medical College alumni Living people Maryknoll Seminary alumni Maryknoll Fathers People from Manhasset, New York