Meet Father Jim Doherty, C.S.C., the new Spiritual Director of the Holy Cross Retreat House. Father Jim is originally from Milton. He is the third eldest of seven children: 5 girls and 2 boys. His family belonged to Saint Agatha Parish. 

Father Jim attended Stonehill College hoping to become a research biochemist but found the subject too socially isolating. Returning to his childhood dream of being a priest, he joined the candidate program for the Holy Cross Fathers during his senior year at Stonehill.

He continued on to the seminary at the University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1976 with a masters in Theology. Interested in a ministry in education he continued with his studies and received a Master's Degree in Higher Education at Harvard in 1978. That same year he was ordained a priest at Holy Cross Parish in Easton. 

Father Jim ministered to college students for the next 20 years, both at Stonehill College in Easton and Kings College in Wilkes-Barre, PA. 

Father Jim also served as Vocation Director for the Holy Cross Fathers for 5 years, working mainly with college students.

In 1997, at the age of 48, Father JIm felt called to move beyond the college setting and preach to a wider range of people. He spent a year of spiritual renewal in Berkeley California, preparing himself to minister in parishes. He went on to serve parishes in Maine, Vermont and on Cape Cod. 

Since 2012, Father Jim has served as Pastor of Saint Mary Parish in Taunton. He will begin his new assignment as Spiritual Director of the Holy Cross Retreat House on July 1, 2019.

On a personal note: 

Although he is not a sports fan, Father Jim is an avid swimmer. He rarely watches TV but enjoys watching Netflix videos, reading and classical music.