WATERTOWN -- The New England Province of the Society of Jesus announced that Father Myles N. Sheehan, S.J., became the 15th provincial on the July 31, the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits.

Father Adolfo Nicolas, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus, appointed Father Sheehan Provincial of the New England Province on Feb. 19, to succeed Father Thomas J. Regan, S.J., whose six-year term had ended.

“I am honored to be chosen for this service to the Jesuits of New England and our lay colleagues. I am grateful to Father Regan for his work and service over the last six years and look forward to building on the sound foundation he has built,” said Father Sheehan.

Born in Marshfield on April 18, 1956, Father Sheehan graduated from Thayer Academy in Braintree in 1974 and completed his undergraduate degree and doctorate in medicine at Dartmouth College before entering the Society of Jesus.

Father Sheehan joined the New England Province on Aug. 25, 1985 and made his novitiate at St. Andrew House in Boston.

After completing his philosophy studies at Loyola University in Chicago, he did two years of post-doctoral studies in gerontology at Harvard Medical School. He earned his M.Div. from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge.

He was ordained to the priesthood on June 18, 1994 and on April 22, 2005 professed his solemn vows.

Since 1995, Father Sheehan served as a professor of medicine at Loyola University’s Stritch School of Medicine. In 2000, he added the administrative duties of senior associate dean to his teaching and research responsibilities.

“I am confident that the considerable experience that he has gained through these important roles will bode well for his leadership of our province,” said Father Regan.