Listening, Accompanying and Building Community: Meet Jason Brauninger, S.J.
SLU-Madrid's new Campus Chaplain, Jason Brauninger, S.J., brings together an unusual combination of experiences in Jesuit ministry, university teaching, nursing and emergency medicine. At the heart of them all, he says, is the same idea: being present for others.
For Jason Brauninger, S.J., being present for others has taken many different forms.
Before arriving at Saint Louis University-Madrid as campus chaplain, he worked in nursing and emergency medicine, taught university students and served as a Jesuit priest. At first glance, those roles might seem quite different. For him, however, they share something essential.
"Priesthood, nursing and teaching all have something in common: they involve being attentive and present to other people and trying to respond to that person's needs in that particular moment," he said.
Brauninger entered the Society of Jesus in 2005 and was ordained a priest in 2016. He has also been a registered nurse since 2010 and became a nurse practitioner specializing in emergency medicine in 2021. At SLU-Madrid, he combines those experiences once again, serving as campus chaplain while also teaching nursing courses.
His move to Madrid came from a desire to devote more of his ministry to accompanying people directly.
"In my previous ministry, I was primarily involved in teaching, and I wanted to expand my experience by having a greater role in accompanying and supporting students, faculty and staff," he explained. "I was especially excited about the opportunity to serve as campus chaplain and to be part of a diverse, international community."
That diversity is already one of the things that has impressed him most about SLU-Madrid. He describes a community shaped by different cultures, backgrounds and experiences — and one in which he has felt warmly welcomed since arriving.
But for Brauninger, university life is about more than earning a degree. It is also a time when students begin asking questions that may not have simple answers.
"Who am I becoming? What matters? What is God doing in my life?" he said. “I don't have all the answers, but I can provide a place where they can ask these questions and discover their own answers."
That approach is central to the kind of ministry he hopes to build at SLU-Madrid.
He envisions it as a place of "belonging, encounter, reflection and service," supporting the Catholic life of the University through Mass, prayer, retreats and Scripture study, while also creating opportunities for service, interfaith dialogue, reflection on vocation and purpose, and simply bringing people together.
Most importantly, he does not want Campus Ministry to be understood simply as a program or as something intended only for Catholic students.
"I want Campus Ministry to be a place where people can come as they are and know that they will be listened to and respected," Brauninger said. "Ultimately, I hope that we can help create a community where people feel comfortable talking about things that matter to them."
The recently opened interfaith chapel on the second floor of Padre Rubio Hall is part of that vision. Open to the entire SLU-Madrid community, Brauninger hopes it will offer something increasingly difficult to find in a busy university environment: quiet.
"It is a place for prayer, but also for silence, reflection and peace," he said. "All are welcome at any time."
His years in emergency medicine have also shaped the way he approaches conversations with people experiencing difficult moments.
"Emergency medicine teaches you that you can’t always fix what is happening," he said. “There are moments when what someone needs most is honesty, compassion and another human being who is willing to stay present."
That experience has taught him not to begin a conversation by deciding what advice to give, but by trying to understand what the other person is actually saying — or sometimes struggling to say.
And for students who are still unsure whether Campus Ministry is for them, Brauninger's invitation is deliberately simple.
"Please say hello," he said. "You don't have to know anything about Campus Ministry or have a particular reason for stopping by. If you see my door open, please feel free to stop in. I'd be happy to meet you."