As 2022 begins, despite strong desires to move on, the world still finds itself mired in pandemics. The fall semester was one of stark juxtaposition. On my campus, students and faculty found comfort returning to in-person classes with the protection of both the vaccine and indoor masking. Just as New York began returning to more normal activity, I received word that a beloved colleague and friend died in Rome, just as it seemed he had fully recovered from COVID-19.

Known for his compassion and joy, Jesuit Father Jacquineau Azétsop was a leading Catholic voice for global health equity. I was honored to call him my classmate and friend. A bioethicist from Cameroon, Azétsop was a devoted priest and his academic work always remained firmly rooted in the preferential option for the poor. Inclusive and generous, he was known as a mentor to countless young African priests studying in Nairobi, Rome, and even New York. In 2018, when I brought a first-year theology class to Rome, he told them about the church in Africa and his own work calling for a social justice approach to HIV/AIDS in Africa. Moved by his witness, my students saw both the church and HIV/AIDS in a new light.