Fr. Fikiri Deogratias, SJ, is a Jesuit priest from Congo-Kinshasa and a Ph.D. student at Marquette University, where his research focuses on the intersection of Jesuit higher education, institutional mission, and business leadership. He earned a master’s degree in social ethics from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, where he deepened his commitment to exploring questions of justice, faith, and ethics in complex institutional contexts. With a vocation that bridges scholarship and ministry, his work engages the challenges of aligning Catholic Jesuit mission with contemporary demands of governance and sustainability in higher education.

Shaped by a truly global formation, Fikiri has lived and worked in multiple countries, acquiring fluency in eight languages, with English as his most recent. His intercultural experiences fuel his interest in social justice, dialogue, and African spirituality as sources of wisdom for leadership and reconciliation. He is the co-founder of Sowing the Seed of Peace in Africa, a grassroots organization dedicated to fostering peace and resilience in local communities. Both in his academic work and pastoral engagements, he seeks to advance models of leadership that are ethically grounded, spiritually informed, and committed to human dignity.