Daily AncestorS.J.
S.J. after a priest's name means Society of Jesus: he was a Jesuit.
S.J. stands for Society of Jesus, the Catholic order whose members are called Jesuits. A priest who signed a register as Rev. Jno. Ryan, S.J. was a Jesuit.
Jesuits ran colleges and many missions, including early parishes in Maryland, Missouri and the Great Lakes, so their signatures show up in some of the oldest Catholic registers in the country.
As seen in a recordSignature in a Catholic baptism register
Bapt. by Rev. J. Hartley, S.J.
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Daily Ancestor. "S.J.." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/abbreviations/sj. Last checked 2026-10-01.