James Martin is an American Jesuit priest, writer, and editor-at-large for the Jesuit magazine America. America is a national magazine, published weekly, that contains news and opinion about American Catholicism and its relevance to American culture and politics. James J. Martin was born on December 29, 1960, in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. James attended Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School and went on the graduate from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. James Martin worked at General Electric for six years after graduation but became dissatisfied with the corporate world. He became more deeply involved with the Catholic Church and, after deciding to enter the Society of Jesus, began his journey to become a Jesuit priest. James earned a master’s degree in philosophy from Loyola University in Chicago.

He earned his master’s of divinity and master’s of theology from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology and became ordained as a priest in 1999. James Martin has written thirteen books including Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life, and Seven Last Words: An Invitation to a Deeper Friendship with Jesus. In 2017, Pope Francis appointed Martin as a consultant to the Vatican's Secretariat for Communications.