“Today our prime educational objective must be to form men-and-women-for-others; men and women who will live not for themselves but for God and his Christ – for the God-man who lived and died for all the world; men and women who cannot even conceive of love of God which does not include love for the least of their neighbours; men and women completely convinced that love of God which does not issue in justice for others is a farce”. These words of Pedro Arrupe were a paradigm shift of Jesuit Educational ideas. On July 31st, 1973, Pedro Arrupe, the then Superior General of the Society of Jesus, spoke to the 10th International Congress of Jesuit Alumni of Europe gathered in Valencia, Spain.

This seminal address by Fr. Pedro Arrupe SJ 50 years ago, initiated a process of reflection and self-evaluation which led to the worldwide renewal of Jesuit education. It includes the well-known phrases “men (and women) for others” and “agents for change”. Considering the weight of these words and their positive impact on schools across the world the International Commission on the Apostolate of Jesuit Education (ICAJE) and Educate Magis have decided to offer Global Discernment Circles to commemorate the 50th Year of “Persons for Others”, with our Global Educators.  These Global Discernment Circles (GDC), scheduled to be held on November 9th, 2023, will be for a limited number of educators from the regions. However, the same discernment model with accompanying reflection guides will be made available for Educators from each region to adapt to their own contexts as they wish.

We, in Jesuit schools, strive to offer our staff and students a holistic formation. Besides the physical, moral, and social areas, schools help one develop one’s intellectual (IQ), emotional (EQ), and spiritual (SQ) quotients. “Fr. Arrupe insisted on an added dimension to make education more integral: the Justice Quotient (JQ)! Education for Justice. The JQ of students is developed through various outreach programmes (“social service”), which have existed in some form or other in most institutions but would now be pursued with greater commitment. The challenge would be to get ‘every staff and student’ involved and to make of each of them a PFO par excellence!”, summarises Hedwig Lewis SJ on persons for others with a strong justice conscience.

To prepare for the Global Discernment Circles, and indeed to commemorate this 50th anniversary, Educate Magis is going to share with you a series of touching reflections on Beloved Don Pedro: “Man for Others”, by well-known Jesuit writer, Hedwig Lewis SJ (GUJ). The reflections will take us to a deeper understanding of the person of Arrupe, the Society of Jesus of his time, and his wonderful ideas for Jesuit Education to form Men and Women for others. In this series of reflections, you will find; 1. Rooted in Love and Faith, 2. Developing Mind and Heart, 3. Call and Commitment, 4. Formation for Magis, 5. St. Ignatius and “Ignatian”, 6. Vision and Mission, 7. Person Oriented Leadership, 8. Education for Justice, 9. Arrupean Panorama.

This series of reflections will be available on Educate Magis in Spanish, French and English. The reflections are very short, simple, yet very deep, and affective. Arrupe always had a person-centered approach. This has to do with relationships and is important for educators to be loving and inspiring to their students. He believed that the Ignatian Magis is an uncompromising commitment to all.

Readers are encouraged to share these articles with fellow educators as well as with students, and other stakeholders. You are of course very welcome to write your comments, short reflections, and affective experiences with the Global Community by commenting underneath the articles published on Educate Magis. These articles together with your reflections, and comments will help us to reflect during the Global Discernment Circles in November 2023 and will encourage others to pause and reflect on the true meaning and practical application of Fr. Arrupe’s words.

Let us make the commemoration of the 50th year of “Persons for Others” meaningful to Jesuit Schools!