Students from different Jesuit schools in our global community joined a special celebration to close the Ignatian Year together

Many students from different Jesuit schools in our global community joined a special celebration to conclude the Ignatian Year together, which is coming to a close on July 31st, 2022 (Feast of St. Ignatius).

There were two virtual connections organized through Educate Magis Connected Classrooms, one in Spanish and another one in English. The connections had two parts. For the first part, students experienced a guided Ignatian Contemplative prayer. Contemplation is an Ignatian way of prayer, an imaginative prayer, which allows us to use our imagination to dig deeper into the story so that God may communicate with us in a personal, evocative way. For the second part, the students were invited to share about the activities that helped them to know Christ better, during this Ignatian Year. They were encouraged to answer the following questions in the form of an oral or visual presentation.

  • How has our school marked the Ignatian Year?
  • Did we get to know Christ better, deeper, thanks to this Ignatian Year activity?

Both connections provided an opportunity for renewal and rediscovery of the Ignatian roots.  Students, educators, and facilitators together were able to stop, take stock, and put Christ in the center once more during this special year. It is thanks to the initiative of this Ignatian Year, launched by Fr. Arturo Sosa SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, that all of us, inspired by the Ignatian spirituality, «discover a new apostolic enthusiasm inside ourselves, sought and in many cases found a new life, new ways to follow the Lord.»

Here are the video recordings of the two connections. We hope you will enjoy watching them!

Summary Video – Special celebration to conclude the Ignatian Year together – Spanish

Summary Video – Special celebration to conclude the Ignatian Year together – English

We would like to thank all the teachers who helped coordinate and prepare their students for both connections.

  • Fr. Giangiacomo from “Ate Pjeter Meshkalla” school in Shkoder, Albania.
  • Renuka, Ms. Chirstine and Ms. Shila from St. Joseph’s Pre-University College in Bangalore, India.
  • Irene and Bianca, from “Colegio Mateus Ricci”, in Macau, China.
  • Farheen, from Xavier School in Gamharia, India.
  • Jaime, from «Colegio Santa Luisa» school in Bogotá, Colombia.
  • Mina, from «Instituto Oriente» school in Ciudad de Puebla, México.
  • David, from «Colegio San Ignacio» school in Santiago de Chile in Chile.

We would also like to thank our fabulous facilitators, who guided the students in a Virtual Ignatian Contemplative prayer. Mutinta Mapulanga, Director of Jesuit Ethos in St. Ignatius College located in Lusaka, Zambia, and Huber Flórez, Pedagogical Assistant for the Association of Jesuit Schools in Colombia (ACODESI). With experience, love, and kindness, Mutinta and Huber guided students through a moment of stillness and invited them to reflect on what God reveals through the images provided, these were artworks created by other students who participated in the global project “Imagining the World that Christ Desires”, which ran from July to November 2021. The Contemplative prayer was a special journey, a journey into the hearts and minds of fellow students around the world who created these artworks, who reflected on and imagined the world that Christ desires.

We all finished this special celebration to close the Ignatian Year together with a sense of wonder and gratitude for this time with God and with one another. 

«To young people I say: ‘We want to learn to accompany you. We want to learn from you. Each one of you is unique, born with a special purpose. Ignatius struggled to discover the meaning of his life. In him you can find inspiration as you struggle to make your life meaningful and as you ask how you can contribute to building a better world, where the dignity of people is respected and where you live in a joy-filled harmony with nature. I express our desire to accompany you through what we do and most especially through who we are – people willing to share our time, our dreams and our hopes.’«. Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola 2020. Message of Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus

Happy St. Ignatius Day to everyone!

Here are some images and video links shared by schools during the two connections.

«Me and my friends, due to the Ignatius Year, have staged a dramatic part that summarizes the autobiography of Saint Ignatius. The whole drama is supposed to be alternating (including the digital and traditional form … trad: the dramatization on stage)….Saint Ignatius introduces us to his life, taking us back in time to the events that changed his inner self. «And suddenly, a divine light will shine at the end of a long and dark tunnel …»- this is the phrase that opens everything. So, in retrospective, we show the scene of his wounding during the war, where from that knee injury, let’s say, everything starts. (first video/WAR). And the whole drama comes to an end, with a new beginning, which will be his first Mass in Rome, in 1538. During the celebration of the Mass we listen to the promises of Saint Ignatius about his life as a priest and as a man who will be good for the world and society. (second video/ THE HOLY MASS)» Dea, studentt at “Ate Pjeter Meshkalla”, Albania