The Ignatian Year celebrating the 500th anniversary of St Ignatius’ cannonball injury at the Battle of Pamplona and his subsequent conversion starts on 20 May.

In order to mark the beginning of this important year for the Ignatian family prayerfully, the Society of Jesus is organising an online prayer broadcast, open to all, on 23 May. This prayer will last for about 35 minutes and will be broadcast in three time zones: at 8pm in Manila (PST), at 8pm in Rome (CET), and at 8pm in New York (EDT). Each time, three language versions will be available: English, Spanish, and French.

The prayer will include a reflection from Fr General Arturo Sosa SJ, testimonies from people in the different Jesuit conferences, and music from, amongst others, Cristobal Fones, Keith Duke, and Laurent Grzybowski.

There will be the possibility for sharing during the prayer in the online chat and on social media using the hashtag #ignatius500. There will also be interaction about the prayer and the Ignatian Year in the chat and on social media after the prayer.

This online prayer will be a major event in the Ignatian Year and Fr General invites us all to join in and promote this prayer widely. This prayer answers to a desire of his: “This Ignatian Year should first and above all be an opportunity for an experience. Through all the events and projects developed during this year, we want to invite people to live an experience of conversion.… It is about knowing Christ more clearly, loving Him more dearly, and following Him more closely.… We want this celebration to be a spiritual experience.”

The broadcast will be streamed on the website ignatius500.global/live.