July 31 is the feast of St Ignatius Loyola, who died in 1556. Ignatius is known as the founder of the Society of Jesus but, as his feast day approaches, I am reminded that he founded the Society in concert with two others – Francis Xavier, who we in this Conference hold especially dear for he crossed the known world to Japan and reached the shores of China, and Peter Faber (Pierre Favre). The three – Ignatius, Francis and Peter – shared a room during their studies at the University of Paris, and co-founded the Society of Jesus. Peter Faber was the first of the first companions to be ordained a priest.
Recently the Italian journal Avvenire reported that Pope Francis intends to proceed with the canonization of Peter Faber, who was beatified on September 5, 1872. Pope Francis’ decision is not surprising when we consider that among the early companions, it is Peter Faber who offers the most striking similarities with the new Pope’s approach to his mission.
Faber, who lived only 40 years, was missioned to address the crisis in the Church occasioned by the Protestant Reformation. Sent to Germany to defend the Catholic Church, he concluded that the remedy lay not in disputes with the Protestants, but rather in reform of the Catholic Church and especially of the clergy.
Most startling for all was the gentleness of his approach, the way he opened himself to all, amazing people with the extent and effectiveness of his reach. Another of the early companions, Simon Rodriguez, said of Favre: He had a “gay gentleness and cordiality that I have never met in anyone else. He just made friends with people, I don’t know how”. He gained friends by being a friend.
In one of his letters, Faber wrote instructions on dealing with “heretics” (one could substitute “those who disagree with us”): “You should hold them in great affection and love them very truly, putting out of your heart all thoughts and feelings that tend to discredit them. And when you meet them and talk with them, avoid all that could divide and lead to bickering and recrimination. The things that unite us ought to be the first ground of our approach, not the things that keep us apart.”
In Pope Francis’ manner and words, we see an echo of this approach when he asked that “a mindset that excludes should be rejected, to build instead a culture of inclusion and encounter”. He has insisted that “Christians who are afraid to build bridges and prefer to build walls are Christians who are not sure of their faith.”
A beautiful prayer in Faber’s own spiritual journal reveals his inner life and desires, and is one that we, Jesuits and lay companions, would do well to adopt:
“With great devotion and new depth of feeling, I also hoped and begged for this, that it finally be given me to be the servant and minister of Christ the consoler, the minister of Christ the helper, the minister of Christ the redeemer, the minister of Christ the healer, the liberator, the enricher, the strengthener. Thus it would happen that even I might be able through him to help many – to console, liberate, and give them courage; to bring to them light not only for their spirit but also (if one may presume in the Lord) for their bodies, and bring as well other helps to the soul and body of each and every one of my neighbours whomsoever.”
May the spirit that inspired the early companions of Ignatius be found again today among his present day companions and friends.
Mark Raper SJ
President, Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific