Fr Leslie Raj SJ and a team of four in Singapore have began forum@KINGSMEAD, a series of seminars that they hope will encourage academics, professionals and leaders, especially those who collaborate in Jesuit ministries, to gather for reflection and dialogue in the Ignatian tradition.
In his recent visit to the United States, Fr Adolfo Nicolás SJ, superior general of the Society of Jesus, met for the first time with all presidents and board of trustee chairs of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the country. During this historic meeting at Loyola University Chicago on October 11, Fr Nicolás shared his thoughts on how the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Society of Jesus) can inspire the presidents’ and chairs’ leadership of their institutions today.
Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) in the Philippines has been working with the St Aloysius Gonzaga English Language Institute (SAG) in Myanmar to enhance its capabilities.
Ateneo de Naga University has begun a three-year celebration of its 75th anniversary in 2015. University president Fr Primitivo Viray Jr SJ said that they are in the process of looking back at their own history as well as looking forward to the future, which he considers their frontier.
Fr Peter Hosking SJ reflects on his recent journey to Japan accompanying the St Aloysius’s College study tour and the life long impact the peace museums in Hiroshima and Nagasaki had on him, the students and chaperones alike.
In mid-October, 35 Year 9 and 10 students returned from the Japanese study tour. One of the most moving parts of our journey for me was our visits to the peace museums at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, dedicated to the victims and survivors of the atom bomb.
Fr Thierry Meynard SJ, director of the Beijing Centre, spoke to Erenlai Magazine about his interest in China, the importance of learning about China and the services provided by The Beijing Centre for Chinese Studies, a Jesuit work founded in 1998.
Xavier University undergraduate Mary Joy Conquilla never dreamt that she would ever build a house as a gift, but she recently did just that in a Jesuit education programme conceived to encourage students to apply Ignatian pedagogy in their everyday lives.
The Jesuits in the Philippines have called for support for the people affected by the recent standoff between the Philippines government and a Muslim separatist group in Mindanao. In a letter dated September 13, Philippine Provincial Fr Antonio Moreno SJ said, “I strongly appeal to our Jesuit communities, ministries and partners in apostolates to pray for peace, perhaps organizing or joining prayer assemblies, initiating or participating in discussion groups and inter- faith initiatives that promote solidarity.”
Isaías Caldas knows the value of a good education. The Jesuit scholastic grew up in Timor Leste and was one of a privileged few who attended St Joseph College, a Jesuit-run senior high school. But most of his peers had no such luck: their country’s education system had been rendered broken and ineffective by decades of Indonesian occupation and centuries of Portuguese colonisation; their parents were eking out a living in a country on the cusp of independence – surviving from one day to the next took precedence over planning for their children’s future.
Three Filipino Jesuits came up with an interactive version of the Spiritual Exercises for Ateneo de Manila University’s Ignatian Festival in July. Using installation art, Br Eric Esteba SJ, Sch Alvin Laput SJ and Sch Eric S Escandor SJ developed CONTEMPLATIO, a 45-minute prayer exercise designed mainly for young people who want to deepen their faith and enrich their Ignatian identity.