Eleven Jesuits were ordained to the Order of Deacons on October 29 in the Church of the Gesu, Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. The new deacons are Soo Young Park, Changmo Cho, Chang-hyon Lee, Kyoung-Woong Peter Park, Anthony Ochen, Leslie Joseph Bingkasan, Stephanus Advent Novianto, Harvey Mateo, Martin Licup, Felipe Yohan Jr and Roseller Atilano Jr.
Before they left for Rome, some delegates from the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific spoke of their hopes for General Congregation 36.
A close encounter with the Tboli communities in Lake Sebu in the Philippines reveals their great love and pride for their cultural identity. This can be felt in the way they assert and protect their rights and in their local governance. A spirit of unity, collaboration and openness manifests not only during festivities but also in the daily rigours of life.
“There are a lot of stories we can tell about these two institutions, but they are a whole story of gratitude, renewal and hope”.
The two institutions are Loyola House of Studies (LHS) and the Loyola School of Theology (LST) which this month concluded their yearlong golden jubilee celebration. At the closing dinner on September 11, Fr Antonio Moreno SJ, Philippine Jesuit Provincial and Loyola School of Theology Vice-Chancellor, described the story of LHS and LST as a tale of appreciation and optimism.
The southern Philippine island of Mindanao is home to an abundance of natural resources, chief among them are forests and aquatic resources that sustain and nourish ecosystems. But big agricultural developments and large-scale mining activities have resulted in land dispossession of indigenous communities, violence and environmental degradation.
Thirty-eight students from Jesuit universities in four Asian countries gathered in Yogyakarta, Indonesia for this year’s Service Learning Programme (SLP), hosted by Sanata Dharma University. The theme this year – Serving the City, Serving the People: Developing Youth Social Movement within the Urban Communities – was inspired by a growing concern that city development is happening without citizen involvement.
The programme employed the Ignatian Pedagogy Framework of Context-Experience-Reflection-Action-Evaluation.
Filipino Mayette G has lived in Rome, Italy for almost 25 years. She is a single mother of three grown children, two of whom are in the Philippines. She is also living testimony of the strength of a programme conceived to empower Filipino migrant workers when they finally return to the Philippines for good.
It was a bright sunny Wednesday afternoon that saw about 160 Magis/World Youth Day delegates from Asia Pacific gather in the courtyard of Ignatianum University in Krakow. For many, it was a happy reunion of friends met at the first Magis Asia Pacific held last Christmas and for others, an introduction to the new Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific Youth Ministry.
More than 200 young pilgrims from provinces and regions within the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP) have just spent a week learning what it means to be Magis. MAGIS is a Jesuit-organised international meeting of young people from all over the world held in conjunction with World Youth Day. The MAGIS programme helps to prepare them for the experience of World Youth Day by offering them an opportunity to share in a unique experience on three distinct levels: individual growth, relationships with God and others, and intercultural dialogue.
A special screening of the new film on Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, was held at the Filmoteca Vaticana in Vatican City on June 14. An ambitious project by Jesuit Communications Foundation in the Philippines, Ignacio de Loyola is set to be released in cinemas in the Philippines on July 27. An international release is still being planned.