Ignatian Year
Pope Francis greets Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, superior general of the Society of Jesus, before a meeting with editors and staff of the Jesuit-run magazine, La Civilta Cattolica, at the Vatican Feb. 9. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano, handout) See POPE-CIVILTA-CATTOLICA Feb. 9, 2017.
What is the Ignatian Year?
BC High joins Jesuit institutions around the world in celebrating the Ignatian Year, the 500th anniversary of the cannonball injury that St. Ignatius Loyola sustained at Pamplona and his conversion from knight to pilgrim to founder of the Society of Jesus along with St. Francis Xavier, St. Peter Faber, and his other early companions.
The motto of the Ignatian Year:
“To see all things new in Christ.”Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ, Superior General, in a letter to the entire Society of Jesus, extended an invitation to celebrate the Ignatian Year, “It is my desire that at the heart of this Ignatian year we would hear the Lord calling us, and we would allow him to work our conversion inspired by the personal experience of Ignatius.”
Fr. Sosa highlights that this year is also “an opportune time for us to ‘be renewed’ by the Lord himself…opportunity to know, to love, and to follow the Lord of all things.”
Universal Apostolic Preferences
The Ignatian Year will be guided by the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus, which confirm the call to personal, communal, and institutional conversion.
News & Reflections</strong
Local Ignatian Pilgrimage for BC High Students
BC High Students Contribute to the Journey with Ignatius App
The Spiritual Geography of BC High
The Pandemic Can’t Stop the St. Louis Project
We Are JesuitUpcoming Events
August 2, 2021: Mass
(Feast Days of St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Peter Faber), BC High
September 10, 2021: Mass of the Holy Spirit, BC High
Pray Like Ignatius
As St. Ignatius Loyola recuperated from his cannonball wound in bed, he asked to read books of chivalric fiction. The only books available, however, were the Lives of the Saints and the Life of Christ. Over time, St. Ignatius noticed how he was stirred to generosity and joy after reading about Jesus and the saints.
Curious about Jesuit life?
Christ invites each of us along a path in life of service to God and neighbor. But discovering that path – and boldly following where it leads – is not always easy. Fortunately, Jesuits have nearly 500 years of taking up Christ’s challenge to serve a world in need for the glory of God and the help of souls. The legacy of St. Ignatius of Loyola guides us in this mission.
Find direction. Discover meaning. Embark on mission.
Learn more about Jesuit VocationsOfficial Ignatian Year Prayer
Loving God,
We come before You asking for Your special grace as we go through the year dedicated to the memory of the conversion of Saint Ignatius.
We remember the battle of Pamplona, the bravery of Ignatius, his recklessness, his ability to relate to his comrades. We remember his wound; his broken dreams; his apparent failure; the vulnerability of his health; his return to Loyola and the long days of soul searching to try to find his way in life, finally surrendering his life to You as he listened to Your voice speaking to him through his reading, his dreams, his prayers and his imagination. We remember his journey to Manresa; his inner struggles; his desire to reach out to others, helping souls to discover the consolation of Your Risen Son. We ask, Lord, that You renew, also today, Ignatius’ spirit in us.
May we grow closer to his total trust in the Holy Spirit, following Him faithfully, neither running ahead or falling behind. May we make our own his ability to discern, his courage, his vulnerability, his search for companionship; his openness to young people and his desire to share with them his wisdom. May we learn from his fearlessness in going forward even if it meant, sometimes, making mistakes. Grant, Lord, that we may be on fire with his apostolic zeal and full of love for this beautiful but broken world.
Help us, Lord to set aside our narrow views, our preconceptions of ourselves, of each other, of our world and to see everything with new eyes. Help us to live ever more deeply the Ignatian charism of seeing all things new in Christ, of seeing Your grace at work, even in darkness and suffering. May this Ignatian Year help us to know Jesus poor and humble, to love Him more dearly, and follow Him more closely.
We ask the intercession of Our Lady of the Way. May she help us journey with Your Son, Jesus, putting our hand in His, stepping out, every day, into the world with a sense of adventure, of love and hope.
Amen.