500th Anniversary - Ignatian Year

In September of 2019, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Arturo Sosa, S.J. has called for an "Ignatian Year" to celebrate the life of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit Order. The Year will open on May 20th, the 500th Anniversary of when Ignatius the soldier was injured by a cannonball in the Battle of Pamplona. The Year will conclude on July 31, 2022, the feast day of St. Ignatius. The peak of the celebration will fall on March 12, 2022, the 400th Anniversary of the 1622 canonization of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier.

Here are a few words from Fr. Sosa to give you an overview of the focus of this momentous celebreation and call to revitalization.

The Society of Jesus goes back in its origins to the Ignatian experiences, which we will call to mind in the Ignatian Year (2021-2022). It gives us a good opportunity to make known our spiritual root, that spiritual source that feeds and nourishes us in so manyh different ways and places. Deepening and renewing our own interior freedom and energry for the magis opens us to new and enriching perspectives. These can come from accompanying young people, from the hope that drives us to participate in the collective effort that seeks to heal the wounds of natgure, and prepare a better world for future generations."

"For Ignatius, a life of poverty was an expression of intimacy with Jesus...More than words, his poverty was a sign of his interior transformation, of his growing indifference to preparing himself to follow God's will, of his sense that everything came down from above as a gift."

"The Ignatian year offers us a great opportunity...Like St. Ignatius in his conversion, we realize that 'Yes, change is possible. YHes, our hearts can be softened. Yes, our world can find new ways forward."

Visit this link to hear Fr. Sosa's message about the Ignatian Year.