St. Joseph's College

THE IGNATIAN YEAR 2021-2022

Dear students,

Ignatian year is very special for us at St Joseph’s. It’s a time we reflect on the ‘canon ball moment’ in the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola that changed him from a soldier at the court of the King of Spain to a saint for the world in the year 1521.
As we celebrate 500 years of that moment, here you find information and resources to relive the events at Joseph’s.

For more information, please contact

inigo500@sjc.ac.in

deanhumanities@sjc.ac.in

maxim.dias@sjc.ac.in

“To see all things new in GOD”.

The Ignatian Year 2021-2022 already has an official logo to be used in all activities and information about this event. It was designed by the Spanish architect Emilio Ortiz Zaforas. It presents in Latin the name of the Founder of the Society of Jesus, “Ignatius”, which Iñigo de Loyola adopted years after his conversion in 1521. The cross is visible in the center of the word, and it also points to the classic emblem of the Society, “IHS”. The S at the end of the name doubles as the figure 5 at the beginning of the number 500 in a logo that, in a contemporary graphic, connects Ignatius’ old signature with our days by means of a new design. Thus, it wants to combine the epoch of Ignatius’ conversion with the motto chosen for this celebration:
“To see all things new in god”.

What is Ignatian Year?

St Josephs College is a private Institution run by the Jesuits of Karnataka. From 20 May 2021 to 31 July 2022, the Jesuits and the entire Ignatian family are celebrating an Ignatian Year. This year marks the 500th anniversary of the wounding of their founder, Ignatius of Loyola at a battle in Pamplona in 1521. That event changed the course of his life; it led to the foundation of the Society of Jesus which in turn provoked dramatic changes in the Church and in the history of Catholicism.
20th May 1521 - the day when St Ignatius was hit by a cannon ball.
31st July 1556 - the day when St Ignatius died.

Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus

At the heart of the 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.

Message to the youth:

“We (the Jesuits) want to learn to accompany you. We want to learn from you. Each one of you is unique, born with a special purpose. Ignatius struggled to discover the meaning of his life. In him you can find inspiration as you struggle to make your life meaningful and as you ask how you can contribute to building a better world, where the dignity of people is respected and where you live in a joy-filled harmony with nature. I express our desire to accompany you through what we do and most especially through who we are – people willing to share our time, our dreams and our hopes.”

Who are the Jesuits?

“The Jesuit is a servant of the joy of the Gospel” Pope Francis to General Congregation 36, November 2016 Jesuits are the members of the Society of Jesus which was founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius Loyola with the approval of Pope Paul III. Ignatius Loyola had gathered around him an energetic band of well-educated men who desired nothing more than to help others find God in their lives. It was Ignatius’ original plan that the Jesuits be travelling missionaries who would preach and administer the sacraments wherever there was the hope of accomplishing the greater good. Since its foundation the Order has grown from the original ten to more than 15,000 Jesuits worldwide. The Jesuit mission is a mission of reconciliation, working so that women and men can be reconciled with God, with themselves, with each other and with God’s creation.

About Jesuits
More info About Jesuits
Jesuit Education – a contemporary map.

ABOUT ST.IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA

Founder of the Society of Jesus
Ignatius was born in 1491 at Loyola in Guipuzcoa. After spending some time as a courtier, he turned to a military career. On 20 May 1521, The Basque soldier Ignatius of Loyola was defending the city of Pamplona (Spain) against French troops. He gets hit by a cannonball. His legs are shattered. He barely survives and has to spend months recovering. His previous dreams of worldly success and fame are also shattered. He will walk with a limp for the rest of his life.

During his recovery, Ignatius has nothing to do. He is given a book on the life of Christ and a collection of lives of the Saints to read. He does so reluctantly at the beginning, but then gets inspired and wants to imitate the saints. He radically changes his life, centring it on Christ. He leaves for a long pilgrimage in Europe and the Holy Land. His spiritual experiences during his retreat at Manresa were to provide the core of his book `Spiritual Exercises'. In 1537, he was ordained in Venice, and in the same year moved to Rome. There, in 1540, he founded the Society of Jesus, and in the following year was elected its first General. In every kind of apostolic work, he contributed greatly to the Catholic revival of the sixteenth century and to the renewal of the Church's missionary activity. He died in Rome in 1556, and was canonized by Gregory XV in 1622.

Cannonball experiences

Saint Ignatius of Loyola was hit by a cannonball in Pamplona on 20 May 1521. This moment changed his life. It started a conversion which ultimately led to the foundation of the Society of Jesus. But this kind of experiences does not only happen to a Saint 500 years ago. It can happen to everyone, albeit maybe not in such a dramatic way.

Would you like to share your cannonball experience(s) with us:

inigo500@sjc.ac.in