Letter by Ignatius Discovered in London

A letter signed by Ignatius was recently discovered in the Jesuit archives of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in London.

The document, buried in a filing cabinet for more than 100 years, was written in Italian and dated February 16, 1555, eighteen months before Ignatius's death.

Jesuits at the British Province consider the letter to be unique because most surviving signatures of Ignatius are in Rome. Fr. David Smolira, the British Jesuit provincial, says, "It is remarkable that this letter has survived almost 450 years, considering how Jesuit libraries and universities across Europe were taken over at the time of the suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773."

The letter, addressed to Quirino Garzonio, a good friend of the saint, was probably dictated by Ignatius and written by his Jesuit secretary, Fr. Juan Polanco.

The signature was verified by Fr. Peter Beckx, the Society's superior general between 1853 and 1887, who also confirmed in a note that the last two lines were written by Ignatius's own hand.

The contents of the letter deal with administrative matters, but the final sentence reveals an insight into the saint's theology -- that all Christians are called to serve, praise, and revere God and that they must discern and fulfill his divine purpose for them.

"I thank you for your charitable remembrance and pray God Our Lord to grant us all the grace ever to know his most holy will and perfectly to fulfill it," Ignatius wrote. The letter is signed: "Your servant in Our Lord, Ignatius."

It is not known how the letter came to arrive in England since the only record is a note from 1891 that said it was kept in a sacristy in a church in southwest London. The Jesuits said it is likely that the letter was transferred to the Jesuit headquarters on Mount Street in the 1960s when its novitiate program moved.
Catholic News Service

Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, SJ, in Omaha

Jesuit Superior General Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach will spend two days visiting Omaha this October to commemorate the 125-year presence of the Jesuits in the city.

While there, he will deliver an address and bless a new statue of Ignatius at Creighton University. To celebrate the theme of "Jesuit-Lay Collaboration," Fr. Kolvenbach will also visit with parishioners, students, faculty, staff, and others involved with Jesuit ministries in and around the city, including Creighton Prep, parishes, and a middle school.

Remembering 9/11

Mount Manresa Retreat House on Staten Island recently dedicated this cross made from World Trade Center steel to memorialize the efforts of its staff and volunteers in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The retreat house became a temporary home for many rescue workers as they labored at the nearby Fresh Kills landfill, where debris from the World Trade Center was sent. The retreat house was also a center to help families of the victims, and the Red Cross set up headquarters there for six months after the attack.

A memorial collage of photos of Ground Zero, Fresh Kills landfill, and rescue workers at Mt. Manresa was mounted opposite the cross.

Manresa retreat directors Fr. John King, SJ, and Fr. Tom Quinn, SJ, spent some time at the landfill for four months, talking and listening to the detectives who were raking the debris. "Our role was not that of counselor or spiritual director," says King. "We were there just to listen to them and chat with them along the lines of their interests. "Once in a while, one of the men would point to another and say: 'Father, he needs a conversion.' We'd smile and reply 'We're not on duty here for that. We just want to sit around and chat with you.' They'd all nod their heads in agreement," remembers King.

University of Detroit Mercy Law Office on Wheels

Law students and clinical faculty from University of Detroit Mercy (UDM), along with attorney volunteers, are now traveling around Detroit in a remodeled RV, dispensing legal advice to those who would normally not have access to it.

UDM's Mobile Law Office embarked on its maiden voyage last fall. The remodeled vehicle has a desk and chairs, filing cabinets, a street map of Detroit, and a separate room for confidential interviews with their clients.

The students, supervised by pro bono attorneys and professors, go to church and community centers, where people in the neighborhood can stop in and get advice on matters ranging from immigration questions and Medicaid benefits to fraud. The students then refer them to another of UDM's clinics that will best fit the client's needs, for instance the Urban Law Clinic or the Immigration Law Clinic.

Jesuit Volunteers on New Journeys

It was orientation time for these newest "recruits" of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps at Camp St. Francis in Aptos, California. They and over 340 others will be working this year in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in the United States or for the next two years in the Jesuit Volunteers International. Summer orientation was a time for volunteers to get to know each other and learn more about the four values of JVC — social justice, spirituality, simple living, and community.

About half of this year's volunteers graduated from Jesuit colleges and universities, including Boston College, Holy Cross, and Gonzaga. Those in JVC will work in education, social service, and health care positions, in urban centers and Native American reservations, everywhere from Alaska to Texas.

Jesuit Volunteers International members will work primarily in education in nine countries around the world, including Tanzania, Belize, and, for the first time, Bolivia.

For more information visit www.jesuitvolunteers.org
Maggie Conley, Project Manager, Jesuit Volunteer Corps

Jesuit Alums, Students Compete in Olympics

Scott Parsons (above), a member of the U.S. whitewater slalom team and a '97 graduate of St. John's Jesuit High, was among a number of alumni or students of Jesuit schools in the United States who competed in the Olympics on U.S. teams this summer with approximately 9,000 other athletes.

Several in this Jesuit group brought home metal. Ian Crocker, a 2000 graduate of Cheverus High in Maine, was a big winner, taking home two golds, one silver, and one bronze in swimming. Boston College High's Erik Vendt ('99) swam his way to silver, and Kate Johnson, a '97 Jesuit High Portland graduate, took home silver in rowing. Pole vaulter Tim Mack (St. Ignatius High Cleveland '90) and soccer player Brandi Chastain (Santa Clara University '91) each took home a gold; Chastain previously won gold in '96 and silver in '00.

Other competitors included volleyball player Reid Priddy (Loyola Marymount University '00) and rower Pat Todd (St. Xavier High Cincinnati '98), who was coached by another Jesuit alum, Mike Teti (Saint Joseph's University Ô78), head coach of the men's rowing team.

Jesuit alums also competed for other countries. In men's basketball, Ed Book (Canisus College '92) played for New Zealand and Gonzaga University grads John Rillie ('95) and Paul Rogers ('96) played for Australia. Mobolaji Akiode, an '03 grad of Fordham University, competed on the Nigerian women's basketball team, and Megan Compain (Saint Joseph's University '97) was on New Zealand's basketball team. In other sports, Anthony Massimino (Xavier High New York '97) played baseball for Italy; Loyola Marymount students Rachel Riddell and Christine Robinson played on Canada's water polo team; and Walker Loseno, a Gonzaga University student, was a member of Greece's women's soccer team.

New Cristo Rey High in East Harlem

Judiha and David were among the new students at Cristo Rey New York High School in East Harlem, which opened its doors this September. As is the case with other Cristo Rey-model schools, its students will work one day a week. The pay they earn from the school's sponsors, including The New York Supreme Court and Eurotech Construction, will cover over 70 percent of their tuition.

Students are presented with clear goals: every freshman will graduate and every senior will earn several offers each of admission to college.

This Cristo Rey school is sponsored by the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and the Society of Jesus. Fr. Joseph Parkes, SJ, is the school's first president. For more information visit www.cristoreyny.org

Belen Jesuit Prep Celebrates 150 Years

Belen Jesuit Prep in Miami celebrates its 150th anniversary this year, although in a different country than where it was founded. Belen opened in Havana, Cuba, in 1854; in 1961 it had 1,200 students when the Castro government expelled the Jesuits who ran the school. The same year they reopened the school in Miami, where they've continued educating students for the past 43 years.

The school has changed with the city's population. Now it is not only Cuban Americans who attend Belen; students of 27 different nationalities – many from Latin America and Europe – join Cuban Americans in making up the student body of 1,000, according to Fr. Guillermo García-Tuñón, SJ, a teacher at Belen.

The campus has grown to 30 acres, with its own theater, gym, observatory, art gallery, and chapel. Influential alums include Fidel Castro ('45), Roberto Goizueta ('48), the late CEO of Coca Cola, and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz ('73). Diaz had this to say about his alma mater: "It set a high standard and bar to reach. It instilled in me a set of values that I still hold near and dear with respect to giving back, working on behalf of the community."

Fr. Robert Drinan Honored by ABA

Fr. Robert Drinan, SJ, a Georgetown University law professor and former member of Congress, received the American Bar Association's highest honor, the 2004 ABA Medal.

The medal, which recognizes exceptional distinguished service to the cause of American jurisprudence, has been given since 1929 to some of the most important legal figures in American history, including eight Supreme Court justices.

"In an amazing career that has spanned more than half a century, Fr. Drinan has never faltered in his extraordinary humanitarian efforts and support for justice under the law," said ABA president Dennis Archer. "He has demonstrated to lawyers what it means to be committed to public service and to countless law students what is embodied in the highest dedication to ethical, moral legal practice."

A professor at Georgetown since 1981, he teaches international human rights, constitutional law, civil liberties, legislation, and legal ethics. He represented the Fourth District of Massachusetts in the House of Representatives from 1971 to 1981.
Catholic News Service

New Ann Arbor Jesuit Community

The Detroit Province Jesuits have begun a new community in Ann Arbor near the University of Michigan. The Jesuit community is connected to the university's students, as the diocese has asked the Jesuits to staff St. Mary's Student Parish, which serves Catholics at the university.

Fr. Dan Reim, SJ, is superior of the community and also on staff doing campus ministry. Another community member, Fr. Uwem Akpan, SJ, from Nigeria, is a full-time graduate student at the university.

Jesuit Bishop Heads Jamaican Diocese Pope John Paul II has named Auxiliary Bishop Gordon D. Bennett, SJ, of Baltimore to be the new bishop of Mandeville, Jamaica; he succeeds Bishop Paul M. Boyle. When Bishop Bennett was named a Baltimore auxiliary bishop in December 1997, he was president of Loyola High School in Los Angeles. Before that he had served as rector and novice master at Queen of Peace Novitiate in Montecito and as principal of Loyola High. He is a graduate of Fordham and Gonzaga universities.

Spring Hill College Celebrates Restoration of St. Joseph Chapel More than 400 people gathered at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, this past July to celebrate the restoration of the campus's St. Joseph Chapel. The event marked the completion of an extensive, $4.2 million interior and exterior restoration and included the blessing of a new baptismal font and the anointing of the new altar. The restoration, which began in the summer of 2003, included a new roof, marble altar, ambo, and baptismal font. The sacristy and Stations of the Cross were restored, and the pews, hardwood flooring, and woodwork were refinished. St. Joseph Chapel, built in 1909, is one of the most visible symbols of Spring Hill College, serving the college for nearly a century and as the parish church for the area until 1950. Generations of graduates have exchanged wedding vows there.

Austrian Jesuits and World War I artifact A Jesuit community in Styria, Austria, recently donated the Browning pistol used by the assassin who killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, an event that precipitated World War I. Fr. Anton Puntigam, SJ, had given the archduke and his wife, Sophie, last rites and had been given the weapon by a family friend of the archduke. Province archivist Fr. Thomas Neulinger, SJ, said the Jesuits decided to give the pistol and other items to the Vienna Museum of Military History in time for the 90th anniversary of the assassination in June. Besides the pistol, Fr. Puntigam had held on to petals from a rose attached to Sophie's belt, the cover of the cushion on which the fatally wounded archduke rested his head, and bombs the assassin's accomplices had failed to use. The weapon is displayed with the archduke's car and the coat he was wearing that day. "We thought we could no longer carry the responsibility for their upkeep and decided to hand them to the military museum where they'll be expertly looked after and the public will have access to them," Fr. Neulinger said. www.telegraph.co.uk

web sites of interest

• Jesuits in Singapore

  www.jesuit.org.sg

  This recently revamped site features prayer ministry geared toward a culture of busy people who may not feel they have the time to pray daily. Through the site one can sign up to receive a daily e-mail on the Gospel for insight on the Word of God.

• Loyola Marymount University's "Presidency 2004"

  presidency04.lmu.edu

  This site is for those interested in issues related to the U.S. presidency during the election year. The site is updated regularly and covers diverse topics such as the developing world's views of the U.S. presidency, religious issues, and ethics and the media.