Introducing the Ignatian Year
By Ignacio Garrido Cruz (Loyola University Andalucia '16)
The Society of Jesus invites the entire Ignatian family to participate in the Ignatian Year, May 20, 2021 - July 31, 2022. We will be celebrating the 500th anniversary of a lost battle, of a wound that for Ignatius meant a failure.
Ignatius of Loyola was a soldier and courtier who was aspiring to great military feats and important positions at court. He was even dreaming of marrying a lady high above his station. His worldly ambitions knew no bounds. On May 20, 1521, he was leading an army defending Pamplona against French attackers. Hugely outnumbered, the defense was futile, but the vain Ignatius persisted. A cannonball struck, and his legs and his dreams of worldly success were shattered.
This moment of apparent failure initiated a long process of conversion in which Ignatius discovered that God had a plan for his life that was much greater than he could have imagined. God did not want worldly success for Ignatius, rather God wanted Ignatius’ salvation and his commitment to help souls. The cannonball moment was a sudden, hard hit; the conversion was gradual and never-ending. Nineteen years later, Ignatius founded the Society of Jesus, recruiting other friends in the Lord, a movement that continues today. Ignatius’ life shows that if we let God work in us, greater things than we can imagine will happen.
The Ignatian Year is an opportunity for all of us to pause, to take stock, to reflect on our lives and mission, and to let ourselves be transformed and renewed gently by God. It is an opportunity to fix our gaze even more on Christ and thus to see all things new in Him.
Concretely, our university communities can study the concept of ‘conversion’ from a multidisciplinary angle. We can look at the Universal Apostolic Preferences and note how we are challenged, transformed, and converted by them. The four UAPs are all in one way or another about conversion, about redirecting our lives and putting Christ ever more in the center.
Ignatius’ experience happened 500 years ago in quite a different context from our own. But conversion is possible for everyone, no matter one’s background, age, or culture. The General Curia in Rome is developing a project called Cannonball Moments to highlight our conversions, asking for short video clips where diverse people share a moment of conversion in their lives to inspire others. ASN members can also look forward to these and other resources to enhance their Ignatian Year experience:
A website for the Ignatian Year from SCU's Ignatian Center
An online prayer for the entire Ignatian Family May 23, 2021
An animated series on the life and spirituality of Ignatius
A smartphone app to visit the Ignatian places spiritually
On March 12, 2022, we will be remembering 400 years of the canonization of Ignatius and Francis Xavier. This will be marked by a celebration in the Gesù in Rome and in many other places in the world. It will be a highlight of this Ignatian Year. Let us all commit to our conversions!
Ignacio Garrido Cruz is the International Project Manager for the International Association of Jesuit Universities and was the founding president of the Loyola Andalucia Alpha Sigma Nu chapter.
