jesuits and friends issue 87

24
A faith that does justice & friends Issue 87 • Spring 2014 • jesuitsandfriends.org.uk FREE: please take a copy Rebuilding lives after Typhoon Haiyan

Upload: jesuits-in-britain

Post on 25-Mar-2016

224 views

Category:

Documents


2 download

DESCRIPTION

Published three times a year by the Jesuits in Britain and Jesuit Missions, with news and features from UK parishes, schools and retreat centres, as well as missions in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Guyana. Representing 'a faith that does justice', underpinned by Ignatian Spirituality.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

A faith that does justice

& friends

Issue 87 • Spring 2014 • jesuitsandfriends.org.uk

FREE: please take a copy

Rebuilding lives after Typhoon Haiyan

Page 2: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

2 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2014

Cover photo by: James Broscombe

Have you or someone you know considered life as a Jesuit priest or brother? For more information, visit www.jesuitvocations.org.uk or contact:

South Africa: Fr Shaun Carls SJ Tel: (+27) 021 685 3465 [email protected]

Guyana: Fr Jerri Melwin Dias SJ Tel: + 592 22 67461 [email protected]

The Jesuits in Britain undertake a wide range of ministries in Britain and around the world. The Jesuit Missions Office exists to accompany members of the Society of Jesus in the UK, Guyana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and many other countries in their varied ministries. Its role is to help the British Province make real its mission to proclaim a Faith that does Justice.

Britain: Fr Matthew Power SJ Tel: (+44) 0151 426 4137 [email protected]

Editor: Fr Dushan Croos SJAssistant Editor: Ged Clapson Editorial group: Fr Denis Blackledge SJ, Annabel Clarkson, Richard Greenwood, Jane Hellings, Jonathan Parr, James Potter, Sr Anouska Robinson-Biggin fcJ.

Designed by: www.rfportfolio.comPrinted by: www.magprint.co.uk

To protect our environment, papers used in this publication are produced by mills that promote sustainably managed forests and utilise Elementary Chlorine Free process to produce fully recyclable material in accordance with an Environmental Management System conforming with BS EN ISO 14001:2004.

Address for correspondence:11 Edge Hill, London SW19 4LR T: 020 8946 0466 E: [email protected]

A faith that does justice

& friends

Issue 87 • Spring 2014 • jesuitsandfriends.org.uk

FREE: please take a copy

Rebuilding lives after Typhoon Haiyan

Jesuits and Friends is published three times a year by the Jesuits in Britain in association with Jesuit Missions

Registered Charity No. England and Wales: 230165 Scotland: 40490

Cover photo: Jesuit Missions Germany

Visit the new Jesuits in Britain websiteThe Jesuits in Britain have launched a new website Jesuit.org.uk

• Read our latest news• Watch videos about our work and history• Test your knowledge with our Ignatian quiz• Book events• Find answers to questions about spirituality• Submit prayer requests• Find out how to get involved in volunteering• Make donations online

Jesuit.org.uk/calendar2014 has many additional resources to complement our 2014 commemorative calendar. Calendars can still be ordered via the website.

PLUS THREE OTHER NEW SITES

Thinkingfaith.org jesuitvocations.org.ukprayasyougo.org

Page 3: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

jesuitsandfriends.org.uk 3

CONTENTS

Worldwide, the Society of Jesus is marking the 200th anniversary this year of its Restoration by Pope Pius VII, an event we recall in this edition of Jesuits and Friends

by considering the contribution made by the Plowden brothers during the Suppression. But there are other important anniversaries this year as well.

South Africa, for instance, will celebrate the 20th anniversary of free elections, following the apartheid regime. The older generation will no doubt be reflecting on the momentous events

of 1994 and recalling the impact that the late Nelson Mandela had upon their lives. But there is an entirely new generation of voters in this year’s election – a generation that never knew apartheid. Anthony Egan’s article explains how the Jesuit Institute in South Africa is playing an important part in the democratic process in the country.

Heythrop College’s history stretches back even further and its 400th anniversary is commemorated in this issue. “One would be hard pressed to locate a college that has … managed to survive everything the gusts of history blew its way,” writes Jonathan Wright, concluding that, in miniature, the college’s long and winding history

From the editor...

encapsulates the story of the Jesuits in Britain. While expressing the hope that Heythrop’s geographical odyssey is over, he says that its intellectual quest continues.

These anniversaries remind us of those who have gone before us and have striven to be faithful to our mission in the name of the Gospel. At the heart of that mission are “the service of faith and the promotion of justice”, as the work of Jesuit Missions reminds us on page 12. It is a mission which needs constantly to be renewed and which depends upon your continued support and generosity, as we continue to express God’s love and justice.

Fr Dushan Croos SJ

04 Post-Typhoon Haiyan, from relief to rehabilitation: Bernie Aton

06 The people of South Africa prepare for their General Election: Anthony Egan SJ

07 A Revolution of the Spirit: Meditations for Lent

08 Happy 400th birthday, Heythrop College: Jonathan Wright

10 Tom McCoog SJ recalls the ‘sons of thunder’ who anticipated the Restoration of the Society

11 Putting names and faces to volunteering statistics: Nick Franklin

12 Jesuits Missions, life at 50 and beyond: Paul Chitnis

14 Jesuit Missions’ latest initiatives for volunteers and education

15 A ‘Green’ school in Soweto: Bruce Botha SJ

16 A Litany for Loyola Hall; plus ‘Jesus the Consoler’ Tony Horan SJ

18 Making the Word flesh: Jim Conway SJ

19 Speak, Lord, your servant is listening: Jerri Melwin Dias SJ

20 Praying with the Pope

21 ‘Meddling’ in politics: Ged Clapson talks to Frank Turner SJ

22 And what’s more… Alex Polizzi

22 Obituaries and recently deceased friends and benefactors

04

13

11

19

In this issue...

Page 4: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

XXX Xxx

4 Jesuits & Friends Spring 20144 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2014

JESUIT MISSIONS The Philippines

Your generosity pushes us to rise again – may God bless you!

Page 5: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

jesuitsandfriends.org.uk 5jesuitsandfriends.org.uk 5

SLB IS FOCUSSING its relief effort on three devastated communities of tiny Culion Island, where the Jesuits run the parish of the Immaculate Conception and Loyola College. Culion used to be a leper colony and living conditions and infrastructure are still of an under-developed community. The people are very resilient and many have already re-built their homes. But they are still made out of flimsy materials such as corrugated metal, plywood or local woven matting. And they are still built on the coastal line, still very vulnerable to disaster. SLB aims to create safer communities rather than simply repairing the houses.

Our current goal in Culion is to relocate these most vulnerable communities to a safer location. We aim to build more liveable homes and provide livelihood assistance, thereby enabling people to move from the coastal zones. But first we are holding consultations with local people about why they build on the coast.

Culion has great potential for economic growth as an eco-tourism centre, but needs guidance and practical help. Our project is empowering the local community to take advantage of the need to rebuild and to see it as an opportunity for economic development. The developments we are supporting will not only build capacity but will also have longer term benefits.

We are very aware that with the magnitude and impact of Yolanda’s destruction in the different parts of our nation it will be very hard for us to recover, rebuild, rehabilitate and rise up on our own. The response of the international community has been

THANK YOUYour donations to the Jesuit Missions appeal have now exceeded £275,000.Thank you for your incredible support. To subscribe to our enewsletter for further updates please email [email protected] with ‘Subscribe’ in the subject line.

PEOPLE MISSING

overwhelming, fuelling us to rebuild. It boosts the spirit of the people to know that we are not alone in this challenge, that there are many people beyond our knowing who love the Philippines and would want us to rise up again.

Knowing that many people are behind us, supporting us and pushing us brings courage that as a nation we can surpass this challenge. Your donations will go a long way to improving the lives of people affected by Yolanda. May our dear Lord bless you. We will always pray for you. l

The Philippines JESUIT MISSIONS

Typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda), was the most powerful storm ever to make landfall. It ripped across the central Philippines on 8 November 2013, destroying homes, displacing

millions and disrupting livelihoods. Jesuit Missions and other European Jesuit NGOs are working with Jesuit partner in the Philippines Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan (SLB - meaning church in service to the nation). Bernie Aton, SLB’s Disaster-preparedness Manager, tells us how the

relief work is now focussing on long-term rehabilitation and recovery.

1.1

14.1MILLION PEOPLE AFFECTED

CULION

PEOPLE DISPLACED4.1

MILLIO

NM

ILLION

6,201REPORTED DEAD

1,785

DAMAGED HOUSES

Left: Solar lamps are brought ashore on Galoc Island and (above) are demonstrated by Bernie Aton

Page 6: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

6 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2014

JESUIT MISSIONS South Africa

oppose corruption, as part of the global ecumenical ‘Exposed’ initiative. These actions in themselves may not seem to be much, but if we can at least change people’s acquiescence and fatalism about corruption – particularly among youth who may not yet be as cynical as their elders – perhaps we will have made a difference.

The dominant language of business and government in South Africa is English, yet it is the mother tongue of less than three million of the population of 51 million. So, given the state of South African schooling and the fact that the Jesuits do not run their own school in the country, education continues to be key to the people’s future and is manifest in many of the Jesuits’ works. An orientation year helps prospective priests, particularly from poor rural areas, develop their skills in English, study methods and basic theology. Not only does JISA provide adult education for deacons and lecturers in universities, it also supports the work of an ecumenical network of

Committed to education, reconciliation and democracy

Twenty years since South Africa’s first free elections, the people prepare for a new chapter in their history, writes Anthony Egan SJ

parties are forming. Without endorsing any specific political party, the Jesuits are able to draw on Catholic Social Teaching to help inform people’s political choices. One of the principal tools for this has been A Revolution of

the Spirit, a Lent book published by the Jesuit Institute of South Africa (JISA), which presents daily meditations and links Lent and Easter to themes of 20 years of democracy and the perennial challenge of good governance.

JISA has also tried to combine Ignatian spirituality with engagement in public life, by working with the national Catholic Justice and Peace Commission and South Africa’s Catholic bishops to

THIS SPRING, THE PEOPLE of South Africa will go to the polls. This will be the country’s fifth General Election since full democracy was established 20 years ago and the first since the death of Nelson Mandela – one of the architects of democracy in the country.

What I think many South African Jesuits appreciated about Mandela was his commitment to education, to reconciliation and to seeking the greater good for the country. We honour him best not by sentimentality or nostalgia, or even by mourning, but by doing what we can to make democracy work and contribute what we can to social development.

The Jesuits in South Africa are very much engaging in the kind of issues that should inform how people vote. Many South Africans are disillusioned by what they perceive as failures and the growing socio-economic fault-lines within the broad movement called the African National Congress, so new

“We honour those who brought democracy to South

Africa best by carrying on their work”

Page 7: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

jesuitsandfriends.org.uk 7

South Africa JESUIT MISSIONS

As South Africans head towards the 20th anniversary of their first free elections after apartheid, the Jesuit Institute has published a book of reflections that link the season of Lent with South Africans’ experience of liberation and address more

broadly Pope Francis’ call for the Church to actively participate in political life. A Revolution of the Spirit provides theological insights into the South African experience, and through them, challenges Christians across the world to think about the relationship between Church and politics.

In A Revolution of the Spirit, Fr Anthony Egan SJ offers a series of daily reflections which not only take readers on the journey from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday but also parallel this with the experience of liberation: of the Israelites and of South Africa 20 years ago when its people were heading to their first free elections. He uses quotations from the Lectionary and combines them with additional quotations from political activists and other Scriptures.

“Each meditation can be read on its own,” Fr Egan writes in the introduction. “But careful examination will reveal a pattern, rooted in reflection on the past, as an attempt to understand the present, with a view to a possible future. Certain themes recur: • the interconnection between

God working in biblical ‘history’ and in the history of South Africa;

• our moral responsibility to make democracy in South Africa work;

• the memory of the 1994 transition to democracy and the anticipation of the 2014 election;

• and the need for a critical reading of where we’ve come from in order that we might keep our future accountable, for ourselves and generations still to come.”

people engaged in ministry that tries to transform society at grassroots, training directors in spirituality and giving retreats. Priests, religious and pastors, counsellors and teachers in particular have benefited from this programme, while a Spirited Leadership programme has been developed that uses a fairly secularised form of Ignatian spirituality to help people find the ‘leader within’ themselves. This course has been given to school staff, to students taking their master’s degree in business administration, to business executives, and even to public servants.

The next six months for the Jesuits may well be a time of discerning and helping others to discern what God may be saying to them, as South Africa celebrates 20 years of democracy. In some ways, it’s our way of thanking Nelson Mandela and the many others, including Church leaders like the late Archbishop Denis Hurley who died ten years ago, who helped bring democracy to the country. We honour them best by trying to carry on their work. l

Faith in politics – and politics in faith

A book of reflections for Lent from South Africa challenges us to consider our political responsibilities.

“Responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation” Pope Francis

READ MOREA Revolution of the Spirit is available from Jesuit Missions, 11 Edge Hill, London SW19 4LR at £6.00 plus post & packaging; phone 020 8946 0466; email [email protected]

Page 8: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

8 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2014

ZIMBABWE Jesuit MissionsEDUCATION

Happy Birthday, Heythrop

in charge. The French Revolution intervened and, in 1794, with French armies headed for Liège, it was time to flee.

A journey via Rotterdam and Hull brought the college’s members to Stonyhurst in Lancashire and it was here that the institution’s long relationship with the British educational system began. By mid-19th century, the recently-founded University of London was backing the college’s educational programmes. Stonyhurst, the centre of philosophical study, was geographically remote. So, too, was St Beuno’s in North Wales, where theological instruction had found a home. It was therefore

THE STORY of Heythrop College has been a long, often perilous road to leafy Kensington. It begins in 17th century England: not an ideal location for any kind of Catholic, least of all a Jesuit. The Society of Jesus had its English supporters, however, and one of them – most likely Sir George Talbot – donated a handsome sum to establish a college on the Continent to train English Jesuits. The result, in 1614, was the founding of a college at Louvain which later transferred to Liège, where it remained for the best part of two centuries. The college even survived the Suppression of the Jesuits in 1773: there was a strategic name change, but the former Jesuit rector remained

Heythrop College celebrates its 400th anniversary this year. Jonathan Wright reminds us of the college’s fascinating past, explores its present, and muses on its likely future.

decided to move closer to the crucibles of British academic life. In 1926, the two faculties were reunited at Heythrop Hall, Oxfordshire. In 1970, the college moved to London and became an incorporated college of the University of London. The first principal was the eminent Jesuit philosopher Frederick Copleston.

The college moved to its present home in 1993 and today there are just shy of 1000 students from 30 nations and some 50 academics at Heythrop. But one thing hasn’t changed in 400 years: philosophy and theology are still the college’s raison d’être. A wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate

Page 9: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

jesuitsandfriends.org.uk 9

HIGHER EDUCATION

programmes in these disciplines is on offer, including a postgraduate certificate in Ignatian Spirituality. The research profile of the college is strong. It is home to the estimable Heythrop Journal, and it hosts many an important academic conference. In June, there will be one to celebrate the anniversary, including Dr Rowan Williams reflecting on the Jesuit educational tradition (see page 23).

By happy coincidence, the 400th anniversary year was preceded by an exciting development in Heythrop’s educational mission. In September 2013, the Congregation for Catholic Education of the Holy See allowed the reactivation of the ecclesiastical faculties of philosophy and theology at the college. Now Heythrop will be able to award its own ecclesiastical bachelors, licentiate and doctoral degrees.

Heythrop is a unique institution and, according to principal, Fr Michael Holman SJ, the task ahead is therefore

clear in the light of the challenges facing all tertiary institutions. “This is a time of much change in higher education in this country with the introduction of student fees and the lifting of recruitment caps and a greater emphasis on ‘employability’”, he says. “We need to focus on excellence, emphasise the distinctiveness of what we offer by being a small college in the midst of a great university with a personal approach to learning, and demonstrate just how much employers value an education which trains the key skills of critical, analytical and creative thinking.”

An alumna of Heythrop College, University of London, became the college’s first Dame in the Queen’s New Year Honours. Rachel de Souza achieved a BA in Philosophy and Theology at Heythrop between 1986 and 1989, and was recognised in the New Year Honours for her services to education.

Dame Rachel (left) is Chief Executive Officer of the Inspiration Trust, a federation of seven schools across

amazed by the college’s capacity to flourish by adapting to change. Having said that, Heythrop is essentially now what it was 400 years ago, namely, a centre for the education of future priests of the Catholic Church. Heythrop is more than that, but this work remains as important a part of what we do as it ever has been.” He adds: “We have ten Jesuits on our staff, and many more who are priests or religious of other congregations and orders.”

One of the most fascinating things about Heythrop is that its long and winding history encapsulates, in miniature, the story of the British Jesuits: persecution in the early modern era, the attempt to establish educational bases away from the homeland, the curious events of the Suppression era and, finally, return. One would be hard pressed to locate a college that has had to pack its bags quite so frequently or that has managed to survive everything the gusts of history blew its way. One assumes that, for now, the geographical odyssey is over. The intellectual quest continues. l

Heythrop celebrates its first DameNorfolk, which specialises in raising educational standards. She studied at Heythrop as Rachel Kenny before meeting her husband, Chris who, at the time, was considering a vocation as a Jesuit.

“I’m passionate about quality education,” says Dame Rachel. “All of our schools have one simple mission – to give our children the very best education possible and the very best possible start in life.”

READ MOREJonathan Wright is an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University. His edited volume, The Jesuit Suppression: Causes, Events and Consequences will be published this year by Cambridge University Press.

Above: Heythrop today offers a personal approach to learning. Photos: Heythrop College

“We need to focus on excellence, emphasise the distinctiveness of being

a small college in the midst of a great university”

Heythrop’s religious complexion shows few signs of disappearing, however. As Fr Holman explains, “We shall continue to serve the Church by developing as a centre of ministerial training; by offering excellent educational opportunities for those who want to deepen their understanding of their faith and of other faiths; by continuing to engage in research and by organising conferences and seminars on topics where faith meets contemporary culture.”

As for the college’s historical legacy, Fr Holman has this to say: “People are

Page 10: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

10 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2014

THE RESTORATION OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS

ROBERT PLOWDEN was born at Plowden Hall, Shropshire, on 27 January 1740; his brother, Charles, was born three years later. They were educated at St Omers and joined the Jesuits in 1756 and 1759 respectively. After Pope Clement XIV’s brief of suppression Dominus ac Redemptor in 1773, they both retained an interest in various activities of the scattered remnant of the Society of Jesus. They received copies of news bulletins and briefs from John Thorpe in Rome, which they relayed to others; and they scrutinised every comment and each event for any sign of the Society’s resuscitation.

After the Society was suppressed, Robert served as chaplain to the Chichester family at Arlington, Devon, and then in Bristol, where his tenure was very controversial. He obtained financial support from William Strickland, procurator of the funds of the former English Province, to construct St Joseph’s Chapel and a house in Trenchard Street. Upon their completion, Robert transferred their ownership to the bishop of the Western District and repudiated any debts to Strickland. He is also reputed to have been a principal founder of the mission of South Wales District.

Robert re-entered the newly restored English Province of the Society of Jesus in 1807 but, somewhat injudiciously, preached in 1813 against a pastoral letter by Bishop Peter Collingridge OFM, a prelate generally favourable to the Society of Jesus. So, despite his popularity with his congregation, the Jesuit Provincial, Marmaduke Stone,

‘Sons of thunder’ who kept hopes for the Society alive

of the Suppression, and criticism of Pope Clement XIV, Charles passionately defended the papacy. But the restored English Province existed precariously. Local bishops feared that the return of the Society of Jesus, a perennial bête noire of English Protestantism, would jeopardise Catholic emancipation. They demanded that the Jesuits should provide clear documentation from Rome that an order still suppressed worldwide could exist in England, something Rome was unable to do, despite Charles Plowden’s exhaustive efforts. “I have been trotting the streets in quest of cardinals and prelates and losing time in their ante-chambers,” he wrote in exasperation from Rome. “Oh, what a bore!”

After being named English Provincial on 8 September 1817, Charles Plowden attended the 20th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus but died on the return journey in France on 13 June 1821. He was buried with full military honours as a “general”, a misunderstanding probably caused by his work in Rome at a General Congregation.

Charles and Robert Plowden, not surprisingly, were known as the “sons of thunder” for their strong convictions and firm commitments. William Strickland considered Robert the most effective missioner in the realm and the most difficult. Charles was probably a close second. l

During the period of the Suppression, the Plowden brothers played important roles in preserving Jesuit ideals in the hope of eventual restoration, as Tom McCoog SJ recalls.

“They scrutinised every comment and event for any sign of the

Society’s resuscitation”

removed him from his post. After five years with the Fitzherbert family in Swynnerton, Staffordshire, Robert moved to Wappenbury in Warwickshire, where he died on 17 June 1823.

Charles Plowden, meanwhile, had been reunited with his colleagues from Liège when the Academy migrated to Stonyhurst in 1794. Appointed novice master at the re-establishment of the province in 1803, he restored traditions and customs among the novices that had been observed at the pre-Suppression novitiate at Watten, Flanders. Despite his defence of Lorenzo Ricci, the last Superior General at the time

Charles Plowden SJ

FIND OUT MORE

about the Restoration of the Society of Jesus: sj2014.net

Page 11: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

jesuitsandfriends.org.uk 11

Volunteering SOCIAL JUSTICE

Putting names and faces to the statistics

JVC volunteer Nick Franklin had a rude awakening as he encountered the reality of inner city poverty.

such as food, energy, and credit. I looked into ‘rent to own’ stores, which sell goods like TVs and fridges through weekly instalments. Invariably this costs more. And the fact that 90% of these shops are located in the 30% most deprived areas is clearly integral to their business model and manifestly unjust. CAP has also enacted a charter to regulate high-cost payday lenders and lobby the government for an enquiry into the scandalous trebling of foodbank users over the past year.

I BEGAN MY year with the Jesuit Volunteer Community with vague sympathy for “the poor”, but a total ignorance about their situation and how to rectify it. My placements were an abrupt introduction to a side of life in the UK which is well hidden. When I arrived in Manchester I walked by the cathedral without noticing anything in particular. So it was a surprise to return there on the first Monday of work to find that the passers-by were in fact users of the Booth Centre, the homeless of the city; and the grey container was not for the cathedral builders, but for storage of food donations.

I quickly realised that the haves and have-nots inhabit the same world, and that whatever the divide of background, we are all cast in the same image of God. For me, this is the crucial reason for getting involved in social justice. We all make mistakes, enjoy good fortune and misfortune. It is accident rather than virtue which allows me to live within a comfortable margin for error, while those I am serving are on a razor’s edge.

My placements balance national and personal perspectives. Church Action on Poverty has been investigating the ‘Poverty Premium’, whereby poorer people pay over £1000 p.a. for basics

Working at the Booth Centre has endowed these statistics with names, faces and stories (Some of the users of the Booth Centre are pictured here). It is obvious that both ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ approaches to social justice are necessary. It has been inspirational to see how much can be done from a tiny centre which marshals an army of volunteers and receives an unending avalanche of donations.

More than mere emergency aid, the range of activities – from sports to drama – show a concern for the whole person. It is impossible to give a value to the most touching moments, like buying a suit for a homeless man so he could ‘look respectable’ as he put it, at his mother´s funeral.

On bad days it is easy to imagine that all this effort is in vain. But in the words of the Talmud, ‘It is not your duty to finish the work, yet neither are you free to desist from it’, Pirkei Avot 2.16. Amen. l

SPONSOR A VOLUNTEERPlease consider donating at least £5 a month to help a young person volunteer with the Jesuits in Britain. See jvcbritain.org

Page 12: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

12 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2014

JESUIT MISSIONS

Jesuit Missions: life at 50 and beyond

Service and justice remain at the heart of JM’s vision, according to Paul Chitnis.

WHERE DO YOU GO if you need a Russian book on insects, medicine for cows suffering from sleeping sickness or a model of the planetary system to show the Pope? The answer: Jesuit Missions. These, and many more requests besides, bear witness to the extraordinary role which Jesuit Missions (JM) has played for more than 50 years.

Fr Peter Low SJ, Mission Procurator in 1964, wrote: “The aim of every missionary is to train those he works among to do without him…”

Of course, the world has changed enormously since Fr Low’s time, but the evangelical role which missionaries have, and in which JM shares, of empowering others, especially the poor and marginalised, to live their life to the full remains at the heart of JM’s work.

In 2008, the Jesuits noted that: “As this world changes, so does the context of our mission; and new frontiers beckon that we must be willing to embrace…” (35th General Congregation).

During 2013, JM reflected on this changing context and the new frontiers for us. Our new vision, mission and values statement – the fruit of this reflection – appears at the top of the page opposite. Our bold and compelling vision builds on our strong reputation for supporting missionaries and providing a welcome to all whilst also being more focused on our work with poor people. This requires us

to place ourselves more concretely alongside them through the work we support and the positions we take, conscious that “the service of faith and the promotion of justice, indissolubly united, remain at the heart of our mission” (GC35, Decree 2).

Overleaf you can read about some of the ways in which JM’s work in schools and with volunteers reflects these principles. There is more besides: JM accompanies our Jesuit partners overseas as they seek to lend their voice to the causes which affect poor people in their country. In the UK, JM is a member of key networks which advocate for a fairer approach to mining in the developing world and an end to world hunger. Each year, JM offers small solidarity grants to help Jesuit partners address the practical needs of people in their communities. And last November,

“Generosity of spirit,compassionate service andjustice proclaim witnessto the Christian faith”

JM supports Jesuit works with poor and marginalised people around the world.

Page 13: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

jesuitsandfriends.org.uk 13

JESUIT MISSIONS

we responded to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines where the Jesuits have been involved in relief efforts.

Striving for this vision and these principles will be no easier over the next 50 years than it has been over the past five decades. Changes within the Church, the Society of Jesus and the communities in which we work are relentless. But Pope Francis offers us great encouragement in our endeavours: “I want a Church which is poor and for the poor. They have much to teach us. In their difficulties they know the suffering Christ.”

Thanks to the courage of generations of missionaries, the leadership of successive Provincials and staff in JM and, above all, the generosity of tens of thousands of people, Jesuit Missions is well placed to embrace the new frontiers which lie before us. l

JM was part of the IF Campaign lobby in summer 2013. Sadly, spelling is not our forté.

One of the principles of JM’s work is a determination to

empower local communities.

The aim of every missionary is to train those he works among to do without him.

Our vision is of a world in which the dignity of all people, especially the poor and marginalised, is defended; and where generosity of spirit, compassionate service and justice are proclaimed in witness to the Christian faith.

Our mission is to support Jesuit works with poor and marginalised people around the world by promoting social justice, building bridges between communities and accompanying those working on the missions.

Underlying our work are four key principles: • Ignatian Spirituality, which inspires and nurtures us; • the preferential option for the poor that guides our work; • a determination to empower local communities; • and a desire to collaborate with others.

Jesuit Missions’ vision, mission and principles

Page 14: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

14 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2014

JESUIT MISSIONS

FIND OUT MORE

To download ‘Great Hope’ for free, or to find out more about Jesuit Missions’ work, visit www.jesuitmissions.org

Jesuit Missions is teaming up with two of Britain’s largest volunteer-sending agencies to offer short term volunteering opportunities throughout the year for young people.

International Citizen’s Service (ICS), of which Progressio and Voluntary Service Overseas are both a part, offers 18-25 year olds the chance to volunteer in one of several countries including Honduras, Nicaragua, Zimbabwe and Malawi. It is a great way to learn new skills, become immersed in another culture and make a real difference to other people’s lives.

Those selected will work abroad for ten weeks alongside other volunteers from the UK and the host country on community projects tackling three issues: promoting a sustainable environment; helping people respond to HIV and AIDS; and enabling people to have a say in the decisions and policies that affect their lives.

Once back in the UK, volunteers will undertake an Action at Home programme with JM aimed at using their experience to raise awareness of the needs, hopes and achievements of the people you meet.

As well as receiving a pre-departure induction from Progressio/ICS, JM will also help the volunteers to prepare and reflect upon their experiences through the lens of Ignatian Spirituality. l

Jesuit Missions has refreshed its programme for schools and parishes. Its new Education for Justice programme will incorporate and build on the successful Companions Programme which has brought together schools and parishes in the UK with others around the world. Mindful of the commitment of the Jesuits to “the service of faith, of which the promotion of justice is an absolute requirement”, JM’s Education for Justice programme incorporates Ignatian Spirituality and aims to stimulate schools to work together for social justice.

The photos above come from a new Lenten resource for secondary schools, Great Hope. It takes pupils on a journey into the lives of a group of Zimbabwean women who have courageously set up a cooperative movement to change their lives. As well as looking at their dreams and struggles, Great Hope integrates the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius with daily prayers, reflections and ideas for action.

Throughout the coming year, new resources will become available for use in schools and parishes that will engage people in the work of JM. To find out more about our Education for Justice programme, please contact Gioia Caminada, Education for Justice Coordinator at [email protected] l

Education for Justice

Challenge yourself to change your world!

FIND OUT MORE

Contact Margaret Ring, the Volunteer Coordinator on 0208 946 0466 or email [email protected]

Page 15: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

jesuitsandfriends.org.uk 15

Ecology SOCIAL JUSTICE

conventional building materials. And we will even be using a new polymer technology for the roads in front of and inside the school property: this is 100 times stronger and two thirds the price of a conventional tarmac road.

Our world stands at the threshold of consuming itself, and people of faith have the obligation to show the world a better way of being stewards of creation. This is part of the rationale for the project: being able to model the benefits of building green to a poor and ecologically degraded community. Not only will this project create a superb learning environment for our children; we will also be preparing them to participate in the global digitised economy, promoting food security through our food garden and helping people to be self-employed.

All this technological innovation might be wonderful, but it is ultimately a means to an end: the greening of the hearts, minds and imagination of the generations of students who will be changed by the education they receive in our Green School. l

Greening hearts and minds and imagination

The Parish of St Martin de Porres in Soweto has been served by the Jesuits since 1985. Now its High School is going ‘Green’, as Bruce Botha SJ explains.

The project is the first of its kind in Africa and is so revolutionary that the Mayor of Johannesburg wanted to showcase it at an international environmental conference being hosted in Johannesburg. The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (a network of the world’s megacities committed to addressing climate change) visited in February 2014 to see how a school like ours could be built in an environmentally friendly way.

In our ‘green’ school, the rain water will be recycled into a grey water system for toilets and the garden, while electricity will be generated by photovoltaic cells which will feed surplus power back into the national grid. St Martin de Porres will be a paperless school: we will use tablets in place of textbooks and wireless technology to connect each student to educational content. The media centre took only two weeks to construct, because the floor, walls and roof are all constructed of structural insulated panels. These are cheaper to produce and quicker to assemble than

“WE RICH NATIONS, for that is what we are, have an obligation not only to the poor nations, but to all the grandchildren of the world, rich and poor. We have not inherited this earth from our parents to do with it what we will. We have borrowed it from our children and we must be careful to use it in their interests as well as our own.”

So said Moses Henry Cass when he was Minister for the Environment and Conservation in Australia. And it was this insight that led the St Martin de Porres community in Soweto, South Africa, to engage in a revolutionary piece of redevelopment. Though one of the better schools in this part of Soweto when established in the 1950s, St Martin de Porres had hardly kept up with its growth. Our “temporary” classrooms were in danger of becoming national monuments because of their age, so when we decided to replace them it was agreed that we should use green design, materials and technology.

FIND OUT MORE

about the St Martin de Porres project in Soweto. Visit www.greenschool.org.za

The St Martin de Porres School Choir greets delegates from the C40 Group. Below: An artist’s impression of the new media centre.

Page 16: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

16 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2014

SPIRITUALITY

And we give glory, praise and thanks to God for all who have contributed so richly to the work of the house, the dedicated team, retreat-leaders and staff, and for all who have supported Loyola Hall, through prayer and other benefactions.

A Litany for Loyola Hall, 1923 - 2014

Glo

ry a

nd gr

atitude and praise we of er to G

od l Glory and gratitude and praise

we o

f er t

o G

od l

We praise God for the 1920s and 30s, when Parish Mens’ Retreats flourished, and for the years of the Second World War, when Loyola Hall served as a place of refuge for bomb stricken families from Liverpool.

We give thanks to God for the 1950s and 60s, the time of the Ex-servicemen’s Retreats and the RAF and the Industrial Leadership Courses, and for the building of the new wing.

We offer God glory, gratitude and praise for the beauty of Rainhill Hall and its grounds and for the generosity of the Stapleton-Bretherton family when their home was acquired by the Jesuits in 1923.

1923

1920s and 30s

1950s and 60s

2014

This Holy Week, Loyola Hall on Merseyside will provide its final residential retreat after more than 90 years. This photographic record of its history and influence is linked

to the Litany of Thanksgiving recited at the Ignatius Day Mass last year.

Page 17: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

jesuitsandfriends.org.uk 17

SPIRITUALITY

Jesus the Consoler in times of doubt and fear

We glorify God for the beauty of the art work by Jonah Jones; for the 1970s when Loyola Hall was home to the Novitiate and provided retreats for clergy and religious; and for the commitment of the teachers, chaplains and youth leaders who brought groups to Loyola Hall for retreats in the 1970s, 80s and beyond.

Glory and gratitude and praise we offer to God for the way Loyola Hall moved out to those on the margins of Church and society in the 1990s; for the Millennium major refurbishment; and for the sharing of the Spiritual Exercises through St Francis Xavier’s in Liverpool, lay collaboration and training courses, not just locally but in different parts of the world.

1970s

1990s

WHEN PRAYING the Resurrection of Jesus, St Ignatius invites us “to look at the office of consoler, which Christ our Lord fulfils, and to compare it with the way friends are accustomed to console one another” (Spiritual Exercises, No 224). So how does Jesus fulfil that office in our lives today?

Mary of Magdala was perhaps the first of his disciples to see the risen Lord. She comes to the tomb to grieve and all she finds is an empty tomb. Imagine her distress. When Jesus comes to her she is weeping. And when she recognises him, he has to tell her not to cling to him, instead sending her on a mission to ‘the brothers’. The apostles are in a state of alarm and fright in the locked upper room – agitated and with doubts in their hearts. Jesus leaves them ‘full of joy’ and ready to head for the Temple to praise God.

Thomas thought it must have been wishful thinking when his friends said they had really seen Jesus, but his doubts are converted by Jesus into the first explicit act of faith in his Divinity: ‘My Lord and My God’ – a change from doubt to tremendous faith. Similarly, the mood of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus changes from hopelessness to excitement once they recognise him. “Did

A reflection by Tony Horan SJ, in anticipation of Holy Week and Easter.

not our hearts burn within us?” they enthuse before returning immediately to Jerusalem.

In all these appearances, Jesus comes to people with whom we can identify, because we have similar reactions ourselves and he leaves them consoled and strengthened. Can I remember times when Christ has met me afraid or grieving? Times when I have felt hopeless or guilty or full of doubt? Times when he has consoled and strengthened me? What about now? Is there perhaps a negative emotion I want to bring to Him now?

In his translation of the Spiritual Exercises, David Fleming described it thus: “To realize that the role of consoler which Christ performs in each of his resurrection appearances is the same he performs now in my life is a faith insight into why I can live my life in a true Christian optimism.” (Spiritual Exercises No 224 Fleming’s Contemporary Translation”) l

“Jesus comes to people in distress and leaves them consoled and

strengthened”

‘Noli Me Tangere’, a 16th century icon from Crete

Page 18: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

18 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2014

JESUIT MISSIONS Guyana

CHRISTMAS 2013 took on a special significance for the Wapichan communities of the southern Rupununi, south west Guyana. For the first time, and after many years of anticipation, Christians heard and read the Christmas story in their own tongue. It felt like the ‘Word had truly been made flesh for us,’ said one person. ‘When we hear the Word in English we forget it, but when we hear the Scriptures in Wapishana, they stick. We remember them when we get back to our house, lie in our hammocks and think about what they say.’

The publication of the New Testament in Wapishana brings to fruition the dream of Frances Tracy, a linguist, who came to live in the Rupununi in 1967 to study the Wapishana language. She studied the sound system and grammar of the language and proposed a usable alphabet from which script could be constructed. Up until then, the Wapichan, like other indigenous

‘Making the Word flesh’Jim Conway SJ witnessed a remarkable occasion in Guyana recently, as Scripture truly came alive.

groups, had no written language. Knowledge and wisdom, stories and myths were passed on from one generation to the next by word of mouth and through example. Frances, with a small team of dedicated linguists and local speakers, translated some of the Bible and, alongside it, built a

written vocabulary of Wapishana words and phrases. Forty-six years later, the first Wapishana New Testament was published. To welcome its arrival, a dedication service was held in Karaudarnau, a small Wapichan village in the south west. A procession, perhaps not too dissimilar to that which welcomed the Messiah into Jerusalem, heralded the arrival of the newly-printed books. They were passed over the heads of the dancing

crowd and accompanied by Wapishana songs of thanksgiving and praise.

Over 20 supporters and benefactors travelled from the United States for the celebration. Among them were the relatives of linguists Richard and Charlene Hicks, who were murdered in 2005 while living on a ranch in San Jose in the Rupununi, the centre of the translation work. The murder of the couple devastated the local Wapichan community but, as noted in the testimony given by Richard’s brother at the dedication service, strengthened its resolve to continue and complete the work.

The work has flourished and borne much fruit. In 1997, the Wapichan Literacy Association was established. Its success is evident today, as hundreds of local Wapichan people can now read and write in the language that, before, they could only speak. In the process, it has also restored their pride in the history and culture of their ancestors

“The work has restored their pride in the history and culture of their ancestors”

Celebrations in the Rupununi, as the New Testament becomes available in Wapishana

Page 19: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

jesuitsandfriends.org.uk 19

VOCATIONS

‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’Life as a Jesuit is a real choice for young men, according to

Jerri Melwin Dias SJ, the Jesuits’ Vocations Promoter in Guyana.

As I travel across the Rupununi working on youth seminars in the interior of Guyana, I am often struck by the shyness of the young, especially boys. Some element of performance, with role-plays and music, makes learning more fun for them. And when they are told that they can use their own languages for the performances, they become more animated and less inhibited.

In spreading the Gospel and encouraging vocations, language is important. In Guyana, use of English in church can be a barrier, so it makes sense that young people find it difficult to take ownership of the Church, whose main mode of communication is English. Religious life needs to be inculturated into the church culture, in which it is already present. And language is important, as you can see from Jim Conway’s article opposite. So, we encourage young priests coming to the interior to learn the Amerindian languages, and those on the Coast should be unafraid to pick up a little Creole as well.

There are young men in Guyana, both in towns along the coast and in the Interior, who are looking for internal peace. I heard of one young boy who approached a Jesuit looking for guidance, some direction in his life. Then he asked about becoming a Jesuit. It seems that what he was really looking for was God. This was joyful news for the young Jesuit to know that God was possibly sowing the seed of a vocation in this boy.

God has been generous to the Guyanese people by providing overseas priests who do a great service in bringing the Gospel to remote areas of the country, and now we are starting to see again young men from Guyana itself coming forward to serve as brothers and priests. We try to encourage that desire to sprout and take root by keeping in touch with them, involving them in a serious discernment towards a Jesuit way of life.

Above all, we need to keep opening up our communities and getting to know such men on a personal level, so that our life as Jesuits can be seen as a real, possible choice. l

– at risk of being forgotten – and encouraged them to collect and transcribe, with a view to publishing, the many traditional Wapishana stories that have come to them through the generations.

Jesuit Missions has been a major funder of this work. It has also supported the publication of a Wapishana Catholic Lectionary for use at Sunday Mass so that the readings, as well as some of the antiphons and prayers, can be heard in the language of the people. Fr Varghese Puthussery SJ, who has committed himself to learning Wapishana, is now able to use it to celebrate Mass and thus enable the Word. l

YOU CAN HELPYour donations to Jesuit Missions enable projects like this to continue. See back page for details. Thank you.

Phot

o: Je

rri M

elw

in D

ias

Page 20: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

20 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2014

PRAYING WITH THE POPE

IN IMITATION of our Master, we Christians are called to confront the poverty of our brothers and sisters, to touch it, to make it our own and to take practical steps to alleviate it. Destitution is not the same as poverty: destitution is poverty without faith, without support, without hope. There are three types of destitution: material, moral and spiritual. Material destitution is what is normally called poverty, and affects those living in conditions opposed to human dignity: those who lack basic rights and needs such as food, water, hygiene, work and the opportunity to develop and grow culturally. In response to this destitution, the Church offers her help, her diakonia, in meeting these

needs and binding these wounds which disfigure the face of humanity. In the poor and outcast we see Christ’s face; by loving and helping the poor, we love and serve Christ. Our efforts are also directed to ending violations of human dignity, discrimination and abuse in the world, for these are so often the cause of destitution. When power, luxury and money become idols, they take priority over the need for a fair distribution of wealth. Our consciences thus need to be converted to justice, equality, simplicity and sharing. l

Pope Francis: Lenten Message 2014. To read the Pope’s message in full, see http://ow.ly/tMrvB

Seeing Christ’s face in the outcast

In his message for Lent 2014, Pope Francis echoes several of the Apostleship of Prayer themes for the coming months.

April: That governments may foster the protection of creation and the just distribution of natural resources.

That the Risen Lord may fill with hope the hearts of those who are being tested by pain and sickness.

May: That the media may be instruments in the service of truth and peace.

That Mary, Star of Evangelization, may guide the Church in proclaiming Christ to all nations.

June: That the unemployed may receive support and find the work they need to live in dignity.

That Europe may rediscover its Christian roots through the witness of believers.

MORNING PRAYERGod, our Father, I offer You my day. I offer you my prayers, thoughts, words, actions, joys and sufferings in union with the Heart of Jesus, who continues to offer Himself in the Eucharist for the salvation of the world. May the Holy Spirit, Who guided Jesus, be my guide and my strength today so that I may witness to your love. With Mary, the mother of our Lord and the Church, I pray for all Apostles of Prayer and for the prayer intentions proposed by the Holy Father this month. Amen.

Pope Francis embraces a man with neurofibromatosis (Claudio Peri/EPA).

Page 21: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

jesuitsandfriends.org.uk 21

Politics SOCIAL JUSTICE

‘Meddling’ in European politics

“POLITICS,” according to Pope Francis, “is one of the highest forms of charity, because it serves the common good.” His homily at Santa Marta last September would have struck a chord with those Jesuits working at the Jesuit European Social Centre (JESC) in Brussels, especially when he stated that “a good Catholic meddles in politics”.

“A presence at the EU fits the mission of a universal Church whose vision is not captive to any national interest,” explains Fr Frank Turner SJ, the Secretary for European Affairs at JESC. Between his ordination in 1981 and 1994, Frank lived in Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester, cities suffering from economic hardship and stark social tensions. He says that although social justice issues such as sky-high levels of unemployment and wretched housing may seem to be local, by living and working in such areas he became aware that many key decisions which devastate communities are taken far beyond the locality.

As voters prepare to take part in elections for the European Parliament this May, Ged Clapson speaks to a British Jesuit whose ministry is at the heart of Europe.

“Through JESC, the Society of Jesus remains committed to a Europe where human rights, freedom and solidarity are the foundation of integration,” Frank explains. “It’s an authentic expression of our Christian faith.”

This is especially true in the realm of employment opportunities for young Europeans. In some countries such as Spain and Greece, 50% of young adults are unemployed, and JESC has been able to contribute to the EU’s response to this situation, by moderating a session in the European Parliament at which issues of empowering young people were discussed. “It may be the quality of education and the eventual job prospects of their children, the health

care available for their elderly parents, the safety or lack of safety of their streets,” he says. “But these realities are largely shaped through politics. Politics affects our lives at their heart, even in the private sphere of our lives: family life, mental health, as well as the economic crisis and workers’ rights.”

JESC projects span several intersecting areas of EU life, including foreign affairs, development and trade – which can take them well beyond the boundaries of Europe. “We work with Jesuits in the USA and in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” explains Frank, “and also with secular networks in Europe, on ‘corporate social responsibility’ in Africa. The DRC is immensely rich in natural resources such as diamonds, oil, copper and cobalt, yet Africans stay poor. But new transparency regulations in the EU mean that more of the mining profit can remain in its country of origin, rather than being syphoned off by vast, powerful transnational corporations.”

JESC also helped organise a parliamentary delegation to Eastern Congo last October to see the realities on the ground. The EU now intends to convene an international task force on conflict minerals, aiming to propose clear methods of ‘due diligence’ that will apply to all international corporations.

“By engaging with those who are making decisions that affect citizens,” says Frank, “we are able to remain close to the poor and marginalised, analyse the social reality with competence, and authentically advocate for justice in European political structures.” l

protests in Spain in 2012

“A Jesuit presence at the EU fits the mission of a universal Church”

Phot

o by

Pab

lo B

lazq

uez

Dom

ingu

ez/G

etty

Imag

es

Page 22: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

FRIENDS, past and present

22 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2014

PLEASE PRAY for those who have died recently. May they rest in peace.

• Patrick Arnold

• Dr Brendan Barrett

• Ms A Bellamy

• Fr Patrick O’Brien

• Barbara Church

• Ms A Collins

• Barbara Cottrell

• Mrs V Davies

• Paul Goggins MP

• Fr Daniel J Harrington SJ

• Jennie Hawthorne

• Miss J C Jackson-Stevens

• Mrs Kunjamma Joseph

• Sr Josette MC

• Mr M Lobo

• Maeve Power

• Ayman Rifai of JRS & his son,

killed by a mortar in Syria

• Mrs Joanna Russocki

• Mrs Margaret J Ryan

• Mrs Eibhlis Scally

• Br Norman Smith SJ

• Mr Edmund Waddelare

• Patricia (Pat) Wrennall

And what’s more…

Hotelier, TV personality and mother, Alex Polizzi reflects on ways her Italian Catholic family continue to influence her life.

When asked to nominate her favourite church in the National Churches Trust’s top 60 last year, hotelier and television presenter Alex Polizzi

nominated Farm Street Jesuit Church in central London. She said she had fond memories of it from her childhood, something that emanated from her profoundly Catholic upbringing.

“Farm Street Church was the church that I went to every Sunday growing up and it is incredibly beautiful,” she told Ged Clapson. “It has a rather unprepossessing façade, but it’s very beautiful internally – the architecture, the art, the altar. My family were staunch Italian Catholics. Mass was non-negotiable after we had had lunch altogether. My grandmother was a passionate Catholic and remained so until her death. She has always been a major influence on me.”

Alex says she feels Catholic “by history, tradition and inclination” and that it is her duty to introduce her young children to the faith. “I’ve already had long discussions with my daughter (five-year-old Olga) about the story of Jesus and our beliefs, and I fully intend her having her First Communion and to be instructed formally as she gets older.”

Family life remains very important to Alex Polizzi. With the numerous commitments that her professional and personal lives throw at her, she finds that her Italian Catholic background and her weekly visits to Farm Street Church as a child continue to influence her own family life.

“I find it extremely hard to balance everything, as any working mother does, and I always feel I veer too far in one direction or other. However, it is incredibly important to me that my children have the same idyllic upbringing that I did, surrounded by an extended loving family, and that’s what I try to provide.” l

ObituariesBr Norman Smith SJ

Norman Smith was born in 1918 in Bebington in Cheshire, the youngest of three children. He went to school at Mount St Mary’s College and joined the RAF as a pilot in 1939. He was a spitfire pilot in the Battle of Britain, for which he was awarded the DFC for gallantry. When he finally retired from the RAF in 1958, he had reached the rank of Wing Commander.

The next two years were spent working with Leonard Cheshire in the Cheshire Homes, before Norman entered the Society of Jesus in Roehampton in 1961. Having trained in secretarial and book-keeping skills, he went on to provide vital support work to a number

of communities over subsequent years. In addition to being assistant editor of the Heythrop Journal for a time in the 1960s, he was secretary to Bishop Lester Guilly SJ in Guyana and secretary to the Rector and Minister at St Ignatius College, Enfield. He spent 10 years at Holy Name, Manchester, mostly as Minister, and 16 years at Loyola Hall. Additionally, he served as sacristan at St Wilfrid’s, Preston and infirmarian and refectorian at St Beuno’s.

Brother Smith was an original member of the Corpus Christi Jesuit Community in Boscombe, Dorset, moving in a few months after the house opened. He died there on 1 February 2014.

Page 23: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

At 8.00pm on Thursday 19 June there will be a concert of music associated with the Jesuit colleges at Liège and St Omer, performed by Cappella Fede, choir and orchestra directed by Dr Peter Leech, at the Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, London W1K 3AH

peterleech.com/cappella-fede/

Conference Cost: £50 (£35 concessions) Concert Cost: £15

Early booking for both conference and concert is essential at www.heythrop.ac.uk/400years

A conference in celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the Foundation of Heythrop College & the Jesuit Educational Tradition

Thursday 19 – Friday 20 June 2014 at Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU

Professor Michael Barnes SJ (Heythrop College) Professor Kathleen Comerford (Georgia Southern University) Dr Guy Consolmagno SJ (Papal Observatory) Dr Philip Endean SJ (Centre Sèvres, Paris) Professor John Haldane (University of St Andrews and University of Notre Dame, USA) Professor Dayton Haskin (Boston College)

Professor Karen Kilby (University of Durham) Dr Robert A. Maryks (Jesuit Institute, Boston College) Professor Nicholas Sagovsky (Roehampton University) Mr Michael Walsh (Heythrop College) Professor Maurice Whitehead (University of Swansea) Dr Rowan Williams (Magdalene College, Cambridge)

To commemorate its 400th anniversary Heythrop College, in partnership with the Institute of English Studies of the University of London, is holding a conference to explore the history of the College and the impact of Jesuit education on philosophy, theology, science, literature and the arts. Among the eminent speakers will be:

For the Greater Glory of God and the More Universal Good

Page 24: Jesuits and Friends issue 87

“ Christians are called to hear the cry of the poor” Pope Francis

DONOR’S DETAILS:

A faith that does justice

I WOULD LIKE TO:

find out more about making a regular monthly gift

find out how a legacy can help JM

make a contribution towards JM’s work of

£25 £50 £100 £

Please make your cheque payable to JM and send to 11 Edge Hill, Wimbledon, SW19 4LR

Please treat as Gift Aid donations all qualifying gifts of money made

Today in the past 4 years in the future

Please tick all boxes you wish to apply.

I confirm I have paid or will pay an amount of Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax for each tax year (6 April to 5 April) that is at least equal to the amount of tax that all the charities that I donate to will reclaim on my gifts for that tax year. I understand that other taxes such as VAT and Council Tax do not qualify. I understand the charity reclaim 25p of tax on every £1 that I give.

Please notify JM if you want to cancel this declaration, have changed your name or home address, or no longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains. If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code.

Surname

Email (optional)

Signature

Date

Full home address

Title First name or initial(s)

For more than 50 years, Jesuit Missions has accompanied Jesuit missionaries who have felt called to work in some of the most isolated and difficult places in the world. From Syria to Zimbabwe, Guyana to South Sudan, they place themselves at the service of the Church, working with and for local people, especially the poorest and most disadvantaged.

We share a vision of the world in which the dignity of all people, especially the poor and marginalised, is defended; and where generosity of spirit, compassionate service and justice are proclaimed in witness to the Christian faith.

OUR WORK INCLUDES:• Resourcing UK schools with their efforts

to help poor people overseas• Managing an international volunteer programme• Accompanying our partners’ advocacy on key issues• Providing solidarity grants for life-changing projects• Assisting the Society of Jesus’ response

to emergencies

We are entirely funded by voluntary donations. If you would like to help JM, please complete the attached coupon and return it to us in the enclosed envelope.

PLEASE MAKE A DONATION TODAY TO SUPPORT THE WORK OF JESUIT MISSIONS