At the outset of the 'Ignatian Year' in May 2021, the General Curia in Rome began to air this series of videos about the life of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. Young Jesuits, including Jesuits in formation in the British Province, have contributed to this series.
Watch the whole series
Jesuits and Ignatian partners in mission are encouraged to start their own book clubs. School staff and governors are welcome to join our book club. We will be exploring the book written by the global leader of the Jesuits, Fr Arturo Sosa SJ: 'Walking With Ignatius'.
Download the flyerContact Ladislav Šulik SJ
This retreat is for young adults to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the spiritual conversion of St Ignatius of Loyola. It can be made online through the Jesuit Institute or in person at St Beuno’s Jesuit Spirituality Centre in Asaph, North Wales.
To mark the 400th anniversary of the canonization of St Ignatius of Loyola, this wonderful baroque opera is being performed (for the first time in the UK) at the Brompton Oratory and Church of the Immaculate Conception in Mayfair. Click on the link to buy tickets (£15 in advance or £20 at the door).
Watch the trailer
This art competition now becomes an online art exhibition from pupils at Jesuit Schools who have reflected on the process of switching or adopting one thing in place of another. This echoes Ignatius' own journey from wayward courtier to Catholic saint.
A programme of five meetings for the members of the Faithful Companions of Jesus (FCJ), Congregation of Jesus (CJ), and the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM), to explore the 'Jesuit Constitutions' using Brian O’Leary’s book 'Unlocking a Treasure'.
Ignatius’ conversion story continues beyond the triptych of Pamplona – Loyola – Manresa: it only ends on the day of his death, July 31. In this last term we shall look at “My Jerusalem”, ways to give glory to God for everything encountered on our personal journey so far, the past and the present.
The Eco-retreat will guide us through the call to discern Ecological conversion using weekly themes on a prayer sheet with weekly online group sharing meetings of Jesuits and Partners in Mission. (Previous meetings were on Thursdays between 21st October - 9th December 2021).
ecoretreat@jesuit.org.uk
As part of the celebration of the Ignatian Year, the London Jesuit Centre is delighted to host a panel discussion about the three plays on the life of Ignatius Loyola written in the British province. This conversation will take place among play writers and actors.
This year marks the 400th anniversary of the canonisation of St Francis Xavier, friend and companion in mission of St Ignatius of Loyola. You can pray the Novena of Grace to St Francis Xavier from the 4th to the 12th March (leading up to the anniversary of his canonisation) and learn more about this great saint.
Find out more
You are invited to a special Mass to celebrate the climax of the Ignatian Year, marking the 400th anniversary of the canonisation of St Ignatius of Loyola and St Francis Xavier.
Ignatian Year Prayer CardCelebration Mass bookletRead the homily
The life of Iñigo of Loyola, later St Ignatius of Loyola, still has the power to move and guide us, even 500 years after his religious conversion / spiritual awakening. Join us this Lent for daily reflections which follow in the footsteps of this great Jesuit saint.
Find out more
Jesuit Novices, Mikhael Ahmad and Eamonn Walls, shared the story of St Ignatius with pupils at St Aloysius College in Glasgow, Stonyhurst College in Lancashire, and Mount St Mary's School in Sheffield.
Download the talkDownload the PowerPoint (as a PDF)
A reflection group bringing together Jesuits from Ireland and Britain. We will explore and unlock the Jesuit Constitutions through the lens of Brian O’Leary's "Unlocking A Treasure: Our Jesuit Constitutions". The aim will be to deepen our individual and corporate understanding of the Constitutions.
We are delighted to host a reading of the INIGO play, written by Jonathan Moore (award winning actor, writer and director, including with the BBC, the Royal Shakespeare Co, and Shakespeare's Globe). The reading will be by a professional cast.
Watch the readthrough
How do you communicate and make relevant a five-hundred-year-old story of battles, cannons, and spiritual transformation to a four-year-old child? This was the challenge the Jesuit Institute in the British Province set itself for the Ignatius 500 Jubilee year.
Watch the video
A sneak peek of a graphic novel (full, English-language version coming soon) about the life and spiritual journey of St Ignatius of Loyola.
mneal@jesuit.org.uk
Ignatius suffered a hit from cannonball which shattered his legs in the battle of Pamplona. He then underwent weeks of recuperation at his home in Loyola. Our goal will be to identify our own moment of crisis as an opportunity and to learn from “My Pamplona & Loyola”.
A distinctive box of resources to explore the life of Saint Ignatius. Together with the 'Audacious Ignatius' book (which is included), the box encourages children to learn, in a playful way, about the life of this great Jesuit saint. We hope that the children will find his story inspiring and search for Christ.
mneal@jesuit.org.ukWatch the video
To mark the 500th anniversary of St Ignatius of Loyola's spiritual awakening, a group of pilgrims from Farm Street Church in London walked to Loyola from the village of Maeztu in the Basque country, covering a distance of 60 miles and stopping along the way for prayer, reflection, food, and stunning views!
Farm Street Church
Pupils at St Ignatius College in Enfield produced their own prayer booklet to reflect on the message of the Ignatian Year.
Sample of prayer booklet
The Edinburgh Jesuit Centre is delighted to announce that the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr Arturo Sosa SJ, will join an online audience on Tuesday 13th July at 7.30pm to explore the 'Ignatian Year' and 'seeing all things new in Christ' in relation to a post-Covid society.
Download Fr General's talkWatch the talk
Three Catholic institutions in Oxford celebrated the Ignatian Year - Campion Hall, the Oxford Oratory, and the Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy.
Musical oratory programme
Jesuit parishes across the UK will be sharing their contribution to the Novena every day in the run-up to the Feast Day of St Ignatius on 31st July.
Find out more
In this blog post, we look at some of the items that celebrate St Ignatius and the early years of the Society in the British Jesuit Archives.
Read the article
The 20th May 2021 marks the 500th anniversary of that moment when a French cannonball ripped through the legs of Ignatius of Loyola and set in train events which would change his life and have an extraordinary impact on the world.
Thinking Faith, the online journal of the Jesuits in Britain, has shared a series called 'Jesuit Lives' throughout this Ignatian Year. Click on the link to find out more.
Find out more
A series of videos which takes as its impetus that extraordinary moment of conversion which St Ignatius of Loyola experienced as a young man when a cannonball shattered his leg at The Battle of Pamplona, setting him on the path to sainthood. Jesuits in training share their own conversion experiences.
The Ignatian Year continues with a play, 'Ignatius: The Knight Who Fell To His Knees', written and performed by Jesuits and available to watch on our YouTube Channel.
Watch the playAs a young man, Iñigo, as he was then known, was vainglorious. He took up dancing, fencing, gambling, duelling, and pursuing women. He was driven by a desire for fame.
At the Battle of Pamplona in 1521, Iñigo’s dream came to a shattering end when he was horrifically injured by a cannonball. He barely survived, enduring months of torturous surgeries without any form of anaesthetic. While convalescing, he had a spiritual awakening which would change him forever, and indeed the world.
The story of Iñigo’s conversion and journey to sainthood serves as an example for all time. It begins in a moment of terrible crisis, but ultimately leads to a lifetime of profound self-knowledge.
We will be celebrating this journey through events, activities, exhibitions, blogs, and a sense of unity in Christ (all the details will be here on this page). We hope you will join us and find something in yourself along the way.
Put simply, we would like to invite you all to have a conversion experience. This does not necessarily have to be religious experience, although we believe knowing Christ is a path worth taking, especially in these difficult times.
The world has been shaken by Covid and other traumas. St Ignatius lived in equally challenging times – a time of war, upheaval, plague, and poverty. After a period of reflection and spiritual renewal, he went forth and changed things. He famously said: “He who goes about to reform the world must begin with himself.” Perhaps his example can ignite something in you?
Pope Francis had this to say about the conversion experience:
“Let yourself be pulled along, shaken up, challenged. Maybe it’ll be through a group of people you’ve heard about on the news, or that you know about in your neighbourhood, whose story has moved you. When you feel the twitch, stop and pray. Read the Gospel. Or just create space inside yourself to listen. Open yourself ... decentre ... transcend. And then act. Call up, go visit, offer your service. Say you don’t have a clue what they do, but maybe you can help. Say you’d like to be part of a different world, and you thought this might be a good place to start.”
Check this page regularly to keep up to date about events and activities.
To understand the significance of The Ignatian Year from a Jesuit perspective, please read this article by David Birchall SJ,:
Five hundred Years of Conversion: 1521-2021, published in The Pastoral Review, Vol 17, Issue 4 (October/November/December 2021), pg. 56-59.
