With sacred ritual and festive joy, the 2021-2022 Ignatian Year came to a close on Sunday, July 31 at the Pontifical Biblical Institute.  The year commemorated the 500^th anniversary of the conversion of St. Ignatius of Loyola.  

In 1521, at the battle of Pamplona, Spain a cannonball struck Ignatius’ legs, wounding one and breaking the other. French soldiers, who admired his bravery, transported him to the Loyola manor on a stretcher.  The physicians set Ignatius’s broken leg twice, the second time out of Ignatius’ vanity because of a foreseeable limp and an unsightly protrusion. Ignatius had aspired to a life of chivalry and influence in the King of Spain’s court.  Before the convalescence, books of knights and fair ladies enthralled him, but during his convalescence, he only had the Life of Christ and a book about the lives of the saints to read.

Contemplating the life of Christ, and the saints that followed Him, Ignatius reviewed his own life and imagined his future. The thoughts of surrendering to God and following God’s will consoled him in both mind and heart. His conversion of life took hold. With a love for God, his deepest desire was to follow the Lord and serve others.

Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa was the principal celebrant at the Mass.  Msgr. Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, bishop emeritus, and thirty priests concelebrated.  A contingent of 21 Jesuit scholastics from the Collegio Internazionale del Gesù in RomeI helped with the set-up, music, and serving at the altar. The Jesuit scholastics were on the last day of their Holy Land formation programme.  Members of numerous religious congregations and lay ecclesial communities attended as well as Mr. René Troccaz, the Consul General of France.  The Filipino Good Shepherd Community choir led the congregation in music.

Patriarch Pierbattista’s homily spoke of Ignatius’s conversion as life-saving because he centered his life on Christ.  “It was [also] clear to him that it is impossible to love Christ without loving the Church.”  As suggested in the Mass readings, Ignatius came to “choose life” by losing himself for God.  His spirituality helps people encounter God and make choices in their particular life journey.  The Patriarch ended by naming many of the ways Jesuits contribute to the Church in the Holy Land; first of all, the Pontifical Biblical Institute but also work at Bethlehem University, the seminaries, spiritual direction, retreats, efforts for peace and justice, work with immigrants, and other ministries.

As part of the global community of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits at the Mass renewed their consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Repeating the words of Fr. Pedro Arrupe,

We renew today the Consecration of the Society to the Heart of Jesus, we promise you all our fidelity and we ask for your grace to continue to serve you and to serve your Son with the same spirit and the same intensity as Ignatius and his companions.

At the end of the Mass, Fr. David Neuhaus shared with the attendees that he had completed his work as Superior of the Jerusalem Jesuit Community.  He announced that Fr. Miguel Angel Garcia, a Jesuit with many years of administrative and ministerial work in Africa, was replacing him.  Fr. Miguel thanked Fr. David and welcomed the opportunity to serve the community and the Church of Jerusalem. He also reminded the crowd of over 200 people that in 2023 the Jerusalem Jesuit community will celebrate Ignatius’s historic pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1523.  The Jesuit community, among other activities, will commemorate the pilgrimage at next year’s annual Ignatius’s day feast.

The Mass was followed by a delicious Mediterranean barbeque with all the trimmings prepared by the PBI staff, and a good time was had by all. 

You can find a report and photos of the PBI St. Ignatius Day 2022 at the Latin Patriarchate as well as a live stream of the Mass.