On 31 July 2022, we celebrate the feast of St Ignatius. Loyola is the place where it all began for this man: he was transformed by the grace of a call from the Lord. Loyola is also the place where Jesuits, and the whole Ignatian family, brought the«Ignatian Year» to a close. During the past months, 500 years after a «cannonball» shattered the leg of Ignatius, we have recalled his conversion experience. We grasped with him that God calls us to«see all things new in Christ». Like Ignatius, we were again invited to become pilgrims, to go out into the world, to follow the poor and humble Jesus, and to offer ourselves simply by loving and serving.

The Society of Jesus celebrated the project of the Ignatian Year throughout the whole world. Fr Arturo Sosa, the Superior General, brought the Ignatian Year to a close with a Eucharist of thanksgiving in the basilica at Loyola. Below are some passages from his homily. Father Sosa invites us to face the future, to recommit ourselves so that the spirit of Ignatius may continue to flourish: this spirit centers on the gift of self that impels us to love ever more deeply and to serve ever more generously.

Read Fr. General’s Homily