Campus Community
May 17, 2021
It all started with a cannonball.
It was May 20, 1521, and a 29-year-old Basque soldier bent on making a name for himself was defending the fortress of Pamplona when a cannonball struck and shattered his right leg. Thus began a painful, yet transformative, journey for Iñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola (or, as we know him, Ignatius of Loyola), who from that “cannonball moment” would go on to become a pilgrim, student and eventually the founder of the Society of Jesus (a.k.a. the Jesuits).
This Thursday marks the 500th anniversary of that moment on the battlefield to which the conversion of Saint Ignatius is traced. In honor of this milestone, Jesuit institutions and apostolates around the world will be celebrating an Ignatian Year, which will include the 400th anniversary of the canonizations of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier in March 2022, and will conclude on St. Ignatius Day on July 31, 2022. Throughout this commemoration, the Ignatian family is encouraged “to celebrate this year, rediscover our roots and thus renew ourselves and our outlook to the world," said Jesuit Superior General Father Arturo Sosa.
As Seattle University joins in celebrating May 20 as the beginning of the Ignatian Year, Campus Ministry and the Arrupe Jesuit Community invite current faculty, staff and students to a special Mass that day at 12:30 p.m. in our Chapel of St. Ignatius. Sign up here (pre-registration required, no guests or visitors permitted.)
During the Ignatian Year all are invited into a deeper relationship with God and a commitment to transformation in our lives and communities. Learn more about the Ignatian Year celebrations in the U.S. and around the world.
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