On Friday 31 July the Church celebrates the feast day of St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus. Founded in 1540, few religious orders have left a more extensive architectural and missionary footprint than the Society of Jesus.
From the 16th century onward, the Jesuits established hundreds of churches, colleges, missions, and educational institutions across Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe — helping shape the global spread of
Catholicism.
The Jesuits quickly became known for their mobility, education, and bold missionary outreach. Saints like Francis Xavier carried the faith to India, Japan, and beyond. In South America, Jesuit reductions created
organized Christian communities among indigenous peoples.
Across continents they built churches that still stand today, while founding schools and universities that formed generations of leaders. Their approach combined rigorous intellectual formation with practical
mission work. The result was not only places of worship but centres of learning, culture, and social development that endured long after political changes and suppressions.
Today the Jesuit legacy remains visible in historic churches, thriving universities, and ongoing missionary and educational work worldwide. Their story stands as one of the most ambitious and far-reaching efforts by a single religious order to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
In our own parish we see the spiritual legacy of St Ignatius in the monthly Sacred Space prayer gathering, where parishioners learn about the modes of prayer which St Ignatius taught and which continue to strengthen the church. We see the legacy in myself, formed by the Society to look at the world in a particular way, and to
approach ministry in a certain way. I am truly grateful that my formation and formative years as a priest have been in the Society of Jesus.
Ad majorem dei gloriam!
