Featured Article |  By Mercy Maina, ACI Africa

The members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Africa and Madagascar have organized a series of talks, the first of its kind, targeting young people on the continent.

The speaker at the inaugural virtual event slated for Saturday, July 18 has, in an interview with ACI Africa, explained why the talk series, organized by the leadership of the Jesuits in Africa and Madagascar (JCAM), will be focusing on African youth.

By Gandaf Walle Jean-Pierre SJ, Hekima

In the tradition of the Hekima College community, the First Years Students in theology, after completing their academic year, participate in a week of reflection on their vocations in the Society of Jesus rooted in the experience of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. This moment of sharing, reflection, and spiritual conversations is called “Ignatian week.” It is very key and fundamental in the lives of the young theologians as it helps them deepen certain aspects of the way of life in the Society of Jesus.

On Tuesday the 14th of July 2020, Jesuit Urumuri Centre kicked off the first training in a series of workshops the Centre is organizing, on Catholic Social Teaching (CST) across the dioceses of Rwanda. In total, 14 participants (8 men and 6 women) from the Justice and Peace Commission in the Byumba diocese benefited from the three-day workshop. Topics covered were: Origins and Theological Foundations of CST, the Historical Development of CST, Principles of CST, Thematic study of CST, and Methods of Pastoral Action and Advocacy.

By Joshua Pwalia, Accra-Ghana

Riding on the crest of its impressive “Youth Beyond Covid-19” webinars, the Ignatian Youth Networks Initiating Generational Outcomes (IYNIGO), the youth leadership development scheme of the Arrupe Jesuit Institute (AJI), has given birth to another fascinating project. Dubbed Pax Africana with the theme African Youth sowing seeds of peace, this initiative provides a virtual platform for education on peace, targeted principally at young people across the African continent.

Michel Segatagara Kamanzi SJ, RWB for Tubane Magazine

I thank the Lord and the Society of Jesus for the opportunity given to me at the end of my Jesuit formation to go back to our roots through the study of our founding documents (Autobiography of St Ignatius, Spiritual Exercises, our Constitutions, the last six General Congregations, the Spiritual Diary of St Ignatius and some of the letters of St Ignatius) and the experience of the 30 days long retreat.

Human vulnerability and environmental degradation are laid bare once more as the pandemic grows and country documentation reveals the spread of the virus. All of us are at risk, but, as with other disasters, it is always the poor and those on the margins that suffer most from society’s continuing neglect, leaving them with limited options and weakened voices. The continued abuse of and encroachment on an already degrading environment increases the potential for pandemics despite advances in science and technology increasingly driven by a technocratic model of development (LS 194).

Ujah Gabriel Ejembi SJ, Biblicum - Rome

At the Mother Church of the Society of Jesus, the Chiesa del Gesù, those present witnessed a very solemn and joy-filled ordination Mass of 20 Jesuits on Saturday, 27 June 2020. Eighteen were ordained to the Sacred Order of the Diaconate and two to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood.

By Ernest Senanu Dovlo, IYNIGO - Accra, Ghana

The Arrupe Jesuit Institute's (AJI) youth empowerment and leadership development scheme, IYNIGO, is marking one year of its existence this month. IYNIGO, an acronym for Ignatian Youth Networks Initiating Generational Outcomes, recruits young people between the ages of 18 to 35 desirous of becoming agents of social transformation through initiating processes of enduring significance for the good of society. Since its inception, IYNIGO has grown in many ways. Significantly, it has become an integral part of the character and vision of the AJI, ensuring that young people are empowered to engage in the critical conversations and processes that impact positively on society.

By Mercy Maina, ACI Africa

The leadership of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has, in an interview with ACI Africa, outlined how the personnel of the Catholic agency are keeping refugees in West Africa and the Great Lakes regions safe amid COVID-19 pandemic, which has worsened the already existing challenges.

Blog Post | Charlie B. Chilufya SJ

With only a few exceptions, all across Africa just like elsewhere in the world, schools have been closed in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. According to the United Nations, the world over, 166 countries closed schools and universities. UNESCO reported that the closure of schools affected 1.5 billion children and young people across the globe, representing close to 90 percent of the enrolled population. The well-intended measures to contain the spread of the virus put additional stress on education systems in Africa, which are already struggling to provide quality education for all.