Jesuits and Friends Issue 84

A faith that does justice

& friends

Issue 84 • Spring 2013 • jesuitsandfriends.org.uk

Celebrating the culture of the Amerindian peoples

A new chapter in Guyana

FREE: please take a copy

2 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2013

Cover photo by: James Broscombe

Have you or someone you know considered life as a Jesuit priest or brother? For more information, visit www.jesuitvocations.org.uk or contact:

South Africa: Fr Shaun Carls SJ Tel: (+27) 021 685 3465 [email protected]

Guyana: Stefan Garcia SJ Tel: + 592 22 67461 [email protected]

The Jesuits in Britain undertake a wide range of ministries in Britain and around the world. The Jesuit Missions Office exists to accompany members of the Society of Jesus in the UK, Guyana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and many other countries in their varied ministries. Its role is to help the British Province make real its mission to proclaim a Faith that does Justice.

Britain: Fr Matthew Power SJ Tel: (+44) 0151 426 4137 [email protected]

Editor: Fr Dushan Croos SJAssistant Editor: Ged Clapson Editorial group: Fr Denis Blackledge SJ, Annabel Clarkson, Richard Greenwood, Jane Hellings, Andrea Kelly, Jonathan Parr, James Potter, Sr Anouska Robinson-Biggin fcJ.

Designed by: www.rfportfolio.comPrinted by: www.magprint.co.uk

To protect our environment, papers used in this publication are produced by mills that promote sustainably managed forests and utilise Elementary Chlorine Free process to produce fully recyclable material in accordance with an Environmental Management System conforming with BS EN ISO 14001:2004.

Address for correspondence:11 Edge Hill, London SW19 4LR T: 020 8946 0466 E: [email protected]


& friends

Issue 84 • Spring 2013 • jesuitsandfriends.org.uk

Celebrating the culture of the Amerindian peoples

A new chapter in Guyana

Jesuits and Friends is published three times a year by the Jesuits in Britain in association with Jesuit Missions

Registered Charity No. England and Wales: 230165 Scotland: 40490

Poverty in the UK is all around us but often invisible. It is sometimes more appealing to try to tackle global poverty – the fault of vicious regimes or climate catastrophe, rather than bear witness to the desperation and devastated lives in our own inner cities. Do you want to:

It shouldn’t happen here

• Make a difference to people in Britain whose lives are blighted by poverty, injustice, or social exclusion

• Live in a community in British inner cities with people from all over Europe

• Gain valuable skills and work experience for your future career

• Take up the challenge to live simply and sustainably

• Explore your spirituality and live out what you believe?

If you can give a passionate YES to most of these questions, and you are aged 18 – 35, then JVC could be what you’re looking for!

We are currently recruiting for JVC’s Summer Programme and Year Programme 2013 – 14.

Go to jvcbritain.org for more details.Not aged 18-35 but supportive of our mission? Please consider sponsoring one of our young volunteers in this special service for £10 per month. See back page.

Read the article about our 25th anniversary on page 7

Cover photo by: James Broscombe

jesuitsandfriends.org.uk 3

Contents

EACH OF OUR stories in this edition of Jesuits and Friends can be read through the lens of “Meeting Needs”. In Father Tony Horan’s article, Learning to trust the love of the Trinity, for instance, we discover how each of us is invited by the Persons of the Trinity to

adoption as children and heirs. When a child is adopted into a family it is clear that both the child’s need for a family and the family’s need to welcome a child into their experience of love are important in a successful adoption.

But as St Ignatius describes in his conclusion to the Spiritual Exercises, in each situation needs are being met on each side. Love is experienced when each shares what they have, receives what they lack, and responds to the other person. This exchange of gifts is seen clearly in how the Gospel is proclaimed in Guyana where the Church receives the gift of indigenous Guyanese culture and brings the gift of the Word of Life; the Gospel cannot be received by the people of Guyana unless they also bring the gift of their

From the editor...

own culture and understanding of how the Lord is transforming and healing us. It is seen equally in the discovery by young volunteers that through their service in JVC they receive a great gift from those they are sent to serve. Both encounter the Lord through the other.

You may notice the new design of Jesuits and Friends which the editorial team hopes will help you read about the work of British Jesuits and their companions and find your own way of responding to the Lord’s call through the gift of your prayer, money or time.

As we prepare to celebrate the Passion of our Lord and his glorious Resurrection, may God bless you.

Fr Dushan Croos SJ

04 COVER STORY: Fr Tim Curtis SJ evaluates what the New Evangelisation might mean to the Jesuits working in Guyana

06 VOCATIONS: How the role of the priest and the laity is changing in Guyana. Stefan Garcia SJ

08 YOUNG PEOPLE: Clare Lewis celebrates 25 years of Jesuit Volunteer Community in Britain

11 YOUNG ADULTS MINISTRY: Proving an anchor in a storm for young Catholics in a strange city. Sr Anouska Robinson-Biggin fcJ

12 EDUCATION: James Powell of Stonyhurst College reflects on his experience in Peru

14 EDUCATION: An overview of Mount St Mary’s College with Paul Scott

16 EDUCATION: Why a Festival of Music and Dance is so important to young people in Zimbabwe. Fr Joe Arimoso SJ

17 SOCIAL JUSTICE: An away day for asylum seekers is full of surprises, according to Sr Rosemary Howarth SSND

18 PRAYER: Fr Tony Horan SJ guides us on the first steps on the Ignatian pathway to God

19 PRAYER: United across the world with the Holy Father in the Apostleship of Prayer. Fr Tim Curtis SJ

20 OBITUARIES

22 FEATURE: Fr Mark Henninger SJ recalls his encounter with the Master of Suspense

23 NEWS: Around the provinces

In this issue...

04

12

08

14

VENEZUELA

GUYANA

SURINAME FRENCHGUIANE

BRAZIL


JESUIT MISSIONS Guyana

GUYANA IN South America has been part of the British Province since the beginning of the 20th century when it was known as British Guiana (it gained independence in 1966). So when the Jesuit General Superior, Fr Adolfo Nicolás SJ, spoke at last year’s Synod on the New Evangelisation and said that the Church needs to learn lessons from past missionary endeavours, it struck a particular chord for us.

When Fr Cuthbert Carey-Elwes first made

contact with the Amerindians in

Guyana and

Evangelisation: the next chapter

set up his headquarters on the Brazilian boarder in 1909, he found that they had a natural thirst for God. He attempted to learn their language, taught them prayers and encouraged them to build a church. And if, when he returned a year later, he found that they were still saying prayers daily and that a church had been built, he would go ahead and baptise the whole village. He found that they loved singing, and was able to reach their souls through music.

The Jesuit missionaries who followed in the pioneer’s footsteps adopted his methodology, so after 20 years or so of evangelisation, many villages had a church and a praying Catholic

community. However, it was beginning to change Amerindian

culture. Having a church had a stabilising effect, and as a

consequence, villagers who, up to this point had been quite nomadic,

would travel further and further to their farms and hunting grounds. Traditional laps and bead dresses were put aside for European dress. In time, over 50 primary schools were built and staffed by the Catholic Church, which further limited the ability of a village to up sticks and move somewhere else. And it was also decided that the medium of teaching in these schools would be English. This has had great advantages – for example, Amerindians of different groups (Makushi, Patamona, Wapishana and Arowak) are now all able to speak to each other as well as communicate with the outside world. However, language and storytelling are vital parts of any culture and the downside of the decision to focus on English has been that gradually native languages are being depreciated or even forgotten.

Despite all of this, there are some wonderful aspects of Amerindain

Celebrating the culture of the Amerindian people – by Fr Tim Curtis SJ in Guyana


Guyana JESUIT MISSIONS

culture that have survived. Each village still preserves a sense of the collective. Villagers still come to work together for projects in common. This spirit is threatened by the concept that all labour should be paid for in money, but still it survives. The tempo of life remains gentle. Amerindians will work and work very hard when they see the value of the task in hand. However, they refuse to let the work ethic be the master, and when there is no need to work, why not relax in your hammock? What is the point of amassing wealth that one may never need? I find these aspects of life challenging but refreshing.

After the “Rupununi Uprising” in 1968, where a number of ranchers sought to annex the interior of Guyana to Venezuela, priests were banned for a while from the interior and the Catholic schools were taken over by the government. When the Jesuits were allowed to return, pioneers such as Fr Paddy Connors, Fr Fred Rigby and Fr Ben Parrott decided to focus on adult education. In villages that did not have a priest, Parish Lay Assistants were trained and, for the past 50 years or so,

the day to day running of the church has been in the hands of the laity. But the modern world has made more and more inroads into traditional Amerindian life and church training has not been able to keep pace with the momentum for change.

“As Jesuits, we are in the process of discerning with our Catholic Amerindian communities about the next chapter in their evangelisation,” the British Provincial, Fr Dermot Preston SJ told me. He was Regional Superior in Guyana for five years and says that one of the Jesuits’ tasks during this Year of Faith will be to review their individual and communal faith journeys that have led them to where they are now. “Perhaps more than ever the Amerindian communities are becoming part of the decision making process, because the challenges are becoming

quite acute,” he explains. “These challenges are two-fold: cultural and religious. For the former, the encroachment of outside cultural influences – partly from Brazil and partly from the Caribbean coast (and often the worst side of these cultures) – and the ways that they can cut-across the delicate Amerindian family structures; for the latter, there has been the development of rather virulent forms of anti-Catholic sentiment fuelled often by right-wing ‘evangelical’ groups in the US. This at best has been confusing for the faithful, and has at worst been destructive of village and family cohesion; so there is a need to preach and live our faith with greater clarity.”

As part of this process, we recognise that the remaining parts of the Amerindians’ culture need to be honoured and preserved. And, as Father General Nicolás said at the 2012 Synod, we need to recognise with generosity and humility the work of God in the life and history of people; and we should celebrate with “admiration, joy and hope whenever we find goodness and dedication”. l

“What is the point of amassing wealth that one may never need?”

Photos: James Broscombe


JESUIT MISSIONS Guyana

GUYANA IS THE first country I have ever lived in that has a vocations prayer said as part of the Mass. It reads:

God, our Father, in baptism You called me by name and made me a member of Your people, the Church. I praise You for Your goodness; I thank You for Your gifts. Father, bless Your Church with love. Raise up generous and dedicated leaders from our families and our friends who will serve as sisters, priests, brothers and lay ministers. Send Your Spirit to guide and strengthen me that I may serve Your people, following the example of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name I offer this prayer. Amen.

In terms of vocations in Guyana, the Society of Jesus is experiencing a double wave of returning religious whose power cannot be denied. Firstly, there are the young, foreign Jesuits (many from the Indian provinces) who had spent part of their formation in Guyana and are now returning as priests. Secondly, and more interestingly in terms of

vocations, there is a generation of Guyanese coming back after several years of training abroad. These two groups of young Jesuits are our greatest fuels for stoking the flame of generating new vocations, but their greenness and need for re-enculturation means a period of maturation is demanded, despite their great zeal. As a relative newcomer to the Guyanese Region myself, my thinking and praying about vocations in the country is not yet highly developed. The benefit of this, of course, is that I am seeing things with fresh eyes; but it might also mean it is tempered with ignorance and inexperience.

The situation for vocations in the region has been difficult for decades: the area as a whole has never shaken off its need for missionary priests. What is growing, however, is a laity who are feeling empowered, who are increasingly vigorous in the running of the Church. It remains to be seen whether this kind of laity will lead to

the rise or the decline of vocations to the religious and priestly life. On the one hand, lay people may see that, with the new structures established, we simply do not need the numbers of priests and religious that we used to, that it is no longer the go-to option if one wants to make a difference in the Church. On the other, it might lead some to see that the responsibilities they have taken on in their communities might, in their particular circumstances, be best fulfilled as a priest or religious.

The general atmosphere in Guyana is one of renewal, of a rebirth. This requires both nurturing baby steps and the utilisation of the energy of that youthfulness in a way that is attractive to a generation of new possibilities. l

Opposite: Fr Fernando Lopes SJ of Paraguay at St Ignatius Church, Lethem, during the Mass to celebrate the centenary of Fr Carey-Elwes. Until recently, Fr Lopes was a member of the Equipe Itinerante of Manaus.

“That I may serve Your people...”

Stefan Garcia SJ considers the role of the priest – and the laity – in Guyana.

Jesuit Missions is appealing for funds to help a shanty town community in Manaus Region of Amazonia, which was devastated by a fire at the beginning of December. Hundreds of people ran for their lives, leaving behind the few possessions they owned. The local Jesuit Superior, Fr Adelson Araújo Dos Santos SJ, wrote: “The fire spread quickly through all the wooden houses – which stand on stilts – leaving hundreds of families with only their clothes and a few other belongings which, with great effort, they had managed to save. Thank God, it seems there were no fatalities …Everything happened very quickly and the fact that they are wooden houses very close to

each other, which contributed to their destruction, was nearly total.” Funds to help the residents of this a shanty town will be channelled through a small Jesuit community which is based there, known as an Equipe Itinerante. This is a Catholic group comprised of Jesuit priests, sisters and lay people that moves from village to village in northern Amazonia, preaching the word of God and helping community projects.

SUPPoRT oUR WoRKTo make a donation to help this community in Amazonia to rebuild itself, see the back page.


“Send Your Spirit to guide and strengthen me that

I may serve Your people”

Guyana JESUIT MISSIONS


YOUNG PEOPLE Volunteering

Community • Social justice • Spirituality • Simple lifestyle.

JVC is an organisation of lay volunteers aged 18-35 who dedicate eleven months service to charities working for social justice for disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in inner city communities. Through retreats, shared prayer and community living, volunteers are immersed in the four values of JVC: spirituality, community, simple lifestyle, and social justice. It has been described as a bit like TV’s Big Brother, but with real values and important tasks. JVC is grounded in Catholic social teaching and Ignatian spirituality but is open to volunteers of all faiths.

WHEN JESUIT Volunteer Community was launched in the UK in the 1980s, society in Britain was gripped by social strife. More than three million people were unemployed; local communities were experiencing tensions through inequalities; and increasing numbers of people were falling to the margins of society. Having witnessed the JVC scheme in the USA, Fr Eddy Bermingham SJ realised the potential and introduced the scheme in Toxteth, Liverpool in 1987.

JVC communities are now located in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham – cities with some of the highest levels of child poverty and unemployment in the country. Since 1987, nearly 400 people have taken part in Jesuit Volunteer Community programmes in Britain, i.e. about 15 per year.

Ged Edwards, one of the first volunteers recalls: “… there was a sense of a great adventure, both personally and as a movement. We were open to experiencing first hand something of the need for social justice, of the vitality and difficulties of living in community with people we had not met before, of living with the strengths and limitations of few choices and of finding God amidst this, individually and together…”

JVC works with projects supporting people with physical and learning disabilities, with schools and community projects in disadvantaged areas, and with people who need basic education or a second chance in life as they struggle to cope with mental illness or overcome addictions, or to get

“It has been described as a bit like TV’s Big Brother,

but with real values and important tasks.”

Images from European Union Youth in Action initiative visionsoftheunseencity.org.uk in which JVC participated in 2011. Volunteers created photo journals and videos to document stories of marginalised inner city dwellers.

Finding God in all things

Clare Lewis reflects on JVC’s 25 years of service to some of Britain’s most marginalised communities.


“The most important thing I learned at my placement was how to recognise the work of God and find hope in situations filled by despair. I can only do very small things to help people, but these things can show people that they matter and are loved.” Siobhan Burke, JVC volunteer 2010-11, who recently entered the novitiate of the Sacred Heart Sisters

Volunteering YOUNG PEOPLE

back into society after serving a prison sentence. Together in a typical year volunteers give over 20,000 hours in the service of social justice.

Volunteers work in drop-in and advice centres for the homeless, offering food, arranging shelter and simply providing companionship by listening to those whose stories often go unheard. For a number of years JVC has placed volunteers with Cheetham Welcome Centre, in North Manchester, providing advice and support to struggling families and isolated individuals. Their Manager Jane Bramley finds JVC involvement invaluable:

“Volunteers from JVC have an accepting and non-judgemental outlook which makes them an ideal fit for our organisation. They are among our most committed, reliable and hard-working volunteers, who bring a range of skills and ideas which really benefit our organisation… It’s good to know that they have support from the JVC staff team, as sometimes it’s impossible not to be affected by the issues which some of our service users are facing.”

The spiritual dimension of JVC is crucial. All volunteers are offered a spiritual director, and there are five residential events for reflection, one of which is an individually guided retreat, with five days in silence. Most volunteers say this is one of the most significant experiences of their year. Hannah Lucas speaks for many,

“A silent retreat is something of a shock to the system for a young person

“I like to think of JVC as a bridge to power, where whatever these brilliant young people go on to, they carry the experience of being beside the marginalised with them for the rest of their lives.” Marie Pattison, JVC Volunteer Coordinator

“One of the best things about JVC is how it takes you from your usual environment and encourages you to create a lifestyle based on your ideals, and not those of current culture. For a young person in their twenties, bombarded by consumerism and media it can be difficult to have the courage of your convictions.” Hannah Lucas, former volunteer

• After assisting at a day centre for people with profound disabilities, one young man recently enrolled to train as an occupational therapist

• Another JVC volunteer applied to change the degree course on which he had already been accepted from Economics to Social Work

• Other volunteers have gone on to work in counselling, housing, and campaigning – in Britain and overseas. And some have been offered paid work at the end of their JVC year by the projects they worked on as volunteers.

At least 19 former volunteers – around 5% – have entered religious life or the priesthood after JVC – including two Jesuits!

What they did next...Many volunteers go on to people-centred careers where compassion and an understanding of social justice are important, such as the charity sector, social work and teaching. Several volunteers changed their career plans because of the experience JVC gave them.

Service users at a drop-in centre for homeless people make an Easter garden, assisted by volunteer Jin Sook.

who is used to having endless distractions available to them such as phones, laptops and mp3 players… Suddenly faced with five days in which the only relationship I could engage in was my relationship with

God, I had to meet with Him… I came away refreshed.”

For their part volunteers find the programme helps in discerning where they are called and gives them the

JVC Volunteers Simona, Lucia and Tina-Maire on the final day of their Summer Programme at an education project in Manchester.


We want to hear from you...

experience and confidence they need to take the first steps on their new journey as men and women for others. Liam Bradley worked with SIFA Fireside in Birmingham, a service tackling homelessness and alcohol abuse. Now about to complete his MA in social work, he commented:

“My experience of JVC went beyond my hopes. Not only did I gain valuable experience which enabled me to choose a future career, but I also learned a lot about my personal spirituality and emotions. The people

I have encountered during the year… will continue to have a profound, positive effect on me.”

So what has changed over the last 25 years? In 1999 the one month summer programme was launched to fill the gap in the schedule between the finish and start of the full year programmes and to offer an opportunity for service and reflection to those for whom a full year’s commitment is not possible. This is proving very popular with students. In the last 25 years many European

Children at Faith Primary School, Liverpool, get into the spirit of World Book Day, with JVC volunteer Frances – in her ‘Funnybones’ skeleton costume.

provinces have established JVCs – in France, Ireland, Poland, and Germany. But sadly these are no longer operating because of scarcity of funds.

And what of the future? JVC is excited about collaborating with the new Jesuit team at Manchester University Chaplaincy. A pilot project is planned in Manchester to introduce non-residential part-time volunteering for adults of all ages. We would like to open new JVC communities in London and Glasgow but funding limits us to Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool for now. l

If you would like to receive our annual magazine

If you were, or know someone who was, a JVC volunteer: we would love to hear from you and invite you to some of our special 25th birthday celebrations

If you would like to learn more about becoming a JVC volunteer in either the year or summer programmes

Ciprian gives massage therapy at Focus Birmingham

JVC volunteer Quynh enjoys playing ‘Incey Wincey Spider’ across generations

and cultures at a community drop-in centre in Ladywood, Birmingham.

YOUNG PEOPLE Volunteering

GET INToUCHPlease get in touch [email protected] 0161 234 2933

SUPPoRT oUR WoRKWe rely on donations from generous people who share our values. Please consider sponsoring one of this year’s volunteers with a monthly gift of £10. We need to raise £1500 to support each of our 15 one year volunteers. Please complete the sponsorship and gift aid form on the back cover of the magazine or go to jvcbritain.org


First Sunday YOUNG PEOPLE

THE JESUITS’ Young Adults Ministry provides an anchor in a storm for Catholics who arrive in London for work or studies alone and with no familiar practices to hang onto. It can be traced back to 2002, when a dozen or so members of Christian Life Community (CLC), after celebrating the Eucharist together, decided that they wanted more. They were already familiar with Ignatian Spirituality and they yearned for what is known in Ignatian terms as ‘the magis’ (Latin for ‘more’). In his capacity as director of the Young British Jesuit Alumni/ae (YBJA), Fr John Grummit SJ had already provided a network for former students of Jesuit schools and colleges to put their faith into action with volunteering opportunities overseas. And when Fr David Stewart SJ took this role, it was seen as an chance to bring together several groups of young adults with Ignatian links for times of prayer and reflection, as well as social action and socialising.

Palm Sunday 2003 saw the founding of First Sunday –a committed group of volunteers who worked alongside Jesuit scholastics (Jesuits-in-training) to host a Mass in the Ignatius Chapel of Farm Street Church in central London. This now attracts up to 100 young adults on the First Sunday of every month, followed by social time, at which the group continues to build community in a local pub. It has since grown into a bi-monthly event, known as First Sunday Plus, with the Mass on the third Sunday of each month offering a quieter, more reflective liturgy, with time built-in for personal prayer after the Gospel and the Sacrament of Reconciliation before both Masses.

“So much of our 20s and 30s are spent working out who and what we are,

jostling the often conflicting priorities of work, relationships and our own desires,” says Una Buckley from CLC – one of the original group. “FS Plus provides a sense of community at the heart of what can be a busy and

sense of who we are in the world and make good choices how we should live our lives.” Another one of the regulars stresses the importance of the liturgy and the social aspect of this ministry: “The two together remind me that I am young and Catholic and that these are not mutually exclusive ideals. Other young people share my values and it reminds me that in a big, foreign city, I am not alone and I really appreciate it.”

Since 2003, the ministry has developed far beyond the initial dreams and has including at one time and another Theology on Tap – a pub based forum for learning more about the Catholic faith; Roma Ignaziana, an Ignatian pilgrimage through Rome; participation in MAG+S/World Youth Days in Cologne, Sydney and Madrid; and retreats – both residential and in daily life. Many have become active members of CLC or have joined London Jesuit Volunteers; and all of them have had the chance to deepen their own spiritual journey through courses held at the Mount Street Jesuit Centre and elsewhere.

The British Jesuits’ commitment to Young Adults Ministry is fuelled by the belief that these people are yearning to be men and women for others, in companionship with Jesus and each other. What started ten years as a pioneering ministry to young adults in London is now heading in new and exciting directions, for which we give thanks to God! l

7%

Just under one million 20 to 34 year-olds in the UK live alone

In London, nearly 7% of households consist of two or more people who are unrelated

1

million

25

YEA

RS

The average age in these households is 25 years

Source: Office for National Statistics, 29 M

ay 2012

GET INVoLVEDTo join the Young Adult community, visit the First Sunday Plus website: www.fsplus.info

“The liturgy and the social remind me that I am

young and Catholic and that these are not mutually

exclusive ideals”

demanding city. It’s a place where all are welcome, real friendships can be built, and we can experience that sense of peace and connectedness with God which helps us to make

Companions on your journey

Sister Anouska Robinson-Biggin fcJ marks the first decade of First Sunday Plus


IN OCTOBER 2011, a group of women from the Fraternas (a Catholic religious order based in Peru) gave a talk at Stonyhurst College to Year 12 students. They approached us with an idea and a vision. Many months of preparation and paperwork later, five students from Stonyhurst and five from St Bede’s College in Manchester, along with our Spanish teacher and three women from the Fraternas, set out for a three-week long, 10,000 kilometre mission, organised by the Diocese of Salford and the Marian Community of Reconciliation.

We were based in the shanty towns around Lima and a mountain village, and our work included teaching classes of primary school children, taking food to families living in extreme poverty and the construction of a church which, by the time we left, had foundations and walls. We also repainted a soup kitchen and held a party for the elderly in a community centre – complete with a dancing competition!

The first leg of our missionary work was based mainly in Pamplona, a district of shanty towns just outside Lima. With over 7,000 inhabitants, no running water and no reliable electricity, the lives of the people we met were basic. Yet we could not help but be impressed by how happy all the people we helped were – both children and grown-ups. For young adults like us, from private schools in England, where the most we have to complain about on a daily basis is the weather, the situation certainly gave us cause to re-evaluate the way in which we live.

We brought back many fond memories of our time in Pamplona, from plastering a wall and helping in a soup kitchen for children, to giving donations of food

baskets to the poorest of the poor. But my fondest memory by far is that of our last day there. In the morning we had visited a nursery and I became a human climbing frame for two hours. Then after lunch we returned with two brothers, Victor and Francisco, who organise social work for the Christian Life Movement. They are both Sodalits, the male branch of the Fraternas, and they started swinging the children about, to their thorough enjoyment, until we were all too dizzy to carry on.

The other significant part of our work, both in Lima and later on, was to help the Catholic community to strengthen their faith. It seemed to us that the simple act of giving out small medallions of Our Lady and blessing those who received them was such a small thing that would not make a difference to these people who were in need of food, water and decent shelter; but it really did! I remember one elderly lady in particular, with whom I had struggled to communicate, not least due to my lack of Spanish! Yet the look of real gratitude in her eyes was very touching. It reminded me of something Blessed Mother Teresa had said: “We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.”

Our second week in Peru was spent in the village of Nueva Florida, where we stayed with local families who went out

of their way to make us comfortable. The main focus of our work there was to continue building a church for the village with money raised back at Stonyhurst through cake sales and sponsorship. We spent every morning working with the builders on everything from mixing cement by hand, carrying water from the river and pouring the concrete for the foundations to excavating the back wall and laying bricks. By the end of the week, we had taken the church from little more than uprights in holes in the ground to having proper foundations, the start of a back wall and two thirds of a bricked-up eastern wall.

The afternoons in Neuva Florida were spent giving Catechesis and workshops for the children of the village. The overall subject of our lessons was prayer, with topics from ‘How to pray’ and ‘Why we pray’ to the lives of the saints as examples to us. By contrast, our workshops varied from football and karate to flower-making and dance and we were inundated with children all eager to learn whatever we had to teach. Our last lesson culminated in a Marian Procession through the village, after which we returned to the site of the church for hot drinks and biscuits.

During impromptu speeches from both ourselves and some members of the village, we were thanked for all of our efforts and were given some small tokens, including a small bracelet printed with the words: Hermanos por siempre Neueva Florida (Brothers forever of Nueva Florida).

As our Mission in Peru ended, I chatted with Ada, the leader of the Mission, and I asked her if that was the end of our missionary work. Her reply was simple: Our Mission never ends. l

“We were inundated with children all eager to learn whatever we had to teach”

EdUcaTION Stonyhurst college

Drops in the ocean

James Powell of Stonyhurst College recalls his experience teaching and building in Peru.


“The main focus of our work there was to continue

building a church for the village with the money that we

had raised back in England.”

Stonyhurst college EdUcaTION

Photos: James Powell and Charlotte Redmond

EdUcaTION Mount St Mary’s college

MOUNT ST MARY’S College is one of the oldest foundations in the district. It was first established by the Jesuits at Stanley Grange near Derby in 1620 when the Penal laws were in force against Catholics and the Society of Jesus in particular. And after numerous changes, the college – dedicated to the Immaculate Conception – was formally opened in the hamlet of Spinkhill, a property of the Pole family.

The present college was founded in 1842 by Father Randall Lythgoe SJ, the Provincial of the Society of Jesus in England on the Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and Derbyshire borders. It was initially a boarding school for sons of the Catholic gentry and businessmen; and over its 170-year history, its students have maintained an outstanding tradition of service: to the nation, to the arts and the Church.

Today, Mount St Mary’s College – or the Mount, as it is affectionately known – enjoys an enviable reputation as a first class Catholic co-educational boarding and day school of 400 pupils aged 11 to 18. Although there is continued demand for boarding places at the College, demand for day places at most ages of entry has increased considerably. There is entry at 11+, at 13+ from traditional prep schools and a large number of students join the sixth form.

In 2012, when exam results nationally dipped, the Mount continued to increase its performance at A level and GCSE. Some impressive results were gained in traditionally challenging subjects like A level Physics where all students received A grades. Both Mount St Mary’s and its prep school, Barlborough Hall, are proudly non-academically selective but achieve

More than just a School

outstanding results, with pupils at the Mount leaving for top Universities.

A Jesuit traditionBut the school does not measure its success solely in teaching and academic terms or in its unique learning experience. It also provides a safe, friendly and welcoming environment and extensive extra-curricular opportunities and facilities through which pupils are encouraged to be aware of their place in the wider world, and their responsibility for each other. As a Catholic school in the Jesuit tradition, the ethos at the Mount is to provide an education that allows pupils to develop their God given talents – academically, socially, physically and spiritually.

Ignatian Spirituality and service lie at the heart of Mount St Mary’s life.


The latest in our series of features on Jesuit schools in Britain takes us to the East Midlands with Paul Scott.

day in and day out, as well as from week to week and term to term. We are always striving for the Magis – the more – as a school community in everything that we do here. “

ResponsibilityMany young people choose to board at Mount St Mary’s College full time. The experience increases their maturity and teaches them the importance of taking responsibility for themselves and others. Students are surrounded by friends, and they can gain stability from the strong community they belong to. Some parents and pupils find the opportunity for casual and weekly boarding very attractive too, particularly for those living over an hour from College. Among other things, this allows students to make the most of the extensive extra-curricular programme and supervised study; and it involves less travelling time. In the sixth form a large number of students choose to weekly board in order to experience independence and prepare


Mount St Mary’s college EdUcaTION

“There is just so much goes on here, Mount St Mary’s is a very special place and so much

more than just a school.”

Central to this is the worship offered by the community daily, which includes daily Mass, assemblies, times for prayers and other liturgies of the word. The Chaplaincy team are involved in co-ordinating the college’s service to the community, such as charity fund-raising through the ‘Moving Mountains’ committee, the Arrupe Programme for sixth formers, the Tuesday Club working with adults with learning difficulties and the Annual Lourdes Pilgrimage.

In the last academic year, two teachers from the Mount visited Canisius Secondary School in the Chikuni Parish, Zambia and two teachers from Canisius returned for a visit to the Mount last June. This was part of the college’s link with its Companion Jesuit School, the aim of which is global education through friendship: pupils learn from one another about different ways of life and cultures, and also share ideas. For instance, an evening in which pupils and staff showed off their entertaining talents and shared a Zambian meal was also an opportunity to raise money for Jesuit Missions and Canisius Secondary School in particular.

“Mount St Mary’s is a very special place and so much more than just a school,” says Headmaster, Laurence McKell. “There is just so much goes on here,

FIND oUT MoRETo find out more about Mount St Mary’s College, visit: www.msmcollege.com

for university. All boarders have a full programme of activities and trips at the weekend, with a balanced amount of time for study, outdoor pursuits, exercise and rest.

Mount St Mary’s College places great importance on its extra-curricular activities and it has developed a strong reputation for Music, Drama and Sport – both in the local area and nationally. A number of choral and instrumental ensembles have enjoyed success in national competitions such as the National Festival of Music for Youth, as well as local festivals, and several pupils are members of national organisations such as the National Youth Orchestra. Ensembles are run by specialist staff, and the college provides numerous opportunities for musicians to perform. l

Below left: In rugby – the main boys’ sport at the Mount – all age groups achieve regional and national honours.

Below right: Dramatic highlight: – A cast of 45 pupils from all years took part in Me and My Girl last November.


EdUcaTION Zimbabwe

IN 2011, I worked closely with a popular young musician named Taku Mafika who was at the time working with the Zimbabwe College of Music (ZCM). Sadly, just a week before we launched the festival last year, he died of a stroke, aged just 27 years. Nevertheless, after Taku’s death, the ZCM and Taku’s fellow musicians gave me all the support to make the event a success. When we launched the first Jesuit High Schools Music and Dance Festival at St Peter’s Kubatana on 15 October 2011, we had 12 high schools participating.

The 2012 event was held at Arrupe College and rebranded AMDG High Schools Music and Dance Festival. With the theme ‘Embrace the Power of Music’, it attracted 15 high schools and an attendance of 300 people.

The Festival was a beautiful event in which talented young people expressed themselves in Rap, R & B, traditional dance, choir, solo and every type of music and dance one can imagine. The students this time were more creative than in 2011. We even had a well-executed Egyptian dance by the St John’s High girls. No wonder they stole the first prize in dance! Churchill Boys High, who staged a full band and performed own compositions, clinched the first prize in music. These winners will have a chance to perform at the country’s famous Harare International Festival of Arts (HIFA) this May. But even those who did not win enjoyed the presence of local young musicians known as Urban Groovers. We also had with us two young famous Zimbabwean TV presenters, Geraldine Mandengenda and Farai Kwesha, who run the popular Youths Have Talent show.

At the end of the event, our guest of honour, Bob Nyabinde, a well-known Afro Jazz musician in Zimbabwe said to me: “This initiative has huge potential in terms of promoting and supporting hidden talents in schools. It’s the only one of its kind in the country. Let’s keep this thing going at all cost.”

Looking back at the high school music and dance festival I realise with gratitude that this event has gathered more meaning than I imagined when we launched it two years ago. For the past 10 years, the young people in Zimbabwe have struggled in a politically,

economically and socially oppressive environment and I see this event as creating sacred space where the young people can express their joys, disappointments and hopes for the future, as they celebrate together and showcase their talents. Through what they like most – music – the young people also have a chance to share positive social messages in which they encourage each other to make a difference in a society fragmented by hate, political uncertainty, poverty, unemployment and HIV/AIDS. No wonder the theme was Embrace the Power of Music. l

“ We cannot talk about the success of the Jesuit High School Music and dance Festival without expressing our gratitude to people like alan Grey and Rachel Marshall who ran the London Marathon to raise funds for this event. Such generosity from people thousands of kilometres away from us is touching, not just for me, but for all who took part in the aMdG High Schools Music and dance Festival.”

Young students express their joy and creativity through dance. Photo: Nigel Johnson SJ

SUPPoRT oUR WoRK Your donation will help support initiatives like the Music and Dance Festival for young people in Zimbabwe in the future. See the back page for more details.

They’ve got talent!

Fr Joe Arimoso SJ explains why a festival of music and arts that he founded two years ago in Zimbabwe is so important to its young people.


Refugees social justice

Sister Rosemary Howarth SSND says there are surprises every step of the way on the JRS-UK Companioning Programme which provided the chance for asylum

seekers to get away for a time of prayer and relaxation.

GENEROSITY AND collaboration marked the beginning of the surprises of this venture. Unable to offer us any financial support, the Sisters of Saint Andrew in Edenbridge informed us that they would be willing to provide the venue for one of our “away days”. We accepted their kind offer. And even the weather collaborated with us on the day.

Eight Eritrean women had expressed an interest in participating in an away day to praise and thank God, which gave us a hint for the theme of the day. So we proceeded to plan a gentle, reflective day that included communal prayer in the Edenbridge chapel, as well as some personal time outside in the beauty of God’s autumnal glory.

Since two of the women on the away day did not speak English, the next gift needed was a translator. One of the women from a neighbouring parish had offered to help out… but had to cancel. However, flexibility and generosity entered into the kaleidoscope of surprises as one of the participants was able to enjoy the day and act as translator for the group.

The women had expressed a desire to share a special Eritrean meal for lunch. One of them said: “I have no house but I ask my friend if I can prepare the meal on her cooker and store it in her fridge overnight.” Thanks to a donation, she was able to buy the ingredients and prepare the meal the night before; then she travelled by bus to our meeting point. The delicious meal was enjoyed by us all!

Travel to Edenbridge was arranged with a driver from Somalia who could speak to the women in Arabic. It made the

hour-long journey most enjoyable, with great conversations about places they all knew. Another surprise in yet another unexpected way.

The Sisters in Edenbridge were waiting for us when we arrived. Over tea, we shared the diverse realities of culture, language and customs. In the course of that initial conversation, the women shared that this very day was the beginning of the new liturgical year

in their Orthodox Church... one more surprise that made the day even more special for them!

As the day unfolded, the God of Surprises invited the team planners to let go of the plans we had made and to allow the Spirit to run free in the women. Without hesitation, after tea, they immediately took off their shoes and entered the chapel. There they prayed, aloud and in silence, so very grateful for the time and space to praise and thank their God who accompanies them always and everywhere. Their unwavering faith in a faithful God was indeed a powerful witness and a gift!

Walking through the gardens and fields, picking flowers and berries, watching for the horses… each one of us enjoyed our own solitary space in the beauty surrounding us. The women expressed their final appreciation at the end of the day so simply yet powerfully in prayers of gratitude to God, as well as sincere words of thanks to the Sisters.

Thanks to the generosity and collaboration of so many, this away day for a tiny group of faith-filled women had truly been a kaleidoscope of people, events and surprises. l

Encountering the ‘God of Surprises’

“Their unwavering faith in a faithful God was indeed a powerful witness and a gift!”

“ Working with refugees, I realise (that) it is not enough to give them what they need. I must give in such a way that my giving restores their self-worth, their human dignity, (so that) their hope and trust in mankind are rekindled.” Fr Pedro arrupe sj

A detail from the Misereor Hungercloth by Alemayehu Bizuneh © MVG Medienproduktion, 1978

READ MoREFind out more about the work of JRS-UK by visiting www.jrsuk.net

PRaYER Prayer with St Ignatius


Trust the love of the Trinity

“If God had not wanted and loved me, he would not have created me.”

MANY YEARS AGO, I was in conversation with a teenaged girl who had been adopted. She told me that her adoptive parents had always told her that she was adopted, explaining to her, “We chose you. Most parents don’t get to choose their children but we chose you. We wanted you.” She was pleased about that. Her parents had had the opportunity to have her or not to have her, and they had wanted her.

We too are adopted and chosen. God chose each one of us and then created us to be in his family. If God had not wanted and loved me, he would not have created me. What is more: God’s creation of me continues every moment, which is why I continue to exist. God chooses to continue to create me, despite seeing all the things I have done. God sees them and still delights in creating me. It takes my breath away.

I have met a number of people who have adopted children. I remember that I was talking to one couple just before they went to the hospital to visit a 16-year-old boy who had broken his leg. “From our point of view, it’s as well that he has broken his leg, because it’s easier to visit him in hospital,” they explained, “because if he wasn’t in hospital, he would be in a Detention Centre for Young People.” They continued: “You see, when he leaves the Detention Centre, we’re hoping he will come and live with us. Our four children are all grown up now and have left home, but we had such a happy time as a family we want others to share our experience of love and happiness.”

Encounter with God: “Precisely because God is the perfect community, God has no need to create anything else. God creates the universe for no other motive than God’s own gratuitous and unfathomable love. It is as if the three persons said to one another: ‘Our community is so good; why don’t we create a universe where we can invite others to share our community?’”

It seems to be of the nature of happiness that when we experience it we want to share it with others. That is why we invite people to join our celebrations. The Father created each one of us because He wants us to share the happiness He has always had with the Son and the Holy Spirit.

St John tells us, “God is love” (1 John 4: 8 & 16). That must mean more than God loves His creatures, or even that He loves you and me, which He certainly does. It tells us that even if God had never created anything, He would still be love. This makes sense only if we know about the Trinity; it is only then that we understand who is loved. That the Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father and both love the Holy Spirit, with a love that is infinite and mutual. The Trinity is a family, a community, where love reigns.

The first steps on the Ignatian pathway to God are learning to trust the love the Trinity has for us and learning to respond with love and we do this by spending time with God and asking for God’s help to be loving, knowing we will receive it. l

As I listened to them, I remember thinking, “That must have been what God said!” God the Father enjoys His family life and He too wants others to share His happiness. As Fr William Barry SJ expressed it in his book Spiritual direction and the

St. Ignatius sees the Trinity at La Storta before entering Rome. Engraving by Rubens.

Fr Tony Horan SJ shows us the joy of being adopted into the Holy Trinity as sons and daughters of the Father.

The Pope’s Themes PRAYER


us up in his net for the Kingdom. Everything Jesus experienced reminded him of the Father and what he does for us. When we do this, we call it “faith”.

Guyana is a land of great abundance. If Jesus were here he would see a heavily laden mango tree and it would remind him of the abundance of God in his gifts to us. If he were here in a rainy season, witnessing the deluge of water making the dried up savannah into lush green, it would remind him of our God who brings to life even the most arid and barren souls.

The Pope has declared that this year we are in a “year of faith”. During this year let us try and see things with the eyes of faith as Jesus would. Certainly, we need these eyes to pray through the intentions for the year. Our faith tells us that God is super abundant in his graces and in his gifts, that it is characteristic of him to bring new life to arid places. Our prayer is important as it can change hearts and minds so as to dispose us to receive the gifts that God so longs to give.

Out of all the intentions listed for these months, the one that jumps out at me is the need to pray for more vocations, both in those countries where the Church has yet to take root, but also in those countries where she is not adapting herself well to the new directions in which the Spirit is seeking to lead us.

Let us pray that we will witness a Church laden with vocations of every kind, like the Guyanese mango tree, and bursting with fresh life, like the savannah in the rainy season. Perhaps too we need to pray too that we have the eyes of Jesus, so as to see and perceive what is happening in the world around us. l

Praying with eyes of faith

Here, Fr Tim Curtis SJ reflects on some of Pope Benedict’s themes from a Guyanese perspective…

We believe that Jesus was fully a human being – just like any of us. He would feel hunger and cold, anger and jubilation, frustration and success. However, he seemed to have an ability that we need to work on. When Jesus saw any scene, he perceived more than what was going on – he could see into the inner depth of any situation. Perhaps we could say that Jesus saw with the eyes of faith.

For example, one day he must have come across a house where the frustrated housewife was putting all of the furniture into the street and sweeping out every corner as she looked for a lost coin. Jesus saw what was going on, but at a deeper level it reminded him of how his Father in heaven searches for us when we are lost.

Or again, when he came across fishermen washing their nets on the shore, he took in what was happening, but it also reminded him of how his Father collects

Morning PrayerGod, our Father, I offer You my day. I offer You my prayers, thoughts, words, actions, joys, and sufferings in union with the Heart of Jesus, who continues to offer Himself in the Eucharist for the salvation of the world. May the Holy Spirit, Who guided Jesus, be my guide and my strength today so that I may witness to your love. With Mary, the mother of our Lord and the Church, I pray for all Apostles of Prayer and for the prayer intentions proposed by the Holy Father this month. Amen.

APRIL: That the public, prayerful celebration of faith may give life to the faithful.

That mission churches may be signs and instruments of hope and resurrection.

MAY: That administrators of justice may act always with integrity and right conscience.

That seminaries, especially those of mission Churches, may form pastors after the Heart of Christ, fully dedicated to proclaiming the Gospel.

JUNE: That a culture of dialogue, listening, and mutual respect may prevail among peoples.

That where secularization is strongest, Christian communities may effectively promote a new evangelisation.

JULY: That World Youth Day in Brazil may encourage all young Christians to become disciples and missionaries of the Gospel.

That throughout Asia doors may open to messengers of the Gospel.

In the Apostleship of Prayer, Christians unite their prayers and lives to the mission of the universal Church, through the Pope’s monthly prayer themes.

Heavily laden: the mango tree


OBITUaRIES

Fr John Edwards SJJohn Christopher Edwards was born at Bexhill-on-Sea on 2 June 1929 and was educated by the Benedictines at Ampleforth College

and at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, which he entered at the age of 13. He served in the Royal Navy from 1946, serving for a time in the Korean War and achieving the rank of Lieutenant.

On leaving the Navy, John entered Campion House, Osterley (1953) and was admitted to the Society of Jesus the following year. He studied philosophy and theology at Heythrop College in Oxfordshire and, after his ordination in 1964, at the Bellarmino in Rome. Having served his tertianship at St Beuno’s in Wales, Fr Edwards was made assistant to the Tertianship Director in 1968, before being appointed to the parish of St Mary’s on the Quay in Bristol.

For seven years from 1970, Fr Edwards directed the Spiritual Exercises – first at

ObituariesPRAY fOR thOSE WhO havE DIED RECENtly. May thEy RESt IN PEaCE.

Loyola Hall on Merseyside, then at St Gabriel’s Retreat House in Birmingham and finally at Southwell House in London – after which he was appointed to St Patrick’s parish in Wapping, East London, where he served as parish priest for two years.

In 1980, Fr Edwards joined the Mount Street Jesuit Community, working with the Jesuit Missions team and serving in Farm Street Church. During this time, he became a renowned confessor, leading people to pray and directing missions. He also wrote several books – especially about prayer, including Ways of Praying and The Gospels for Prayer.

Fr John Edwards died on 12 December 2012. Fr Andrew Cameron-Mowat SJ, the parish priest at Farm Street Church said: “Fr John was greatly loved by an enormous number of people. His dynamic preaching and his mission work will live long in the memory of all who met him. He brought numerous people into the Church … He was a remarkable example of a faithful and compassionate priest and a generous Companion of Jesus.”

• Mr Peter Taunton• Mr Keith Meiring• Mr K C Piercy• Mr T Halton• D Carroll• Mr Bernie Smith• Mrs J M Craven• Mrs J Waugh• Mrs Marjorie Nichols• Mrs Palmer• Mrs Sarah Jameson• R Mellor• Mr P W Coldham• M F Mackintosh• Mrs H P Dinwiddy• R Brech• Mr E A Kinchin• Miss M Elmslie• Mr John Hudson• Miss S M Phillips• Miss E L Brush• Mrs Theresa Cooling• Mr Coxon• Mrs Elizabeth Duffy• Mr Joseph Austin Bolton• Mr Flach• Mr Peter Walsh• Mary Reynolds-Grey• Rita Jarrett• Robin Reeves• Fr Andrew Norton CR • Lagu Angelo, South Sudan

Country Director of JRS• Annemaria Weis, mother

of Arnold Weis SJ• John Power, uncle of Brother

Stephen Power SJ• Ray O’Connor, brother of

Br Michael O’Connor SJ• Pedro Rodriguez-Ponga, grandfather

of Pedro Rodriguez-Ponga SJ• Fr John Edwards SJ• Fr Chris Dyckhoff SJ • Fr Ronald Hull SJ• Fr Anthony Parish SJ• Fr James Reuter SJ

Ways of Praying and Knowing God’s willTwo books by the late Fr John Edwards SJ, originally published by Family Publications, have been reissued by Gracewing.

Writing when it was first published, Cardinal Basil Hume OSB recommended Ways of Praying for anyone who wanted to grow in the spiritual life. ‘This book should prove a useful and easily available reminder to priests, religious and laity, and especially to young people, of the vital importance of prayer,’ he wrote. He added that he was particularly pleased to see the emphasis that Fr Edwards gave in the book to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, something that was particularly significant in his own 32-year ministry at Farm Street Jesuit Church in London.

In Ways of Knowing God’s existence and His will, Fr Edwards drew on the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius Loyola. It offered practical advice to priests called to guide people in their spiritual lives as well as providing help to those perplexed about their beliefs. Archbishop Emeritus Mario Conti of Glasgow described the book as ‘clear and uncluttered’; while Sr Briege McKenna OSC, recipient of the Outstanding Catholic Leadership Award from the Catholic Leadership Institute, called it ‘an oasis in the desert’ and ‘the pure well-spring of Jesuit spirituality’.

Both books are available at £4.99 from Gracewing (www.gracewing.co.uk)

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OBITUaRIES

Fr Ronald Hull SJRonald Peter Hull was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, on the Feast of St Francis Xavier – 3 December 1923 – the eldest of

three children. His early education was with the Marists before he moved to Derbyshire to be a student at Mount St Mary’s College, where he was taught by the Jesuits.

On leaving college, he applied to enter the Society of Jesus at St Beuno’s in North Wales, where he took his first vows in 1944. Fr Hull’s philosophy and theology studies took place at Heythrop College in Oxfordshire; he was ordained there in 1955. As part

of his formation, Fr Hull taught at Beaumont College in Berkshire and at Mount St Mary’s College. Following his tertianship at St Beuno’s, he moved to Liverpool where he taught maths and English at St Francis Xavier’s College.

Father Hull continued as a teacher of maths for nine years at Beaumont College (1958 – 1967), before moving to Southwell House in London to study the subject himself for further qualifications. His final assignment was as a maths teacher at Stonyhurst College for 20 years from 1968.

In 2010, Fr Hull moved to St Wilfrid’s parish in Preston where he served as Minister and where he died on 27 November 2012.

Fr Anthony Parish SJYorkshire-born Anthony Francis Parish nurtured the idea of becoming a priest from the age of 10, when at primary school in Wakefield and, on

becoming a pupil at St Michael’s College in Leeds in 1951, decided that he wished to be a Jesuit. Born on 21 March 1940, Anthony was one of six children – three boys and three girls. He left school with A-levels in Latin and Greek, as well as English, and decided to retain his University Award in favour of applying to enter the Society of Jesus, which he did in 1958.

In addition to the usual Jesuit studies of philosophy and theology (at Heythrop College in Oxfordshire and London), Anthony also achieved an MA in Modern Classics and a Diploma of Education – both while at Campion Hall in Oxford between 1963 and 1968. Following his ordination in 1972, he studied scripture at the Biblical Institute in Rome, receiving his licentiate magna cum laude. On his return to Britain, he worked in the Jesuit parishes of Corpus Christi in Boscombe, Dorset, and Stonyhurst, Lancashire, before moving to Preston Catholic College where he taught scripture for three years.

After his tertianship at Loyola Hall, Rainhill, Fr Parish spent five years teaching Religious Education at St Ignatius College, Enfield, then moved to Heythrop College where he was a research student and tutor in Sacred Scripture between 1986 and 1988. He continued teaching scripture when he moved to Chishawasha in Zimbabwe, where he spent several years as a lecturer at the seminary and was appointed National Director of the Biblical Pastoral Apostolate.

Fr Parish returned to Britain in 2003 for reasons of his health, residing at Mount Street and various nursing homes before moving to Corpus

Fr Chris Dyckhoff SJChristopher Charles Dyckhoff was born on 17 January 1942 in Manchester and went to school first at

the Hollies Convent and then at St Bede’s College. On entering sixth form, he was interested in going into forestry and jokingly said that if ever he thought about becoming a priest, he would consider the Society of Jesus. When he decided that he might have a vocation to the priesthood, he applied to the Society and spent two years at Campion House, Osterley, studying Latin and Greek. At the age of 20, he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Lincolnshire.

Over the next ten years, Chris achieved a number of educational qualifications, including his Diploma in Education while chaplain at Glasgow University and his BD at Heythrop College, London. He spent a year teaching English

at Wimbledon College before beginning a series of appointments as university chaplain: at Manchester (1975-78 and 1984-89) and Norwich (1979-84).

Between 1990 and 1994, Chris directed the Spiritual Exercises at Loyola Hall, Rainhill, then took over as Superior at Campion House – the Jesuit-run pre-seminary college in west London. In 1999, he was appointed to Europe, working as assistant to the President of the Conference of European Provincials, first in Strasbourg and then in Brussels. On his return to the UK in 2004, he was appointed parish priest and superior at St Wilfrid’s Church in Preston.

Shortly after his appointment as Superior at Corpus Christi Jesuit Community in Boscombe, Dorset, Chris was diagnosed with cancer. But he managed to celebrate his Golden Jubilee in the Society of Jesus in September 2012 and died on 9 January 2013, a week before his 71st birthday.

The film ‘Hitchcock’, released at the end of last year and starring Anthony Hopkins as the Master of Suspense, has revived interest in this alumnus of St Ignatius College in North London. Hitchcock was a pupil there from 1910 to 1913. It has been claimed that, at the end of his life, Hitchcock shunned religion. But, a professor of philosophy at Georgetown University, Fr Mark Henninger SJ, says that was not true, since he was there.

IN EARLY 1980, I entered the home of Alfred Hitchcock in Bel Air and saw him dozing in a chair in a corner of his living room, dressed in jet-black pyjamas. At the time, I was a graduate student in philosophy at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles), and I was (and remain) a Jesuit priest. A fellow priest, Tom Sullivan, who knew Hitchcock, said he was going over to hear Hitchcock’s confession. He asked whether I would accompany him to celebrate a Mass in Hitchcock’s house. I was dumbfounded, but of course said yes.

On that Saturday, when we found Hitchcock asleep in the living room, Tom gently shook him. Hitchcock awoke, looked up and kissed Tom’s hand, thanking him. After we chatted for a while, we all crossed from the living room through a breezeway to his study, and there, with his wife, Alma, we celebrated a quiet Mass. Across from me were the bound volumes of his movie scripts, The Birds, Psycho, North by Northwest and others – a great distraction. Hitchcock had been away from the Church for some time, and he answered the responses in Latin the old way. But the most remarkable sight was that after receiving communion, he silently cried, tears rolling down his huge cheeks.

Tom and I returned a number of times, always on Saturday afternoons, sometimes together, but I remember once going by myself. I’m somewhat tongue-tied around famous people and found it a bit awkward to chitchat with Alfred Hitchcock, but we did, enjoyably, in his living room. At one point he said, “Let’s have Mass.”

unflattering portrait of him in a new Hollywood production. Some of his biographers have not been kind, either. Religion, too, is much in the news, also often presented in an unflattering light, because clashing beliefs are at issue in wars and terrorism. The violence provokes some people to reject religion altogether. For many who experience religion only in this way – at second hand, in the media, from afar – such a reaction is to a degree understandable.

What they miss is that religion is an intensely personal affair. St Augustine wrote: “Magnum mysterium mihi” – I am a great mystery to myself. Why exactly Hitchcock asked Tom Sullivan to visit him is not clear to us and perhaps was not completely clear to him. But something whispered in his heart, and the visits answered a profound human desire, a real human need. Hitchcock’s extraordinary reaction to receiving communion was the face of real humanity and religion, far away from headlines... or today’s filmmakers and biographers.

One of Hitchcock’s biographers, Donald Spoto, has written that Hitchcock let it be known that he “rejected suggestions that he allow a priest... to come for a visit, or celebrate a quiet, informal ritual at the house for his comfort.” That in the movie director’s final days he deliberately and successfully led outsiders to believe precisely the opposite of what happened is pure Hitchcock. l

Hitchcock’s Surprise Ending

Did Alfred Hitchcock reject religion as he neared death? Fr Mark Henninger SJ says no.

Alfred Hitchcock

FEaTURE alfred Hitchcock


READ MoREREAD the review of Hitchcock the movie starring Anthony Hopkins on www.thinkingfaith.org

“The most remarkable sight was that after receiving

communion, he silently cried.”

He was 81 years old and had difficulty moving, so I helped him get up and assisted him across the breezeway. As we slowly walked, I felt I had to say something to break the silence, and the best I could come up with was, “Well, Mr Hitchcock, have you seen any good movies lately?” He paused and said emphatically, “No, I haven’t. When I made movies they were about people, not robots. Robots are boring. Come on, let’s have Mass.” He died soon after these visits, and his funeral Mass was at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills.

Alfred Hitchcock has returned to the news lately, thanks to an apparently


around the provinces NEWS

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed a former student of St Francis Xavier’s College in Liverpool as the new apostolic nuncio to Australia. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher – a native of the city was educated by the Jesuits and went on to study at the English College in Rome. He gained his degrees in Philosophy and Theology at the Jesuit-run Gregorian University. A man of considerable diplomatic experience, Archbishop Gallagher is the only English-born nuncio

to have trained at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy where the Holy See’s diplomats are trained. He has previously served as nuncio to Burundi and Guatemala. In an interview with Vatican Radio, Archbishop Gallagher said that he had admired the commitment and dedication shown by the Jesuits who had taught him, adding that he had considered entering the Society of Jesus and had – possibly – disappointed the Jesuits by choosing instead to become a priest for the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

The Auxiliary Bishop of Saigon, Rt Rev Peter Nguyen Van Kham ordained three Jesuits to the priesthood and a further four to the diaconate on the Feast of St Francis Xavier last year in the Thu Duc district of the city. Among the new priests was Khiet Pham – a Jesuit from Vietnam who is a member of the Mount Street community while studying at the Institute of Education in London. The congregation numbered around 2,000 who assembled at 6am, in the open-air in front of the Jesuit church of the Epiphany. In addition to ordaining the seven Jesuits, the bishop also ordained four men from other congregations to the diaconate at the ceremony. Khiet is pictured here at his ordination.

In the footsteps of St francis Xavier

liverpool alumnus heads to australia

Ordination in Saigon

Jane Sander and Judith Callaghan from the parish of St Francis Xavier in Liverpool have followed in St Francis’ footsteps by visiting the Japanese island of Kyushu. It was here that the Jesuit missionary first set foot on Japanese soil in 1549 and where the Liverpool parishioners visited the church named after him in the city of Kagoshima. “The people at Mass were intrigued and delighted to hear about our SFX and its congregation in Liverpool, and the Jesuit connection,” said Judith. “In fact, they were somewhat bemused to know there were Catholics in England!”

archdiocese to take over Wimbledon parishAfter more than 130 years in Wimbledon, south west London, the Jesuits are to hand over the parish of the Sacred Heart to the Archdiocese of Southwark. The Jesuits first came to the area at the invitation of Edith Arendrup in the 1870s, when she asked the Jesuit community at Roehampton to start a Mass-centre for local people. This led in turn to the construction of Sacred Heart Church on the slopes of Edge Hill and the establishing of a parish which has since become one of the strongest and most mature Jesuit parishes in Britain, according to the Provincial, Fr Dermot Preston SJ. He praised the “talented and capable community of parishioners who have proved themselves willing and able to take on apostolic tasks with both an enthusiasm and a giftedness which has been the envy of many other parishes in Britain.” However, he said that when assets were limits the Jesuits’ responsibility was “to use our initiative to utilise whatever resources are to hand and trust the Spirit to provide what might be needed for the next step on the pilgrim road.” The running of Sacred Heart parish will be taken over by the Archdiocese of Southwark some time in the autumn of 2013.

Judith and Jane presented the Bishop of Kagoshima, the Most Reverend Paul Kenjiro Koriyama, with mementos from their parish.

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Jesuits and Friends Issue 84

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Transcript of Jesuits and Friends Issue 84