#JesuitEducated Alumni Celebrate Ignatian Year in Barcelona
By Chris Miller, Ed.D., President, JFAN-USA
Two weeks ago, I had the incredible opportunity to attend the World Union of Jesuit Alumni (WUJA) Congress in Barcelona, Spain from July 13 through 17, as a representative of Jesuit alumni in the United States of America. The Congress was a phenomenal event with some amazing speakers, including Rev. Arturo Sosa, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus.
There were a number of plenary sessions led by experts both within and outside of the Jesuit network, who covered a wide range of topics. Many of the talks focused on elements of the Universal Apostolic Preferences, such as “Ecological Spirituality and Ecological Justice for our Time,” by Yale University professor Mary Evelyn Tucker, and “Contemporary Migrants and Social Transformation,” by migration expert Cristina Manzanedo. And in his poignant talk, “After Fifty Years of Cannonball Moments, Will the Sleeping Giant Awaken?” noted author Chris Lowney challenged school and network leaders to “become tightrope walkers who break open the silos” between ministries and organizations.
On the final day of the Congress, ten resolutions (a fitting number, given that 2022 was the tenth WUJA Congress!) that encapsulated the themes of the plenary and breakout sessions were presented as guides for WUJA in the coming years (click here to view the resolutions online). An inspiring resolution to note: the Congress “recognizes the richness of the contribution of the large group of young participants who wish to join this international network, which they make their own….there is still much work to be done to integrate so many young people who leave Jesuit educational institutions.”
In addition, the Congress “recognizes that the great possibilities for collaboration and work among alumni derive from the strength of the local associations of each educational institution and, at the same time, from the sense of belonging to a wider identity. [It] also encourages all local associations and national federations to welcome in groups of various kinds alumni from other Jesuit institutions around the world who, for personal or professional reasons, are in their geographical area.” This last point reinforces the wonderful work of the Jesuit Friends and Alumni Network, USA (the American affiliate of WUJA) in developing city-based chapters of alumni.
The WUJA Congress was truly an amazing opportunity to recognize and celebrate the world-wide nature of Jesuit education and alumni. Wherever you are in the world, I encourage you to learn more about JFAN and WUJA and become involved. As the fourth resolution states: “Effective international networking comes more from the initiatives of associations or groups of alumni at the local level that federate at the grassroots level around common projects than from instructions that come from the top.”
I hope our paths will one day cross as we work to develop a national and global network of Jesuit friends and alumni!
Chris Miller, Ed.D. is a proud #JesuitEducated graduate of three Jesuit institutions (Santa Clara University, ’03, ’06, ’09; Boston College ’13; University of San Francisco, ’19) and currently serves as president of the Jesuit Friends and Alumni Network, USA.
