In preparing for St. Joe’s upcoming Mission Week, Feb. 14-23, I realized 10 of the 40 courses I’d needed to graduate from St. Joe’s were taught by Jesuit professors. Now, to be honest, this fact was no assurance I got a genuine “Jesuit education.” I would argue I learned as much, if not more, about Jesuit education from some of my professors who were not members of the Society of Jesus (a.k.a. the Jesuits). I learned the mission of Jesuit education from faculty of every sort: student life administrators, academic support professionals, administrative staff and campus ministers, among others.
This was not accidental. Jesuit education is the world’s oldest and largest educational network. Over 477 years, 3,629 Jesuit schools have sprung up to educate over 2 million students per year. This extraordinary educational phenomenon only occurs because people of all religious, cultural and social backgrounds across five continents and 80 countries embrace the mission of Jesuit education.
A tradition this old and vast has produced a varied list of educational values inspired by the life and spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. A battle wound ended Loyola’s military career, and he became a spiritual seeker, a student of the world’s cultures, and passionate about justice for the most vulnerable. The first Jesuits were a multicultural group with an insatiable intellectual curiosity who wanted to learn about every religion, identity and social condition.
Over the centuries, the Jesuit educational network has welcomed a diverse group of people from all backgrounds who live this shared mission in a wonderful variety of ways. Some people think inclusion, equity, diversity and belonging are relatively new concepts. But 40 years ago, when I became a student at this Jesuit university, I learned that these things are part of the “DNA” of the Jesuit educational mission at St. Joe’s.
In preparing our annual Mission Week, many wonderful people from our three campuses have created 40 events to engage our university mission. My 40 St. Joe’s courses 40 years ago were just the beginning of my learning the mission.
The Rev. Daniel R.J. Joyce ’88, S.J., is the vice president of mission and ministry at St. Joe’s.
