ISFO holds 'What Makes a Jesuit School Jesuit?'

Photo from the Jesuit Conference

In response to the Key Result Areas (KRA’s) of AdDU’s strategic planning, the Ignatian Spirituality and Formation Office (ISFO) held the “What makes a Jesuit school Jesuit” discussion last Oct. 2.

The event, which was co-presented by the Arrupe Office of Social Formation (AOSF), Campus Ministry Office (CMO), and Basic Education offices, was attended by over three hundred and fifty faculty, non-teaching personnel and students at the Finster Auditorium.

Academic Vice President Fr. Gabriel Jose Gonzales, SJ, talked about the distinguishing criteria for verifying the Jesuit nature of contemporary schools. The standard was from the Jesuit Conference of the Society of Jesus in the United States last 2007.

These criteria are namely (1) The First Apostolic Principles, (2) The Spiritual Dimension of Jesuit Education, (3) Serving the Mission of the Church, (4) Religious Education and Formation, (5) Teaching and Acting Justly, (6) The Global Dimension of the Educational Mission, (7) Educational Excellence, (8) Cooperation in Mission, (9) Spiritual Formation and Outreach, and (10) The Spiritual Exercises and Jesuit Pedagogy.

The criteria emphasized the relationship between Jesuit schools and the Society of Jesus which aims to form a holistic approach of education to its students, beyond the criteria of academic excellence that includes “participation in community affairs…for Christian reform of social structures and renewal of the Church.”

When asked about how being a product of a Jesuit school should be more than by name, graduating student and SAMAHAN President Michael Zachary Leyson said it is about responding to the mission of “our Jesuit university, including values imparted to us”.

“As products of a Jesuit school, we should highly regard its mission to enact the faith that does justice, to practice discernment processes, and to respect the plurality of cultures and faiths, even in the simplest of ways. This way, we may be able to truly become leaders especially for Mindanao and for the common good,” he stated.