WORDS OF FRANCISCO GUARNER – WUJA PRESIDENT – WORLD UNION OF JESUIT ALUMNI – AT THE 1ST OMAEC CONVERSATIONS ON CHARISM IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Online – BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA, August 3, 2024

Dear friends and alumni of Catholic Schools, thank you for being here today, sharing in this first OMAEC Conversations in such this spirit of community and unity.

In the words addressed by Father General Pedro Arrupe SJ, to us, Jesuit alumni in Valencia, Spain in 1973, over 50 years ago, he reminded us we were educated men and women for others, and as Father General Peter Kolvenbach SJ would later add, we are educated men and women for and with others, for we are part of a community without which, We, Individually, have no meaning

I would like to express my gratitude to Alfonso Giraldo Saavedra, president of OMAEC, and Alexandre Silva León, director of the department of Continuing Training, and to All of you for organizing this first Colloquium, which gives us the opportunity to unite and reaffirm the value of the Catholic education provided by our institutions and our service offered to the society.

The Jesuits’ charism and our alumni character are derived from Saint Ignatius of Loyola, a military man who was forged and wounded, who found God’s call 500 years ago on his way to Barcelona through Monserrat and Manresa. In this new phase of his life Saint Ignatius of Loyola founded, together with a group of friends, the Society of Jesus for the education and service to humanity. The inscription on the statue of Saint Ignatius at the Curia in Rome states “ITE INFLAMATE OMNIA” (Go forth and set the world on fire).

Saint Ignatius’s motto, “to love and serve in all things,” reflects and guides our doing under the 4C’s: Compassion, Conscience, Competence, and Commitment—the principles that define the vision and mission of the Society of Jesus.

Chris Lowney, in his well-known reference book “Heroic Leadership”, explains in depth and for understanding the Ignatian characteristics of the Jesuits, their values, historical relevance and the implications of the Jesuit education – demanding excellence, decision-making and obedience.

All us Jesuit alumni, we recently received from Father General Arturo Sosa SJ a clear and inspiring message of solidarity and respect during the WUJA World Congress in Barcelona in July 2022: “Let’s walk together as true companions.”

In his message, Father General challenged us to move beyond nostalgia and engage into action, guided by the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus “walking with the excluded and the most vulnerable, caring for our Common House, accompanying young people in their way of a hope future and embracing the spirituality framed by Ignatian spiritual exercises”.

Pope Francis has given us two inspiring messages: the “Encyclical Laudato Si” on respect and care for the nature and the world, and the “Encyclical Fratelli Tutti” on love and solidarity towards all humanity.

And as Father General Adolfo Nicolás SJ once said, let us express our gratitude for the education we received and allow it to help us listen, dialogue, and accept others.

Thank you,

-en todo-

Francisco Guarner

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