Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community,
It is with great pleasure that I write to you announcing the start of Jesuit Heritage Month. Each November, the Office of Mission & Ministry invites the community to celebrate our Ignatian heritage through opportunities for faculty, staff and students to deepen their connection with our Jesuit values and the Spirit of Georgetown.
This month is also a time to reflect on, and reaffirm, the core aspects of our university mission. Since its founding in 1789, Georgetown has welcomed students from various religious and non-religious backgrounds. Our commitment to interreligious understanding is deeply rooted in our Jesuit and Catholic identity and informed by Vatican Council II’s documents on interfaith dialogue and Pope Francis’ Fratelli Tutti encyclical on fraternal love and accompaniment.
The monthlong program of events includes everything from opportunities to make a weekly 15-minute Ignatian Examen in the Copley Crypt, to Jesuit trivia games, to special dinners and film nights.
President DeGioia and I wish to invite each member of our community to our Opening Mass, which will be held on Sunday, November 6, in Gaston Hall at 7 p.m.
I also bring to your attention two of our many signature events:
“Setting Captives Free: The Spiritual Exercises & America’s Original Sin”
Tuesday, November 15, at 4 p.m. (Dahlgren Chapel)
The Dahlgren Chapel Sacred Lecture, presented by Fr. Brian McDermott, S.J., will look at the legacy of slavery through the lens of Ignatian spirituality.
“Ignatian Spirituality & Art: A Conversation with Fr. Bill McNichols”
Thursday, November 17, at 4 p.m. (Sr. Thea Bowman Chapel)
Join a conversation with celebrated iconographer Fr. Bill McNichols, who has recently painted a beautiful icon of Sr. Thea Bowman, Servant of God, that will be hung in the chapel bearing her name.
I offer my thanks to Fr. Jerry Hayes, S.J., and his team of student leaders for developing this meaningful series of events.
All good things,
Fr. Mark Bosco, S.J., Ph.D.
Vice President for Mission & Ministry