At the age of 94, Hungarian Jesuit Ferenc (Franz) Jálics passed away on 13 February in a Catholic home for the elderly in Budapest. He devoted nearly all his life to finding ways to the deepest spirituality and prayer, which he found in contemplation. He has been a widely known and acknowledged master of Christian meditation worldwide, with his books translated into more than 16 languages and his method implemented in several retreat houses around the globe.
‘The Jezsu is more than a school…’ A few years ago a group of 11th graders were asked by their math teacher to define what the school meant to them. It was the first thing a girl jotted down on a piece of paper and handed it to the teacher. Since then we not only use this sentence as a semi-official slogan, but also try to live up to it.
All Hungarian children above age 14 continue their studies from home, on-line, starting 16th November, 2020. The Covid-19 epidemic is reaching new highs in the country, and the Ministry of Education issued a digital learning for higher grades. Only 29 boarders, 15 girls and 14 boys, all under the age of 14 stayed in the dormitories of Fényi Gyula Jesuit High School, Miskolc, Hungary after the partial lockdown. The boarding school has always been a special place of formation, fellowship and spirituality within the school community.
Hungarian Jesuits have joined an initiative focusing on helping families in underdeveloped areas to have a better future. The mission to which the Hungarian Province of the Society of Jesus is now making its contribution, was launched by Franciscan sisters in a village called Arló in the Borsod area of North-East Hungary. The project is supported by the “Redeveloping villages” initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Basque José Luis Iriberri SJ is the director of Camino Ignaciano. This summer he was the spiritual guide of four Hungarian young adults, whose 22 day pilgrimage in Spain was accompanied by a Hungarian filming crew. The three weeks were spent in extraordinary circumstances: how did he endure the heat, the restrictions due to the pandemic and the shooting itself? While the cuts are under way in the studio, we asked the Jesuit about his experiences of the filming.
2021/22 will see a worldwide commemoration of the famous pilgrimage of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. The documentary, titled „Camino Ignaciano”, recalls the journey of the founder of the Jesuit order from Loyola to Manresa. It is planned to be screened at the 500th anniversary celebrations of the renowned event worldwide. In the film a Jesuit guide will accompany the spiritual exercise of four pilgrims.
This May and July saw the heavenly birthday of two Jesuits who were born in Europe, but embraced Japan as their second home. On the 20th of May 2020 the Spanish Adolfo Nicolás, former superior general of the Society of Jesus, passed away in Tokyo, shortly followed by his Hungarian master and professor, Péter Nemeshegyi on the 13th of June in Budapest at the age of 97.
There was a peace treaty after World War I that deprived Hungary of most of its territories and population, and annexed them to Romania, the adjoining Slavic states and Austria. And here is the leader of the province of the Hungarian Jesuits, P. Elemér Vízi S. J., whose family history, like an ocean in a drop, comprises the peculiar past of this European region. On the 100th anniversary of the peace treaty signed in Trianon, we asked him how he experienced the dismemberment of his nation, and how God may be found in all things.
