On 9th May, the second-year novices and the novice master will go to Manresa, a town near Barcelona. St Ignatius lived there for almost a year, shortly after his conversion. His experiences there formed him and the Society of Jesus. In Manresa we will meet with the Portuguese and Spanish novices, and follow with them a course on the spiritual diary of St Ignatius.
We asked each of us the question: “What expectations do you have for our trip to Spain?”. Here are our answers:
Gellert: In recent years I have started to read diaries of different people. They often touch me a lot. It’s fascinating and sometimes also a bit embarrassing to meet someone in this way. That is also why I have a great curiosity about the diary of St Ignatius. I hope to “meet” him through what he wrote, but also through the place and the people with whom we will share the experience.
Pasquale: One aspect that struck me very much about the years of novitiate and early formation is the internationality of the Society of Jesus. A great desire that I have for this journey is to get to know novices from different parts of Europe. To share with them the reading of the spiritual diary will unite us in the charism of the Society and in the fraternity in Christ that characterises us.
Daniel T: Returning to the roots is always important. Now that we will be in the same place where Ignatius did his novitiate for a week, I expect to meet and taste something of what he also experienced 500 years ago.
Daniel N: I have never been to Manresa, and I am very happy to be going there now. We are arriving only a month after Fr Marko Rupnik and his team finished a series of mosaics in the Cueva sanctuary. I love Fr Rupnik’s work so much, and I expect a lot from the visit.
Guillermo: “My desire is to have communion with the Jesuits we will meet and to know Ignatius better and, through him, Jesus, our model and friend.”
Raul: I am thrilled. It is the first time I am going to Spain. Spanish culture fascinates me and I am eager to know more about it. As an Ignatian pilgrim, I am excited about going to the places where the character of St Ignatius was formed. I believe that this course and the visit to the places will help me to know St Ignatius and his spirituality better and enable me to contemplate his experiences.
2021-05-08