Father General visits Homeboys Bakery during his visit to the California province. | View slide show »»
[Photo: Fr. John Mossi SJ]
With Father General, Adolfo Nicolás in attendance, the California Province will begin to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its foundation. Italian Jesuits (from the Province of Turin) arrived in California from Oregon during the 1849 “Gold Rush”. After becoming independent from the Turin Province in 1909, the California Province quickly developed a distinct American identity and mission geared towards the needs of people living in the western United States. Today California Province serves an area comprised of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah. In 1996 the Jesuits of California adopted four major apostolic goals which continue to guide them and their lay partners. These are: fostering partnership in our Ignatian mission; strengthening solidarity with the poor; responding to the diversity of our Province, and evangelizing contemporary culture.
During this centenary year, the Jesuits of California have underlined two apostolic priorities for the years ahead. The first is the improvement of the Jesuit Retreat Center of the Sierra in Applegate; it presently offers individuals and groups a special place to reflect, pray, learn and relax in a beautiful and tranquil setting. The center is committed to serving the spiritual needs of people of modest means who might not otherwise be able to go on retreat. The idea is to improve the services for groups, families and the young, in an atmosphere of simplicity and friendship. The second priority is the launch of Kino Border Initiative (KBI) along the Mexican border; it is the land the beloved “Padre on Horseback”, the Italian Jesuit Missionary Francisco Kino rode from 1687 to 1711, when no border between the United States and Mexico existed. The KBI is based on Nogales-Arizona, USA and Nogales-Sonora, Mexico, two cities which are the region’s major ports of trade, entrance and deportation.
On January 18th a new community was established; the four members are Jesuits belonging to the California, Mexico and New England Provinces. They will work in close partnership with Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, the diocesan clergy of Tucson and Hermosillo dioceses, as well as the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist, to offer basic help to migrants deported from USA. “By making a concrete and visible commitment to the KBI”, noted Fr. John P. McGarry, Provincial of California, “the Society of Jesus is making a public and prophetic commitment to stand, with one foot on each side of the border, in a context of suffering, misunderstanding, humility and hope. Through the KBI the Province seeks to serve the Church by creating opportunities for pastoral formation, providing faith-based social analysis, and advocating for the protection of human rights and the common good.”