The World Union of Jesuit Alumni(ae) was established on July 31st, 1956 at Bilbao, Spain during the Congress of Loyola held on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the death of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Its intention was to unify all alumni(ae) of all Jesuit educational institutions through their local, regional, national and international organizations in one common apostolic effort.

The objectives of WUJA are as follows: (1) Preserve and develop bonds of friendship, communication and solidarity among alumni(ae) throughout the world; (2) Encourage alumni(ae) to co-operate actively with the Society of Jesus in its various missions: particularly in education, spiritual life, community service and social justice and (3) Inspire alumni(ae) to implement the education, which they were given, based on Christian humanism and Ignatian spirit, above all so that they play their part, through their personal life and their social action, in building a world where people can fulfill themselves with complete dignity.

Through the history of WUJA, there have been seven World Congresses. 1956 in Bilbao, Spain; 1967 in Rome, Italy; 1986 in Versailles, France; 1991 in Bilbao – Loyola to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Saint Ignatius. The subsequent congresses have been held outside Europe – in the year 1997 the congress was in Sydney, Australia; in 2003 it was in Kolkata, India. The Seventh Congress was held in 2009 in Bujumbura, Burundi.

The Eighth Congress will be in Medellin, Colombia between 14 and 18 of August 2013. The Ninth Congress will be in the USA in 2017.

For more information about the World Union of Jesuit Alumni, visit www.jesuitalumni.org