Companions in Mission: Pluralism in Action - Mission Day Keynote Address - February 2, 2009

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Cart

Keynote address for Mission Day at Loyola Marymount University by Very Reverend Adolfo Nicolás S.J., tracing how the university’s history and commitments embody Jesuit and Catholic charisms alongside plural religious engagement. The talk situates “companions in mission” within a long tradition of Jesuit-lay collaboration, citing major meetings, general congregations, and decrees. It argues for deeper, non-paternalistic dialogue among equal co-workers to strengthen shared mission amid changing numbers and divergent vocabularies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatDOC

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Companions in Mission: Pluralism in Action

Mission Day context and institutional history

Jesuit-lay collaboration as a recurring theme

Co-workers and companions: terminology and tradition

Mission discernment and the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus

Companions in Mission: Pluralism in Action* Mission Day Keynote Address Loyola Marymount University February 2, 2009 Very Reverend Adolfo Nicolás S.J. Superior General of the Society of Jesus It is a great pleasure for me to be present here at Loyola Marymount University as you devote a day of reflection to your shared mission. As this university stands poised, in two year’s time, to celebrate its centenary, your history and current commitments exhibit a long list of distinguished lay colleagues, Catholic and non-Catholic, who have served you well as faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and students. No real history of your institution would do justice without their conspicuous inclusion. And for over thirty-five years now, since Marymount College merged with Loyola University to form Loyola Marymount, you have learned to meld the complementary Catholic charisms of the Jesuits, the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary and the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Orange. Located in the midst of an important global city on the Pacific rim, you have imbibed Los Angeles’ striking cultural and religious diversity. Your curriculum includes not only, as might be expected, a concentration in Catholic Studies but also one in Jewish Studies. A few years ago you hosted one of the largest gatherings for Buddhist-Christian dialogue in history. I note also, with approbation, the work of the Center for Ignatian Spirituality in nurturing, among your faculty and staff, participation in the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius and, more broadly, in its continuing attention to spirituality. It is, thus, easy for me in this setting to broach today a topic—Jesuits and their companions in mission—which is not exactly new in Jesuit discourse. Already in 1976, Father Pedro Arrupe, then the Superior General of the Jesuits, in his address at Philadelphia’s Saint Joseph’s University entitled “Pioneers of the Spirit: Jesuit-Lay Collaboration,” suggested that such companionship in mission depends crucially on relationships based on mutual trust, nurtured by frequent exchanges, structured in flexible _____ * This version of Father Nicolas’ Keynote Address includes several paragraphs omitted in delivery from his prepared text as well as impromptu remarks added during delivery, indicated here in a separate font. ways and forming a community of service. A meeting at Creighton University in 1988 focused on this same topic of Jesuit-lay collaboration. It was followed in 1989 by the Assembly ’89 convocation at Georgetown University, which brought together the largest group ever of Jesuits and lay colleagues engaged in higher education. Two Jesuit general congregations (the chief legislative body for the Jesuits when in session)-- General Congregation 34 in 1995 and General Congregation 35 in 2008—issued decrees explicitly urging close two-way dialogue in Jesuit-lay collaboration. Father Kolvenbach, our former Superior General, addressed this theme again at Creighton University in 2004, in an address entitled “Cooperating with Each Other in Mission.” And recently, the Jesuit Provincials of the United States devoted one section of their national strategic pastoral planning document to “Apostolic Partnerships.” Nor is this theme of partnership in mission absent from the conversation of non-Jesuit co-workers as they join task forces to reflect on mission and identity issues in universities, high schools, retreat and social action centers. So we presently lack neither helpful documents to prime our conversation nor a fruitful start on it. Yet many—both Jesuits and their non-Jesuit colleagues—fear the conversation on this issue has not yet become deep and penetrating; has not yet sufficiently focused on a non-paternalistic dialogue among equal co-workers and companions. Some think we need to ponder more deeply the implications for long-term mission goals stemming from serious diminution in the number of Jesuits. Others point out that tensions and divergent voca

FAQs

What is the central theme of the keynote address?

The address focuses on “Jesuits and their companions in mission” and how pluralism can shape mission through genuine two-way dialogue among equal co-workers.

Which earlier efforts and gatherings does the speaker cite?

The speaker references Jesuit-lay collaboration discussions in 1976, meetings at Creighton University in 1988, the Assembly ’89 convocation at Georgetown University, and later general congregations and pastoral planning sections.

Why does the speaker prefer the terms “co-workers” and “companions”?

The speaker explains that these terms emphasize two-way dialogue, avoid paternalistic implications sometimes associated with “partnership,” and align with Jesuit tradition and the language of early disciples sent on mission.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Cart