The close bonding between the Society of Jesus and St Joseph is deep-rooted. In the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola there are six explicit references (SE 111, 114, 264, 265, 269, 270) to…
Spanish Jesuit Missionaries and their Pastoral Charism
Prior to the arrival of the Jesuit Spanish missionaries, there was no organized mission work as yet in Gujarat. “Except for an isolated, short missionary effort from 1321 to 1324, no other effort to preach…
Up Until the First Spanish Missionary Arrived
In the year 1893 the Propaganda Fide had issued an instruction urging the Bishops to activate evangelization work in their territories, and asked them to report in six months. This urgent request rang a bell at the…
They Came: To Serve With Love
The ‘Man of La Mancha’ is a 1965 Broadway musical adapted from a 1959 teleplay ‘I, Don Quixote’; this in turn, was inspired by the 17th-century novel Don Quixote by the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes. It is the story…
Viva La Espana Misionera
The Spanish Jesuits of Gujarat are celebrating the centenary of their missionary endeavors in Gujarat. I wish to contribute my grain of sand to felicitate them. I find myself in a unique position to do…
Spanish Jesuits, the Early Communicators
The Bombay Mission was entrusted to the Spanish Province of Aragon, by the Jesuit Superior General, Fr. Ledokowski, on March 4th, 1921. The first Spanish Missionary, Father Ramon Grau, landed in Anand, which was part…
The Band of Brothers, the Unsung Heroes
This year is the 100th year of the Spanish Jesuits coming to Gujarat, a landmark year in the history of service to mankind by the Society of Jesus. Of the 95 Jesuits, 18 were Brothers.…
Lighting Small Lamps to Lessen the Darkness
The journey of the Spanish Women Missionaries [auth] "Who does not dream of doing great things in life?Of leaving a blazing trail across the heavens?Like everybody else, we too had our hopes and dreamsTo make…
Etched in my Memories
The first time I met Fr. Isudas Cueli was way back in 1973, when I joined the Jesuit pre-novitiate in Ahmedabad. When the pre-novitiate in charge, Fr. Castiella, asked me who my ‘spiritual father’ was,…