IJI celebratory booklet launched
On 30 May 2025 Irish Jesuits International (IJI) hosted a special conference entitled ‘Exploring New Pathways of Solidarity with the Global South and East,’ in the Arrupe Room, Milltown Park Dublin, to mark the 80th anniversary of the organisation formerly known as the Irish Jesuit Mission Office (IJMO) ». A small book of the speeches, illustrated with many photos, has recently been published by the IJI office. It includes as its foreword a letter to IJI written by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, to mark the occasion.
In his opening address Irish Jesuit Provincial Fr Shane Daly SJ warmly welcomed IJI’s close partners, including Jesuits, friends, colleagues, and donors.
The Provincial of Southern Africa, Fr Leonard Chiti SJ, gave the keynote address. Other speakers included: Nicola Brennan, Irish Ambassador to Tanzania; Tony O’Riordan SJ, former Jesuit Refugee Service Director in Syria and South Sudan; Martha Phiri, Deputy Director of the Jesuit Centre for Ecology and Development (JCED) in Malawi; and philanthropist Mrs Rose Goodstadt.
IJI says that the anniversary year and the day itself was an occasion to give thanks to the hundreds of Irish Jesuits who went to the Far East, Africa, and Latin America. They worked in the areas of education, social justice, environmental projects, pastoral work in parishes, accompaniment and services to refugees and migrants, inter-religious dialogue, and reconciliation.
In his foreword, President Higgins writes: “For the past eight decades, Irish Jesuits International has stood in compassionate solidarity with countless marginalised and disadvantaged communities across the globe, bringing a message of hope and mutual respect inspired by the enduring values of your Ignatian tradition. This, as I know, placed them on occasion as targets of State and non-State violence.” He cited in particular the six Jesuits in El Salvador, who along with their housekeeper and her young daughter “were brutally murdered, targeted for their courageous advocacy for the poor and for daring to speak the truth, of human rights.”
Referencing the themes of IJI’s 80th anniversary event, including gender responsive education, climate justice, and sustainable livelihoods, President Higgins said: “They are a powerful reflection of your continued commitment to both the dignity of the person and the very future of our shared, vulnerable planet, and its sustainability of an ecologically responsible way of life, with justice and an equality of participation in life-defining decisions.” But he sounded a warning note: “Unfortunately, the values of equality and transformation for justice and inclusion are now under the greatest threat in decades. The recent disabling of aid to those most in need will push millions further into hunger, disease and displacement, hitting the most vulnerable the hardest.”
You can source a copy of the booklet by emailing or calling the IJI office.
Email: reception@iji
Phone +353 1 8366509
