Fairfield University is joining with other Jesuit institutions around the world in celebrating a Jesuit Jubilee Year that marks the 450th anniversary of the death of St. Ignatius Loyola, who founded the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in 1540; and the 500th anniversary of the births of St. Francis Xavier, one of the Church's great missionaries, and Blessed Peter Faber, who promoted the Spiritual Exercises throughout Western Europe. Both St. Francis and Blessed Faber were initial members of the order.

"The theme at Fairfield University is 'listening to the voices of others'," says Dr. Paul Lakeland, the Aloysius P. Kelley, S.J., Professor of Catholic Studies, who is spearheading the Jubilee Year celebration at Fairfield. "By listening to others, we broaden our experiences."

Beginning in February a full schedule of events, open to the public, begins. In addition to an extensive series of lectures by some very distinguished scholars, Fairfield will be hold a Conference on Feminism and Jesuit Pedagogy in October and a Jesuit Baroque Opera in the Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius of Loyola, also in the fall.

Opening the lecture series on February 8, at 8 p.m., will be Dr. Ronald Modras, professor of theological studies at St. Louis University, who will speak on "Ignatian Humanism" in the Barone Campus Center Oak Room. Also speaking on February 15, at 4 p.m., will be Fr. Dean Brackley, S.J., Ph.D., Universidad Centroamericana of San Salvador, honoree and lecturer at the academic convocation in the Kelley Theater.

Dr. Modras has been involved in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue for over 30 years. For many years he served on the Advisory Committee to the National Council of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat for Catholic-Jewish Relations.

He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and seven books, the most recent being Ignatian Humanism, A Dynamic Spirituality for the 21st Century . He has lectured at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Oxford University, and the University of Berlin.

Dr. Modras has taught at Saint Louis University since 1979. He received a doctorate in theology at the University of Tübingen, Germany, where he studied under Professor Joseph Ratzinger, now better known as Pope Benedict XVI.

In the 1970s and '80s, Fr. Dean Brackley, worked in social ministry and popular education on Manhattan's Lower East Side and in the South Bronx. He taught briefly at Fordham University (1989-90) before joining the staff of the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in El Salvador, Central America in 1990 where he has taught theology and ethics until the present. He has also administered the university's School for Religious Education and collaborated in schools for pastoral formation sponsored by the UCA. He does pastoral work in an urban community.

Fr. Brackley's published works include The Call to Discernment in Troubled Times: New Perspectives on the Transformative Wisdom of Ignatius Loyola (Crossroad, 2004); and Divine Revolution: Salvation and Liberation in Catholic Thought (Orbis Books, 1996).

Born in upstate New York in 1946, Fr. Brackley entered the Jesuit order in 1964 and was ordained a priest in 1976. He received his doctorate in theological ethics at the University of Chicago in 1980.

Other events that are scheduled for the Jubilee Year are:

March 1, 4:30 p.m.: Dr. William Portier, Mary Ann Spearin chair of Catholic theology and professor of religious studies at the University of Dayton, "Here Come the Evangelical Catholics," in the Barone Campus Center Oak Room.

March 22, 8 p.m.: Peggy Noonan, author, "Religion in America," in the Kelley Theatre. Her lecture is presented in collaboration with University College's Open VISIONS Forum.

March 28, 8 p.m.: Fr. Gregory Boyle, S.J., founder and executive director of Jobs for a Future/Homeboy Industries, "Tattoos on the Heart: Putting a Human Face on Gang Members," in the Barone Campus Center Oak Room.

March 30, 8 p.m.: James Keenan, S.J., Gasson Professor of Theology at Boston College, "Listening to the Voices of HIV/AIDS," in the Dolan School of Business Dining Room.

Oct. 4, 8 p.m.: Dr. María Pilar Aquino Vargas, Professor and Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Latino/a Catholicism at the University of San Diego, the O'Callaghan Lecture, in the Kelley Theater.

Oct. 13-14: Jesuit Baroque Opera in the Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Oct. 27-29: Conference on Feminism and Jesuit Pedagogy

November, TBA: Dr. Robert A. Orsi, American religious history professor at Harvard Divinity School, the Mooney Lecture, in the Kelley Theater.

The year will come to a close in December with a closing liturgy.

For information on any of the events, please contact Carolyn Arnold, (203) 254-4000, ext. 3415.

Posted On: 01-24-2006 10:01 AM

Volume: 38 Number: 143