Creighton University - Bluejay Yearbook (Omaha, NE)

Page 10 text:

A M D Q In 1491 in the castle ot Loyola in Spain there w as born a man who leit a deep and lasting impression on the lite and growth of the Catholic Church. His name was Ignatius Loyola. As a youth he served as a page in the court of Ferdinand and Isabella; there he became well versed in the chivalry of his age. Not choosing to follow the clerical life for which he had been destined, he devoted him- self to the arts of war. Small and fierce in temper, he was well suited to an army career. Then, during the French attack upon the fortress of Pampeluna, he was wounded. Forced to lay aside his arms, this gallant Spanish knight lay in a dismal castle for many months. To such a man of action this confinement was worse than im- prisonment. The physical pain he could bear; but his restless mind craved for nourishment. Small satisfaction was awarded him in a Life of Christ and a popular FUnoers of the Saints. To these books he turned, at first disheartedly, after- wards eagerly. Touched by the heroism of the saints and inspired by the heights to which these men — popes, martyrs, scholars, missionaries — had attained, Ignatius cried out, What these men have done, I can with the Grace of God do. Though his conversion was complete, twenty years were spent completing the plan for his life ' s work. Following a general confession at the Benedictine sanctuary of Moonsterrat and eleven months of prayer and fasting in the cave of Manresa, he journeyed to the Holy Land. When he returned to Europe, he began his stu- dies of Latin; in 1535 he completed his philoso- phy and theology at the University of Paris. In the preceeding year he and six companions had pronounced their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Unable to fulfill a vow to go to Palestine, they placed themselves at the disposal of the Holy Father. Pope Pius III in 1540 ap- proved a preliminary draft of a constitution for the group which was to be known as the Society of Jesus. Ignatius was elected its general; he continued to govern that Society until his death on July 31, 1556. Thus passed the years of the life of Ignatius of Loyola. What has passed dur- ing the year at Creighton?

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HI NJ JWl THE SCHOOL YEAR ot 1955-56 was per- haps no different for most schools than any other year. It was a year of success stories and of fail- ures. It was a year of increased enrollment, of building and advancement, a year fraught with the ever recurring problem of insufficient class roorns. It was a year of confusion for some fresh- men, a year of adjustment for others. It might have been a year which saw the school, under- taking the difficult task of educating our youth, rewarded with a grant. Yes, without a doubt for most schools it was a normal year. Most of these things also occurred a Creigh- ton. But something else was taking place here and at all Jesuit institutions. Fornt was the four hundredth anniversary of the death of the found- er of the Society of Jesus, ' ' t. Ignatius of Loyola. What is important about this? Nothing, really. ' % But it is rather important that so many years after a man has passed away the system which he initiated is still surviving. It is important that 400 years after his death, one can still feid men firmly adhering to the religious and eau- cational ideals of Ignatius. Each of us here at Creighton hAs been in- fluenced by this man. We have been trained to think, to judge, and to St according to right principles. We have been taught the best that has ever been k jown and thought in the world. We have made friends, joined with others in activkies, attended games and dances — these too are part of an education. In the principles of Ignatius we have learned the meaning and value of life; with these principles before us, we entered into the activities of the school year.