From November 28 to December 1, 2014 Xavier Centre, the Jesuit retreat house, staged an international conference on Ignatian Spirituality at Wah Yan College in Hong Kong.  Some 650 participants came from around the world – many from China representing the various traditions there.  The centre has graciously put on the web the presentations of the main speakers.  These can be found here – http://xavier.ignatian.net/html/ic2014/

This brief article will offer some background about the conference.

Ignatius calls himself a pilgrim in his Autobiography. A pilgrim, as each one of us is supposed to be, is a person on a life journey to a 'holy destination'.  What has Ignatius shared with us through his pilgrimage? What is the personal interiority for each one of us on our own pilgrimage? Moreover, as Christians today, what are we called to in our shared apostolic vision?

The Objective of the conference was to explore the various facets of Ignatian spirituality in different environments, with special emphasis on personal experience and story. To accomplish this the conference adopted the following style: Sharing and reflection on experiences, rather than set-piece speeches or academic presentations.  

In this conference, speakers from different parts of the world took participants on a journey with Ignatius in order:

– To know Ignatius deeper from history and see how his story links with us
– To explore how Ignatian spirituality has developed historically from the 16th century till now.
– To consider Ignatius’ spiritual journey as an invitation for all to live out this spirituality tradition and continue this heritage in our contemporary world.
– To explore how personal and communal discernments, as Ignatian legacy, play the roles for the followers of Christ nowadays.

The keynote speakers included:

– Fr. Javier Melloni, SJ: St. Ignatius as a Pilgrim of the Supreme Reality.

– Fr. Jose Garcia de Castro, SJ: The Spirit in The Time: History of Ignatian Spirituality.

– Fr. Cecil Azzopardi, SJ: Ignatian Spirtuality as a Way of Living for All.

– Fr.Monty Williams, SJ: Ignatian Legacy: The Dynamic of Discernment.

– Dr. Marlene Marburg: The Instinct and Wisdom of Bees.

– Bernadette Miles: Make Love not War: The Dynamic of Discernment.

More detailed information can be found at http://xavier.ignatian.net/html/ic2014/