Pope Francis and the Spiritual Exercises

An Ignatian Weekend with Professor J. Matthew Ashley

J. Matthew Ashley is married with three adult children and has been on the theology faculty at the University of Notre Dame since 1993. He came there after earning a Ph.D. in theology from the University of Chicago Divinity School, and before that he received an M.T.S. from the Weston School of Theology (now the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry). At Notre Dame, he served as Director of Graduate Studies for six years and then as Department Chair for seven. He has written two monographs and has edited and/or translated five other books. His third monograph, Renewing Theology: Ignatian Spirituality and Karl Rahner, Ignacio Ellacuría, and Pope Francis, is due out from the University of Notre Dame Press in July, 2022, and considers the contributions of Ignatian spirituality to the renewal of twentieth-century Catholic theology. A member of Alpha Sigma Nu (the National Jesuit Honor Society), he has also been a visiting research fellow at Boston College's Center for Ignatian Spirituality, and held the Wolfgang Huber Chair in Ecumenical Studies at the University of Heidelberg in 2018. He has lectured widely on the theology and leadership of Pope Francis, including to Notre Dame alumni clubs around the country. He serves as a spiritual director for faculty and students at the University of Notre Dame, and directs faculty and staff in annual retreats in everyday life during Lent.

The Ignatian Weekend kicks of with a Friday evening presentation, Pope Francis’ Vision for the Church in an Age in Pandemics. This introductory talk lays the groundwork for the rest of weekend. It is open to anyone regardless of your knowledge of the Spiritual Exercises and can be registered for separately from the entire weekend.

NOTE: The Saturday talks and experience will be more approachable for those who have made the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life or others who are involved in Jesuit institutions and are a familiar with Ignatian concepts and terms from the Spiritual Exercises. However, if you are very interested in learning more about Ignatian Spirituality we will provide a glossary of terms to help you keep up with the talks.

FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022 - 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m. - Pope Francis’ Vision for the Church in an Age of Pandemics
(This session is approachable to all who are interested and can be registered for independently from the entire Ignatian Weekend)
9:00 p.m. - Evening concludes

Pope Francis is the first pope from the global south and the first Jesuit pope.  He has explicitly said that he “thinks like a Jesuit” as pope.  In this presentation we will look at how Ignatian spirituality provides a lens for understanding how Francis exercises his Petrine ministry.  To do this we need to understand his youth in Argentina and his formation as a Jesuit.  Pope Francis learned Ignatian spirituality not just by academic study but also, and more importantly, “in the trenches,” by applying it, as a provincial of Argentina’s Jesuits during the Dirty Wars, as auxiliary bishop and then archbishop of Buenos Aires and leader of Latin America’s bishops, and finally as pope.  Besides giving us an introduction to the life and thought of this important figure in contemporary Catholicism (and beyond), this lecture will introduce themes that we will explore more fully in the subsequent lectures in this series.

SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2022 - 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Saturday’s experience will include presentations, time for personal reflection, small and large group discussion/sharing.

8:30 a.m. - Check-In
9:00 a.m. - Pope Francis Interprets the 1st and 2nd Weeks of the Spiritual Exercises: Mercy as the energy for being a contemplative in action in today’s world.
11:00 a.m. - Pope Francis Interprets the 3rd and 4th Weeks of the Spiritual Exercises: Consolation as the energy for becoming Instruments of mercy and hope for others.
Lunch Break - (Box Lunch will be provided)
2:00 p.m. - Pope Francis and Discernment: A strategy for communal decision-making in a time of crisis.
3:45 p.m. - Weekend concludes

Sunday Vigil Mass is available at St. Francis Xavier Parish across Troost Avenue at 4:00 p.m.

LOCATION
Rockhurst University Campus, 54th and Troost, Kansas City, MO

COST

Entire Ignatian Weekend - Friday and Saturday
$105 - Early Bird Registration by Wednesday, April 13
$130 after April 13.

Friday Evening Introductory Presentation Only
NO COST - Registration is required by Thursday, April 21.

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
Our venue is near the Country Club Plaza where there are many hotel options.