Dear friends of Arrupe Jesuit:
Happy Ignatius Day! At this time last year, as a newly minted priest in a new role here at Arrupe, I reflected on St. Ignatius Loyola’s identity as “the pilgrim saint.” This year, the same theme is on my mind: pilgrimage. But there is a difference! On Ignatius Day 2024, our school was just embarking on a sort of pilgrimage, the largest construction project in school history. On Ignatius Day 2025, we are very much in the middle of our journey — and very much aware of all its blessings and its challenges!
The challenges, perhaps, are most obvious. At the start of the 2024–25 school year, our maintenance director, Mark Anderson, advised the faculty and staff that “flexibility” would be our word of the year! And, boy, has that proven true! Nearly every faculty and staff member has had to move from one workspace to another, at least for a time. Classrooms and workspaces at the north end of our building are frequently treated to loud and unpredictable noises — hammering, drilling, you name it! — from the active construction site just on the other side of the wall.
I’d be lying if I said every last one of us — myself included — has handled every last challenge with grace and aplomb. We are a human community here at Arrupe, and sometimes we get tired and frustrated just like everybody else. I dare say it’s a natural part of being on a pilgrimage, where the obstacles that inevitably arise on any long journey can start to wear on the pilgrim’s spirit. Ignatius certainly knew the feeling. But Ignatius also knew how to seek and find the hand of God even in the obstacles that arose on his path. And following his example, it’s not too hard to see the hand of God at work at Arrupe, even amid the challenges of construction.
For one thing, I’ve come to appreciate the fact that the school’s back entrance, opening directly onto the parking lot, has been inaccessible during construction. Sure, it necessitates a slightly longer walk each day — around the construction and down Utica Street to the front door — but that walk is never boring! You never know what trucks, machinery, and materials you’re going to see, and it has been fascinating to watch the progress, day by day, week by week, on the new buildings rising on both sides of the street. I think I’m actually going to miss this excitement when construction wraps up — which inspires me to appreciate it while it’s still going on!
Another advantage of the longer journey from the parking lot is that it passes right by our statue of Fr. Pedro Arrupe, St. Ignatius’ successor as the 28th superior general of the Society of Jesus. The walk past Fr. Arrupe offers a daily reminder of why we are here — and of why we have undertaken this massive construction project in the first place. As Fr. Arrupe himself famously put it, in words engraved on the pedestal of our statue, “Today our prime educational objective must be to form men and women for others, men and women who will live not for themselves but for God and his Christ.” Our school exists for this purpose. Our new building — and the space it opens up in our existing building! — will enable us to deepen and expand our commitment to this mission for years to come. And that makes all the little inconveniences — room changes, loud noises, the occasional construction-triggered fire alarm, and so on — very much worth it.
Indeed, this is precisely how pilgrimage works: the beauty and sanctity of the destination ahead provides courage, inspiration, and motivation to persevere even when the going gets tough. We’ve got another year of construction and renovation ahead of us here at Arrupe. The pilgrimage is really only halfway done! But we are headed toward a holy and beautiful reality, and following in the footsteps of St. Ignatius, our “pilgrim saint,” we will surely find the grace to press onward with flexibility and trust in the God who is always with us on the journey.
St. Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us!
Written by Fr. Daniel Everson, SJ
