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Celebrating the Ignatian Year

May 20, 2021 – July 31, 2022

The Society of Jesus worldwide will celebrate an Ignatian Year from 2021-2022, beginning May 20, 2021, exactly 500 years after St. Ignatius was wounded by a cannonball during the Battle of Pamplona. During his long convalescence following the injury, Ignatius converted to a life of holiness.

“We are preparing to commemorate an anniversary that has been half a millennium in the making!” said Fr. Scott Santarosa, SJ, provincial of Jesuits West. “When Ignatius of Loyola was gravely wounded by a cannonball shot, it was an event that changed history not only for the soldier-turned-saint but for all of us.”

The Ignatian Year will also include the 400th anniversary of the canonization of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier on March 12, 2022, and conclude on July 31, 2022, St. Ignatius’ feast day. The year’s theme is “To see all things new in Christ” and is an invitation to “be renewed by the Lord himself,” said Father Arturo Sosa, SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus.

To watch the video in Spanish, click here.

As part of the theme of seeing all thing new in Christ, the Jesuit Curia in Rome is encouraging people to share their own personal conversion stories, their cannonball moments, in videos. Here Fr. Santarosa explains how he realized his plan to become a civil engineer was not where he was being called.


Jesuit provinces and apostolic works, including parishes, high schools and universities, will be hosting events over the course of the year. Visit jesuitswest.org/the-ignatian-year for the latest updates, events, resources and more for the Ignatian Year.