Pilgrims of Hope
Pope Francis has declared 2025 to be a special Jubilee Year of Hope, and he has invited people around the globe to be “pilgrims of hope.” In the face of the injustice, fear, and disconnection that seem so prevalent and that characterize life for many in our world today, he asks us to seek out ways to discover and bring hope and healing to communities near and far. Drawing on our values and faith, he believes we have something distinct to contribute to a shared path forward.
The image of pilgrims is particularly apt for our work at Santa Clara, and especially for our efforts in the Ignatian Center and Campus Ministry. Pilgrims are people on the way. They are putting one foot in front of the other, traveling toward a place of sacred encounter. They often do not yet fully understand what they are seeking or what they will find, but they are inspired by those who have walked the path before them and those who walk it with them. Day by day, they draw closer, and they discover solidarity and encouragement from the communities they engage. They look toward a horizon that is a bit brighter, a bit more open, and they feel drawn toward it with increasing joy and energy.
In this newsletter, you can read about ways that our students are walking further and further in their journeys, engaging collaboratively with communities as they together respond to the needs and challenges of our present moment. Their involvement has a progressive quality to it – beginning with initial encounters, deepening through friendships and growing care and investment, and ultimately finding a deep and abiding commitment for the long haul. This is the transformation that can happen in Jesuit education, and it unleashes wellsprings of hope and possibility for the future.
The Ignatian Center's Arrupe Fellowship offers undergraduates a formation experience rooted in the Ignatian Center’s mission of creating people for others. Fellows deepen their understanding of solidarity and vocation through community engagement with organizations in underserved communities and bi-weekly formation gatherings in community-based learning and Catholic Social Thought.
This year, we have five amazing Arrupe Fellows. With community placements ranging from early childhood education to serving the unhoused population of San Jose, these Fellows are committed to recognizing the intersections of service, authenticity, and humility.
