An invitation for you to join other former pupils of Jesuit schools and colleges.

A conference of Jesuit Alumni/ae will be held at Mount St Mary’s College near Sheffield 3-4 July 2010. This geographically central location has plenty of local reasonably priced accommodation. We will take the opportunity to meet socially and to hold discussion and focus groups regarding how former Jesuit pupils can work together. This first conference is designed to give you an opportunity to let us know what is already happening and what you would like to do in the future. It will be of interest to all age groups. There will be a dinner on the Saturday night and an opportunity to hold meetings from Saturday to Sunday lunchtime. We will issue a more detailed programme nearer the time and welcome your input in finalising the agenda.

Have you meant to catch up with old friends and never managed to find the right occasion? This is an opportunity to hold mini reunions and find out about your own and other school or college associations. For those who prefer to hold a less formal weekend there is an abundance of places to visit. The close proximity to both the Peak District and Sherwood Forest, stately homes (Renishaw Hall, Chatsworth House, Hardwick Hall), numerous golf courses, Meadowhall shopping, Dobbies Garden Centre, Sheffield and the market town of Chesterfield to name a few offer plenty of choice for recreation. Join us for dinner on the Saturday night and any sessions you are interested in and spend the rest of the time at leisure.

Some of the College Associations in Britain have been working together under the banner of the British Jesuit Alumni/ae – Charitable Trust (BJA) for about twenty years. This has involved working with both the World and European organisations but even more so locally in Britain under the title Eagle Aid which has raised several hundred thousand pounds over the years for projects around the world. We feel that we have not sufficiently raised awareness of the opportunities for Alumni/ae old and young to be involved not just with your own associations but in projects in Britain, Europe and the world at large. We also hope to encourage discussion regarding Jesuit education and values in the modern age.

Thanks to the support of the BJA I was able to accept nomination of President of the World Union of Jesuit Alumni/ae (WUJA) and was duly elected at our Congress in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 2003. In July 2009 I completed my term and handed over to my successor at the Congress in Bujumbura, Burundi, Africa. The Congress was very successful with many young alumni/ae (unfortunately none from Britain, but three from Ireland) participating in both the Congress itself as well as a few days of Ignatian Experiment as a pre-Congress programme. I recently (4-7 March) attended meetings of the WUJA and the European Confederation of Jesuit Alumni/ae Associations (EJA) in Antwerp, Belgium and I met several of the young European Alumni/ae who had been to the Congress in Africa and was asked by them to try and encourage some British Alumni/ae to join their ever increasing numbers.

A preliminary programme for the weekend is attached with a booking form which can be downloaded here.

To finish with a quote from St Ignatius – En todo amar y servir (In all things to love and to serve).
I look forward to meeting you in July. Thank you.

Bernard Thompson (Past President WUJA, Mount Association)