Office of Ignatian Mission and Identity
The Office of Ignatian Mission and Identity was established in 2002 to provide opportunities for the adult members of the Loyola community - faculty and staff, Board of Trustees, parents, and alumni - to grow in their understanding of what forms the charism of a school such as Blakefield. This understanding centers on themes that include the life of St. Ignatius, the Spiritual Exercises and Ignatian Spirituality, the History of the Society of Jesus, the History of Jesuit Education and Key Documents, the Characteristics of Jesuit Education and Ignatian Pedagogy, and the History and Traditions of Loyola Blakefield. These themes capture most of what motivates Loyola Blakefield’s mission to be “. . . a Catholic, college preparatory school established by the Jesuits to educate young men in the Ignatian Tradition.”
The spiritual vision and philosophy of St. Ignatius Loyola as developed and honed by the Society of Jesus is at the heart and soul of the education here at Blakefield. Central to the implementation of this vision and philosophy is the concept of Cura Personalis, the personal care for each young man at Loyola. The developmental stages of a student’s growth toward adulthood - spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical – are the school’s primary foci, with the person of Jesus as the role model for this ongoing development. The Office of Ignatian Mission and Identity assists in articulating and perpetuating this vision and philosophy of Ignatian Education as the Jesuits have done here for over one hundred and fifty-five years.
In short, the Mission and Identity Office attempts to make available to all adult members of the school community opportunities to embrace the ‘Christ Centered’ way of daily life.