Jesuits
News Insights Ignatian Pedagogy: the Living Tradition 

Ignatian Pedagogy: the Living Tradition 

Ignatian pedagogy, while keeping its founding characteristics intact, needs to adapt to the challenges and changes of the new century.  

Several documents have been written so far, used as cornerstones of the present educational proposal. Among the most important are: ‘The Characteristics of the Educational Activity of the Society of Jesus’ of 1986, promulgated by Peter Hans Kolvenbach S.J., and ‘Ignatian Pedagogy: Introduction to Practice’, also promulgated by Peter Hans Kolvenbach S.J. in 1993.  

More recently, the Secretariat for the Society of Jesus issued the text ‘Jesuit Schools: A Living Tradition in the 21st Century – A Continuing Exercise in Discernment’. This document, dated 2019, aims to continue the formative line dictated by the previous writings, with the purpose of identifying the particular challenges and opportunities of our time.  

Indeed, there is a need to renew adherence to the charism for the wide variety of educational institutions operating in the global network of Jesuit schools, identifying precisely the fundamental requirements that define a school as Ignatian. To this end ‘Jesuit Schools: A Living Tradition in the 21st Century – A Continuing Exercise in Discernment’ selects 10 key-identifiers and uses them to outline the characteristics of Ignatian education. 

Share