Pope Francis’ Ignatian and Jesuit Roots: A Model for Us?
It is not unusual to hear Jesuits and other people familiar with Ignatian spirituality comment on the strong imprint of that spirituality on the remarkable reforms that Pope Francis began to implement from the moment he stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s the evening of his election. The Holy Father’s message and method can be characterized as deeply pastoral and practical as well as spiritual. Father Deck proposes to name the Ignatian characteristics of Pope Francis and relate them to what is happening in the church and what can happen in our individual lives as a result of taking Ignatian spirituality to heart as the Holy Father has. This presentation is suitable for trained practitioners of the spirituality as well as for those who are just beginning or simply want to better understand this remarkable pope.
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Auditorium, St. Joseph Center
Orange, CA
Jesuit Father Allan Figueroa Deck is currently the Charles S. Casassa Chair of Catholic Social Values at Loyola Marymount University. As a newly ordained priest he was parish administrator of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in the Delhi barrio of Santa Ana. He was the first Director of Hispanic Ministry for the Diocese of Orange. He held full-time positions at Loyola Marymount University and the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. In 1997 founded and served as first Executive Director of the Loyola Institute for Spirituality in Orange, CA. In 2007 he was called to serve as Executive Director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington, DC. Fr. Deck is a member of the Board of Directors of the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown
University and trustee emeritus of the University of San Francisco. He has authored two books, edited five others and published more than 50 articles on pastoral theology, Hispanic ministry, Catholic Social Doctrine, spirituality, and faith, culture and intercultural competence. He was a founder and first president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS) as well as of the National Catholic Council for Hispanic Ministry (NCCHM).