One of history’s great startup success stories, the nearly 500-year-old Catholic religious order built a global network and helped create higher education as we know it.

Founded in 1540 by the former soldier St. Ignatius Loyola—and starting with little more than a mission to help souls and do it heroically—the Jesuits quickly established themselves around the world and became known as the finest educators of their day. Today there are more than 180 Jesuit institutions of higher learning—including Fordham—on six continents.

How did the Jesuits succeed? For one thing, they believed in the ultimate importance of their mission, which “breeds a level of resilience and determination and creativity,” said Chris Lowney, FCRH ’81, GSAS ’81, a former Jesuit, former managing director at J.P. Morgan, and author of the 2003 book Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company That Changed the World. In interviews, Lowney and other Fordham alumni spoke to the parallels between the Jesuits’ mindset and the entrepreneur’s approach to startup success.

Lesson #1: They didn’t carry the mental baggage that can hinder entrepreneurs.

The Jesuits made a virtue of detachment—that is, detachment from things like status, possessions, and settled ways of doing things, which enabled risk-taking. Asked by Ignatius to depart for India, Francis Xavier readily responded “good enough, I’m ready”—and took it on himself to establish Jesuit outposts not only in India but across Asia, Lowney writes in Heroic Leadership. Offering a present-day interpretation, he noted that attachments like greed or pride can hamper entrepreneurs by breeding a fear of failure and a reluctance to try new things.

Lesson #2: They led with love.

Unlike Niccolò Machiavelli, one of his contemporaries, Ignatius counseled Jesuits to lead with “greater love than fear,” tapping the energizing power of mutual affection, Lowney writes. Traveling in Asia, Francis Xavier carried papers bearing his fellow Jesuits’ signatures as an inspiring reminder of their love for him. For modern-day entrepreneurs, this might mean wanting one’s team members to flourish and reach their potential—which could mean challenging them when necessary, Lowney said.

Lesson #3: They adapted to new environments.

The Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci made inroads in China, after so many Europeans had failed, through enculturation: He learned Chinese, adopted Chinese dress, and shared his knowledge of geometry and astronomy, Lowney writes. Ricci’s predecessor in Asia, Francis Xavier, also “showed a remarkable respect for the cultures he was meeting” when he traveled to Japan, Lowney said. “He was way, way ahead of his time.”

Lesson #4: They reflected deeply on their purpose.

Former Jesuit Sal Giambanco, GSAS ’90, sees parallels between the entrepreneurial mindset and the self-knowledge fostered by the Spiritual Exercises, the four-week system of meditation and prayer created by Ignatius. “It’s about seeing things and patterns that haven’t existed before,” said Giambanco, an early employee and senior executive at four startups, including PayPal, where he was the first head of human capital, administration, facilities, and security. “You go into the silence, [and] you embrace that silence, such that you can then bring those insights into having effective change in the world. And if you think about it, that really is the mindset of the entrepreneur.”

Lesson #5: They sought input and brought out the best in others.

Contrary to the idea of the solo creative genius driving an enterprise, the best leaders foster collaboration—and innovation—by stepping back and “leaving the room” after posing a tough question to their teams, said Angelo Santinelli, GABELLI ’84, an entrepreneur and business educator who co-chairs the advisory board for the Fordham Foundry, the University’s entrepreneurship hub.

He often saw the Jesuits take that approach in the classroom when he was a student at Fordham, he said. In a collaborative workspace where everyone feels valued, “you’re constantly pushing the envelope and getting something better,” he said.

Today is the Feast of St. Ignatius, when we celebrate our founder, the intellectual and moral genius who left us an extraordinary legacy. But rather than brag about Ignatius himself, we serve his legacy better by remembering his teachings.

Every day at Fordham, we struggle with difficult decisions – the agonizing kinds that leave us so exhausted with decision fatigue we can’t possibly decide what to eat for dinner that night. Most of us, without really knowing it, reach for aspects of the Jesuit principles of discernment, the practice that Pope Francis deems the most important contribution of his Jesuit order.

I can only scratch the surface of discernment here, but I’ll tell you what strikes me most. First and foremost, to make a good decision, you must stop and give it the time it deserves. (By that, I don’t mean forming a committee to talk endlessly about the simplest of choices, but to recognize when a decision really matters and avoid rushing to judgment.)

Second, we also must really dig into the problem itself. Fr. Joseph Tetlow, S.J. (now permanently known around here as Uncle Joe) always tells me, “the solution to the crisis can be found inside the crisis.” It doesn’t work to apply the general principle – the outside answer – to complicated problems. We examine the specifics of our situation and learn from the problem itself, in all its thorny complexity.

In other words, before we can find the answers, we need to seek out more information and insight. To listen, really listen, requires that we:

• stop talking so that we can listen (a struggle for me sometimes);
• seek out information from more than just our usual echo chambers – to bravely reach out to the truth-tellers who will be blunt and honest with us;
• be self-aware – learn the filters and biases that keep us from learning what we hear;
• remain open, try not to let our defenses get triggered and shut down;
• and finally – to seek out different kinds of facts and arguments than we’re used to. If you are an analytical person, listen to the impact on people. If you’re an empath, consider the data and hard facts.

How do we avoid having all of that input create an endless committee meeting inside your own head? How, then, do you decide? Much of Jesuit discernment comes down to this – once you’ve listened hard, gathered insights, and spent time prayerfully considering the options, trust your gut. Try on each possible option in your mind and measure how it feels. Ignatius believed, in a way that was very counterculture centuries ago, that there is real value in the instincts of our hearts. The Jesuits use the word “consolation.” The right thing to do also feels right. It consoles us.

As a community, we make hard decisions for Fordham every day. I hope we can always do it with patience, courage, and wisdom.

Prayers and blessings,

Tania Tetlow
President

In 2010, she co-designed and led Evoke, a future-simulation game for the World Bank that was pitched as a 10-week “crash course in saving the world.” It attracted more than 19,000 players in 150-plus countries. She asked them to envision the year 2020 and consider what they’d do to help themselves and others amid compounding crises—raging wildfires, the collapse of a power grid due to severe weather and aging infrastructure, the rise of a group called Citizen X that spread disinformation and conspiracy theories online, and a global respiratory pandemic.

In early 2020, as these story lines were playing out in all-too-real life, McGonigal began hearing from people who had participated in her simulations. “I’m not freaking out,” one person wrote to her at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I already worked through the panic and anxiety when we imagined it 10 years ago.”

In her latest book, Imaginable (Spiegel and Grau, 2022), McGonigal lays out the tools people can use to “unstick” our minds and consider the “unthinkable,” balance our hopes and fears about the future; practice “hard empathy” to see the world from someone else’s point of view, and envision ourselves in various scenarios—some harrowing, some hopeful—in 2033.

The kind of “mental time travel” she espouses is not meant to be abstract. If it’s going to rain, it’s about “vividly imagining yourself in the rain, trying to pre-feel the rain on your skin.”

“The more vividly we imagine the worst-case scenario,” she writes, “the more motivated we feel to try to prevent it.”

McGonigal’s approach calls to mind St. Ignatius, the 16th-century founder of the Jesuits, who encouraged his companions to practice imaginative prayer—to put themselves in the Gospel stories, activating all their senses, as a means of feeling God’s presence in their lives and making choices about the future.

“A social simulation,” she writes, “is a springboard to making a better world.”

It’s a message McGonigal has been sharing for years, ever since she earned a B.A. in English from Fordham College at Lincoln Center in 1999 and a Ph.D. in performance studies from the University of California, Berkeley in 2006. Citing research in cognitive and behavioral science, and drawing on her own experience as a game designer and futurist, in several books, including Reality Is Broken (Penguin, 2011), she has made a compelling case that games can be a platform for people to improve their lives and solve real-world problems.

For McGonigal, prognostication isn’t the point of imagining the future; it’s about stretching “our collective imagination, so we are more flexible, adaptable, agile, and resilient when the ‘unthinkable’ happens.” And it’s about developing a sense of “urgent optimism”—an ability to think “creatively and confidently right now about the things you could make, the solutions you could invent, the communities you could help.”

It’s an approach that Andrew Dana Hudson, FCLC ’09, shares. In his debut novel, Our Shared Storm (Fordham University Press, 2022), he imagines five possible climate futures for the world based on decisions we make between now and 2054, when the novel is set.

McGonigal’s message also calls to mind something Fordham’s new president, Tania Tetlow, has said about a Fordham Jesuit education being right for this moment, “when young people are passionate about wanting to question assumptions and fix systems.”

In 2009, a decade after graduating from Fordham, McGonigal told Fordham Magazine that “the Jesuit idea of being in service has stayed with me. I see the games I create as helping to create a better community.”

It’s an inspiring message—and her optimism is not just urgent, it’s necessary, generous, and contagious.

All of you have traveled to Rome before. How was this experience different? 

AN: This was my first pilgrimage. Our access to the Vatican hierarchy, our meeting with the head of the Jesuits, the opportunity to bond with other members of Fordham—and the timing of all that with our new leadership—was quite extraordinary.

KB: Eight years ago, I embarked on a pilgrimage with my late husband, Stephen Bepler, the love of my life. Steve loved his Jesuit education at Fordham, and he was fully indoctrinated in how a Jesuit education is a transforming experience. For many years, there was a paperback book on his desk—Ignatius Loyola: Spiritual Exercises by a Jesuit named Joseph Tetlow—and I often saw it, not realizing that someday I would meet his niece, Tania Tetlow. A few months ago, Tania sent me my own copy. I read the entire book before our 2022 pilgrimage and took it with me to Rome. I wanted to see what encouraged Steve about his Jesuit education. I’m glad that I rejoined that extraordinary pilgrimage and spiritual reflection with Father Cecero and, of course, Roger Milici. On the trip, I also met a woman who is agnostic, yet appreciates, admires, and respects what we’re doing. She sees this as an opportunity to understand not only her perspective of what religion is, but to see how people gravitate towards this idea of spirituality and St. Ignatius. 

MJB: I first visited Rome 20 years ago on a vacation with my best friend—my first time traveling outside the country as an adult. During this pilgrimage to Rome, my goal was to have a stronger connection with Fordham and a deeper understanding of the history that the University is built upon. When I became a trustee, I learned a lot of information about the Jesuits. But it’s different to experience something in person, instead of reading about it. This trip was more of a lived experience and it gave me the opportunity to spend time with Tania, fellow trustees, and other friends of Fordham. Overall, the pilgrimage helped me to deepen my love for and commitment to the University and allowed me to look within myself.

What is your relationship with the Catholic faith?  

AN: I am Catholic. I’m the beneficiary of a Jesuit education, between Xavier High School and Fordham, and I continue to experience a deep appreciation for the history, legacy, and continued leadership of the Jesuits.

KB: I was born and raised Catholic. While I don’t necessarily look to the hierarchy of the church, I follow my heart and my spirituality in the journey of my life to understand something that is bigger than I am. 

MJB: I was raised Catholic. I respect many things that I learned from my Catholic upbringing and other faiths, but it took me a long time to understand what I believe in and what’s important to me. I don’t like putting myself in a box, but I would identify as spiritual. 

What was one of your favorite sites you visited during the pilgrimage? 

AN: I’ve visited the Sistine Chapel many times, but every time I walk inside, it feels like the first time. It’s such a powerful experience to see the hand of God through Michelangelo. 

KB: The quarters of St. Ignatius himself. Sitting there and experiencing Father Cecero’s Mass—and then hearing Tania Tetlow, a trained opera singer, sing a hymn—was utter perfection. It was simple, but so powerful that it took my breath away. 

MJB: There were so many sites. When you’re in a place like a church, it evokes the enormity of so much history. It reminds you of how small we are and how big the world is, of everything that’s come before and everything that’s to come after. I loved being in a place where that history felt palpable. 

How do you feel the delegation’s meetings at the Vatican have helped to advance Fordham’s mission? 

AN: It was gratifying and reassuring to hear Cardinal Versaldi talk about how our mandate in Catholic education is global because Fordham itself is global. Nearly 9% of the undergraduate class of 2026 comes from outside the U.S., and we have a London campus and plenty of study abroad opportunities for our U.S. students. We still have room to expand. It’s important that we continue to form relationships with other Jesuit and Catholic institutions around the world. It’s part of the mandate of being Jesuit, of being global. Our new ties with the Vatican will continue to be important as we enter this next exciting chapter at Fordham with President Tetlow. 

KB: It was extraordinary to be brought into the Vatican and to meet the hierarchy of not only our church, but also the Jesuits. This is critical because we are developing new diplomatic ties for Fordham in Rome. I hope that on our next trip there—hopefully a year from now, where more trustees will join us and understand the value of this pilgrimage—that we have a two-way dialogue with Villa Nazareth. 

MJB: I enjoyed our meeting with Cardinal Versaldi, who spoke about respecting the roots and the history of the Catholic church while being able to change with the times. I was pleasantly surprised to hear him bring that into the conversation. 

Why was this trip so important at this particular time in Fordham’s history?  

AN: We are a Jesuit university, but our students come from many different backgrounds. Irrespective of their religious affiliation—or no affiliation at all—the concept of a Jesuit education still resonates with them. As we transition to lay leadership, we as a board have more responsibility than ever to uphold our identity as the Jesuit University of New York. 

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. This article is part of a series of stories about the Rome pilgrimage. Read the original full-length story here. 

“It’s important to combine and integrate the Catholic identity and the capacity for dialogue. We must not abide to extremes, to close our institutions and ourselves, and not just work together with people who have the same faith, the same ideas, the same values,” said Cardinal Versaldi, who has served over the past seven years as prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, where he oversees all Catholic schools and academic institutions across the world. The congregation establishes guidelines for Catholic schools and helps diocesan bishops to supervise schools, train educators, and care for students. 

A Time for Inclusivity 

Members of the Fordham delegation praised the cardinal for his progressive message.

“I’m very impressed. I grew up in a time when we weren’t inclusive, and it’s so nice to hear that while we need to honor our mission, we also need to have respect for people of other beliefs and foundations,” said former trustee Elizabeth “Betty” A. Burns, FCLC ’83, a longtime Catholic who joined the pilgrimage to Rome. “We set a standard, and we invite people to participate, as opposed to requiring them.” 

The meeting with Cardinal Versaldi was part of a Fordham weeklong pilgrimage last June to mark the 500th anniversary of the spiritual conversion of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, who spent 15 years in Rome. The cardinal’s speech, delivered in the heart of the Vatican City, was part of a series of meetings with Fordham and Vatican officials to develop a closer relationship with the highest levels of the church. 

The cardinal addressed three critical topics in his speech to the Fordham delegation, which included President Tania Tetlow, members of the University’s senior leadership, and trustees. His first topic was the importance of dialogue and inclusion in Catholic education. He encouraged the delegation to foster dialogue with potential students from non-Catholic backgrounds and to focus on helping them become well-educated people out in the world. 

Faith, Science, and Reason

Cardinal Versaldi also stressed the importance of the compatibility between faith, science, and reason—a major component of Jesuit education that is sometimes challenging to navigate. 

John Cecero, S.J., vice president for mission integration and ministry at Fordham, said that the intersection of the three is critical when searching for the truth. 

“We live in a world where many people question the value of faith,” said Father Cecero. “They either see faith as irrelevant to contemporary life or as a threat to peaceful co-existence. Some people say it’s because of faith, whether’s it’s Islam or Christianity or any other faith, that members of society are divisive and even incite violence. What Cardinal Versaldi argued for—which is a traditional Catholic position—is that there is a compatibility between faith, science, and reason. Faith that becomes detached from reason and science runs the risk of inciting fanaticism, but faith that informs science and reason leads to truth—the most whole and complete appreciation of what is and what matters to human beings.” 

Finally, Cardinal Versaldi highlighted the global nature of the church, which continues to grow its number of Catholics worldwide. 

Andrea Mennillo, a member of the Fordham delegation and an Italian-born businessman who serves as the globalization council lead on the Gabelli School of Business’ advisory board, said that the Catholic faith is global because anyone can be Catholic. And so is Catholic social teaching—which grows compassion and respect in future leaders who are not only well-informed and analytically trained, but aware of their responsibility to care for the less fortunate, he said. 

Now it’s time for Fordham to expand its global appeal, said Mennillo, who also serves as chair of the Fordham London Advisory Board.

“We have more room to grow internationally. In Europe, it’s easier because the roots of Fordham are here, as we saw together. But Asia is also a great opportunity for us because of its longtime tradition of Catholic education,” he said. 

‘Inspiring and Forward-Thinking’ 

At the end of the meeting, Kim Bepler, a Fordham trustee and philanthropist, said it was “inspiring and forward-thinking” to hear the cardinal’s thoughts on the Catholic identity and the mission of the Jesuits—and perhaps most importantly, to not lose sight of the mission of Fordham, the Jesuit University of New York. 

“We are inclusive, and we are also welcoming,” said Bepler. “As the educational model changes, we change—and it’s for the better.” 

This article is part of a series of stories about the Rome pilgrimage. Read the original full-length story here.

An Invitation From the Second-Highest Ranking Official in the Vatican

In a 20-minute speech, Cardinal Parolin said that concern for education has always been at the heart of the church—something this is “clearly evident” at Fordham, especially through its founder, Archbishop Hughes. 

“Archbishop Hughes had made education a priority, because he believed it was essential if the poor immigrant population that made up the majority of his flock were to emerge from poverty and advance economically and socially in their adopted land,” said Cardinal Parolin. 

He said that the same desire for social justice inspired his predecessor, Cardinal Domenico Tardini, who served as Vatican secretary of state from 1958 to to 1961. One year after World War II ended, Cardinal Tardini founded Villa Nazareth—a Vatican-affiliated residential college for talented students from low socioeconomic backgrounds—to help orphans reach their potential in war-torn Italy. Since then, Villa Nazareth has evolved into a prestigious institution that educates and houses gifted students, free of charge. There are currently about 170 students—college-age men and women who study a wide range of disciplines—including students from third-world countries marked by poverty and social and political strife, he said. 

“In the 76 years since its founding, Villa Nazareth has never lost the spirit with which Cardinal Tardini established it,” said Cardinal Parolin, who supervises the school. “It is our hope that, in our shared journey as church, a recognition of the similarities between our two solid and fruitful educational experiences can lead to a long-term encounter, support, and friendship between Fordham and Villa Nazareth.” 

A Meeting in a Historic Place

The meeting with Cardinal Parolin was part of a summer pilgrimage to mark the 500th anniversary of the spiritual conversion of St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, who spent 15 years in Rome. The trip was also an opportunity for the University’s leaders to nourish their spiritual faith and to build new partnerships abroad, particularly with church leadership and educational institutions. 

The Fordham delegation met with Cardinal Parolin in the Apostolic Palace, a grand building with more than 1,000 rooms, including the official residence of the reigning pope and government offices.

“We were one floor below the papal apartments, meeting with the number two person in the Vatican and sitting around a table in a room that is used to sign treaties between the Vatican and countries around the world,” said John Cecero, S.J., vice president for mission integration and ministry at Fordham. “You knew you were in a very unique and special place.”

For nearly a decade, Cardinal Parolin has served as secretary of state of the Vatican, where he works closely with Pope Francis to govern the universal church. As a spokesperson for the Apostolic See, he aims to carry out its goal of working with international organizations to safeguard the basic rights of every person. He is also an expert on the Middle East who has helped to reopen dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians. 

“I’m thrilled that Fordham is trying to have a closer relationship with the Vatican,” said Ignacio Fernández de Lahongrais, GABELLI ’87, a member of the Fordham delegation. “We are a major Catholic institution in the United States, and we should be at the center of openness and intellectual curiosity.” 

Expanding Fordham’s Global Footprint

Later that evening, four members of the Fordham delegation visited the campus. They toured the facilities, spoke with current students, and discussed a potential partnership with Villa Nazareth’s deputy president, Archbishop Claudio Celli. 

Archbishop Celli said that an exchange program between the two Catholic schools could be powerful—and Fordham’s senior leadership agreed.

“I would love to think that we could find a way to figure out how to work together and try to enhance both the incredible work that you’re doing here and the mission of Fordham University,” Armando Nuñez Jr., chair-elect of the Fordham Board of Trustees, said to Archbishop Celli and other administrators at Villa Nazareth. “So again, thank you for your inspiring service.”

Father Cecero, who is helping to coordinate a partnership with Villa Nazareth, said the potential partnership will help Fordham to increase its global presence and its connection with the church.

“This relationship will be very important in terms of Fordham’s ambitions to expand our global footprint,” said Father Cecero. “Through Cardinal Parolin, who is a sponsor of Villa Nazareth, we will have an opportunity to stay connected with the universal church.”

This article is part of a series of stories about the Rome pilgrimage. Read the original full-length story here. 

In his podcast, Malcolm Gladwell described being surprised at the writings of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Expecting only limited insights from 500-year-old work, instead, to his delight, he found Ignatius “breathtakingly relevant.”

There are many saints who inspire us to have the courage to do the right thing, those who lived dramatic lives or died bravely as martyrs. Ignatius devoted his life to God in a different way. He translated the messages of the Gospel to the messy uncertainty of life, providing a roadmap for discernment. He found God while building universities, in thousands of bureaucratic decisions where the moral answer was far from clear.

And he did so in ways that remain remarkably sophisticated and relevant. Centuries before Freud and modern psychology, Ignatius focused on the critical need for self-knowledge, and change rooted in self-forgiveness.

His principles of discernment we might now label “design thinking.” He taught us how to be innovative and nimble, because we hold onto what matters, fiercely, and let go of our attachment to the rest.

His teachings about how to run the enormous and far-flung Jesuit “company” could be reprinted today in any business school journal–only because management theory eventually came around to the idea of leadership grounded in purpose and empathy.

Fordham, today we celebrate Ignatius Day with special urgency as the University makes the transition to lay leadership. We are part of an extraordinary heritage, full of centuries of accumulated wisdom and purpose. It is up to us to keep it. It is our fuel. It is what makes us special.

Prayers and blessings,

Tania Tetlow
President

“It was an extraordinary chance to come to Rome, to the center of the church,” said Tetlow, who went on the pilgrimage with family, trustees, and alumni. “It was a chance for the board and other friends of Fordham to commit to the mission and to understand the broader global church, and it was pretty special inspiration for me as I begin the work ahead.” 

A Pilgrimage to the ‘Heart of the Church’ 

The pilgrimage was inspired by the life of Iñigo de Loyola, a young soldier from a noble Basque family in the 1500s who once sought fortune and fame. When his leg was shattered by a cannonball in battle, he spent months recovering at his family home. It was during this crucial time that he began learning about Jesus and the lives of the saints. These stories and this period of discernment in recovery inspired his spiritual conversion. He decided to dedicate the rest of his life to the service of God and humankind. 

Iñigo de Loyola, now known as St. Ignatius, went on to co-found the Society of Jesus in 1540. He and his religious brothers made their first home in Rome, where they lived in a small house between what is now the Piazza di Spagna, the “Spanish Steps,” and the Piazza del Popolo. Today, the Society of Jesus is the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church. 

In honor of the 500th anniversary of St. Ignatius’ conversion, Jesuit communities across the world have been participating in a yearlong celebration, the Ignatian Year, beginning on May 20, 2021. Fordham has hosted celebratory events since last spring and will continue the celebration of St. Ignatius and his legacy until July 31, 2022, the Feast Day of St. Ignatius Loyola. 

The Fordham trip to Rome served as the highlight of the yearlong celebration, featuring the University’s new leader, Tetlow: the first layperson and woman to lead the Jesuit University of New York. 

“The timing of this trip couldn’t have been better as we transition now to our first lay president. It reinforces our responsibility as trustees to ensure the awareness of our Jesuit ideals, mission, and identity, and it’s our firm belief that through all of this, we can be—even with a lay president—more of a Jesuit university than we were previously,” said Armando Nuñez, GABELLI ’82, chair-elect of Fordham’s Board of Trustees.

The pilgrimage was also a “special” experience for the nearly two dozen members of the Fordham community who traveled to Rome, said John Cecero, S.J., vice president for mission integration and ministry. 

“Coming here to the heart of the church, to have these conversations and to generate that awareness, was so special,” said Father Cecero. “To come here and walk in the steps of Ignatius, visit the sites that were so important to him, and meet the leaders of the church has been so precious.”

Exploring the Life and Home of St. Ignatius 

On the first day of the trip, those who were fortunate enough to escape the effects of jet lag explored the beginnings of Christianity in Rome. They first visited the Roman Forum, the ruins of ancient government buildings, where they learned about the Roman context of early Christianity with an archaeologist. Then they visited the Basilica of San Clemente, a set of three tiered churches from the 1st, 4th, and 12th centuries, featuring detailed Christian mosaics. 

The next day, the Fordham delegation immersed themselves in the life of St. Ignatius. In a series of guided tours, they explored the Santa Maria Maggiore, where St. Ignatius said his first Mass; the Gesù, the first Jesuit church in Rome that became the final resting place for St. Ignatius; and the Church of St. Ignatius. 

“The Church of St. Ignatius is a beautiful and central place for us, not only because it contains the remains of the saints Aloysius Gonzaga, John Berchmans, and Robert Bellarmine, but also the architecture, art, and ceiling of the Jesuit artist Andrea Pozzo,” said Father Cecero. “All of this speaks to the Jesuit emphasis on integrating art, science, and beauty as an expression of God’s creation and as a way to reflect back to God our gratitude for his creation and the beauty that surrounds us.”  

In a private tour, Tetlow and the Fordham delegation also explored the building where St. Ignatius directed the Society of Jesus as their first Superior General. It was here that he wrote the Constitution of the Society of Jesus, as well as handwritten letters to Jesuits who lived across the world. 

In a small room, Father Cecero held a group liturgy and Tetlow, a professionally trained opera singer, sang the “Salve Regina.” Later that afternoon, they visited the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the church where St. Ignatius and his early companions made final vows after the founding of the Jesuit order. 

“St. Ignatius is my saint,” said Ignacio Fernández de Lahongrais, GABELLI ’87, whose great-uncle, father, and son all share the same first name. “It was very emotional to have Mass where St. Ignatius gave Mass. It was also absolutely wonderful to be where he lived and to learn more about his life and what he stood for.”

An Inspiring Message From the Vatican Prefect for Catholic Education 

On the third day of the trip, the Fordham delegation traveled to the Vatican City, where they met Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, Vatican prefect for Catholic education, and Monsignor Guy-Réal Thivierge, secretary general of the Pontifical Foundation Gravissimum Educationis. 

In an address to the Fordham delegation, Cardinal Versaldi discussed the importance of teaching about an inclusive faith through Catholic education. He emphasized that schools should maintain their core Catholic values, but continue to respect and welcome people from all walks of life. In addition, he applauded Fordham for its quality of education in a modern world. 

“I’m sure you will continue this communion with the church, keeping your autonomy and your independence, but also the capacity to work together and to offer a contribution to a new world,” Cardinal Versaldi, who prompted the Society of Jesus to create the Mission Priority Examen, said to the Fordham delegation.

The cardinal’s message was inspiring, particularly for those who grew up in a period that was less inclusive, said Elizabeth “Betty” A. Burns, FCLC ’83, a former trustee who was raised Catholic. The cardinal’s speech was also surprising in a positive way, said Robert Smolens, husband to Donna Smolens, FCRH ’79, GSAS ’81. 

“I thought he would be a little more dogmatic and concerned about, as he put it, this secularization that’s going on in the world. It’s not the same place that it was 30, 40 years ago, when my wife and I were in school,” said Smolens, who was raised in a Jewish household and is married to a Catholic. “But he welcomes the challenge of 2022, and that’s what we need to still have a great Catholic university.” 

The overall message from the cardinal and his associates is important to Fordham and its mission, said Kim Bepler, a University trustee and philanthropist who earned an honorary doctorate from Fordham this May. 

“It was so inspiring and forward-thinking to hear what the monsignor and the cardinal had to say about the Catholic identity, the mission of the Jesuits, and that we don’t lose sight of the mission of Fordham,” said Bepler. “We are inclusive, and we are also welcoming. As the educational model changes, we change—and it’s for the better.” 

Meeting the Vatican Secretary of State 

On their final day of the trip, the delegation met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, in the heart of Vatican City. The Fordham delegation awaited the cardinal in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope, where they sat in ornate chairs and were surrounded by elaborate paintings. For a few minutes, the room was silent except for hushed whispers and the continuous ticking of a grandfather clock. When the cardinal arrived from an entrance in the corner of the room, everyone immediately rose from their seats. 

In a 20-minute speech, the cardinal echoed the words of his associates and wished the Fordham delegation well on their trip. 

“It is my hope that on your pilgrimage to Rome, your experience of Christian sites and your visits to places associated with the life of St. Ignatius will prove inspiring and sustain you in joyful and hope-filled love for Christ and one another,” Cardinal Parolin said to the Fordham delegation. 

Tetlow thanked him for his words and offered her own thoughts on the future of Catholic education. Historically, Catholic schools and universities have offered opportunities to students from all different backgrounds, including immigrants and first-generation students, she said. Their core mission has been supported by not only priests, but the lay people, she added. 

Now, in a time when the U.S. and the American Catholic Church are increasingly divided, Fordham’s Catholic identity offers a reminder of our common values and the need to serve the common good, she said. She also acknowledged that Fordham serves students from many faiths, increasingly those who have no religious background. It is important that the University does not “preach to the choir,” but encourage respect for the church, the Catholic faith, and people from all walks of life, she said. 

“We ask students to put aside their own ideas and be willing to think of new ideas and to embrace faith and spirituality, and we teach that openness by modeling it ourselves,” she said to Cardinal Parolin. “It is not an easy task right now, but we work very hard to make that manifest at Fordham, which is one of, as you described, the finest Catholic universities in the world. And so it is a great responsibility for me—for this board, for this community—to do that well, and it is the privilege of our lives to serve the church in this way.” 

At the end of their exchange, Tetlow gifted Cardinal Parolin with a Fordham baseball cap. The cardinal immediately placed it over his red skullcap and waved at the staff photographer, while the Fordham delegation laughed appreciatively. As the delegation filed out of the room, he handed each member a blessed rosary. 

“I love the fact that we’ve got more Fordham baseball caps wandering around Rome,” Kim Bepler later said during a car ride in Rome. 

“We did leave one for the pope, so maybe we’ll see him appear on the balcony someday with a Fordham cap on,” said Father Cecero, chuckling. (Pope Francis was unfortunately unable to meet with the Fordham delegation.) 

A Visit to the Jesuit Headquarters to Meet the Superior General

Later that afternoon, the Fordham delegation met Arturo Sosa, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus, on the rooftop of the Jesuit Curia in Rome—the headquarters of the Jesuits. 

“It was a real treat to meet the Father General. He was wise and wonderful and a lot of fun,” said Tetlow, who shared a private meal with him. “[We talked about] matters big and small: the transition to lay leadership, the state of Jesuit universities in the U.S. and around the world, and opportunities for all of us to partner more with each other across national borders.”

Afterward, the Fordham delegation toured the Curia, including the chapel, gardens, and the dining room, where they sampled freshly picked fruit from the Curia’s own backyard. 

In the delegation’s final outing as a group, Father Cecero held Mass at Sant’ Andrea al Quirinale, the third Jesuit church constructed in Rome, where young novices once studied. People offered prayers—for the people of Ukraine, for Tetlow and her family as they start their new journey at Fordham, and for Father Cecero, who spearheaded the pilgrimage. 

Returning Home with A New Vision for Fordham

Each Vatican official from the pilgrimage affirmed the importance of “service, engagement, and encounter”—three concepts that are critical to the mission of Fordham’s Center for Community Engaged Learning, said the center’s executive director, Julie Gafney, Ph.D., who was part of the Fordham delegation.

“This is so crucial because this is the work that the center does at Fordham. We often talk about our mission internally at Fordham, but to hear these leaders express that this is the bedrock on which our educational tradition is founded—and also an area for innovation in education—was so powerful and something I want to bring back and continue to grow at Fordham,” said Gafney. 

Gafney said that many Jesuit schools have become strong research institutions, but it’s important for them to remember the roots of the Jesuit tradition: educating young people, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds. 

“Our center offers tutoring, mentorship, college access programming, and mental health services to youth-serving nonprofits and local schools in partnership with faculty and students. I’d really like to scale and increase those forms of engagement, since they can be deeply impactful and align powerfully with our mission,” said Gafney, who also oversees programs like Urban Plunge and Global Outreach. “I’d like to have 1,000 Fordham students serve as tutors and mentors. It’s doable. It’s needed. And I think it could be really powerful—both for the middle and high school students and the Fordham undergraduates.”  

Building Relationships Abroad

On the last day of the pilgrimage, several members of the Fordham delegation visited Villa Nazareth, a Vatican-affiliated residential college for talented students from low socioeconomic backgrounds in Italy, where they toured the facilities, interacted with present students, and discussed an invitation from Cardinal Parolin to establish a partnership with Fordham. 

The school was established in 1946, one year after World War II ended, to help orphans reach their potential. Since then, Villa Nazareth has become a prestigious institution that educates and houses students, free of charge. The institution, managed by a nonprofit called the Comunitá Domenico Tardini Association, has received attention from many visitors, most notably Pope Francis in 2016, and is led by Cardinal Parolin.  

The visit was an opportunity for Fordham to expand its global footprint and establish a new relationship with a school in Rome that shares the same mission. 

“The mission of our schools is to deliver cura personalis, and what you have described about what happens here is exactly that—to care for the whole student,” Father Cecero said, addressing administrators at Villa Nazareth after listening to a PowerPoint presentation about the school’s mission. “You’ve given us important seeds to ponder about how we can creatively work with you because we share a very common mission.” 

The visit was also a homecoming for Roger A. Milici Jr., vice president of development and university relations at Fordham, who studied at Villa Nazareth in 1986 and 1987. On the wall of a campus building, Milici pointed to a black-and-white group photo of students from several decades ago, featuring his 21-year-old self. “It feels like yesterday,” he said. 

Archbishop Claudio Celli, deputy president of Villa Nazareth, embraced the potential of a new partnership with Fordham. 

“Your people can be here, and our people can go to Fordham,” Archbishop Celli said to the Fordham delegates in the room. “This is just the beginning—but we can see the future.” 

This article is part of a series of stories about the Rome pilgrimage.

That thought experiment was at the center of a Forever Learning Week lecture by Patrick Hornbeck, D. Phil., professor of theology and interim dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Fordham.

“What I want to talk about tonight is what Ignatius of Loyola would have to say about our particular moment, where it often feels like we are talking past each other,” Hornbeck said during the March 28 event, held online and sponsored by the Fordham University Alumni Association. He argued that “the Jesuit tradition equips all of us with skills and tools and opportunities to be human, even when we’re conversing with each other through the technology that we find ourselves with today.”

Hornbeck noted that Ignatius was no stranger to great advancements in communications technology: By the mid-16th century, the printing press had spread throughout Europe, democratizing the sharing of information in a way with parallels to the growth of the internet, he said.

He presented three quotes from Ignatius to help the audience imagine what kind of guidance the Spanish priest and theologian would offer if he were writing today.

‘Be More Ready to Justify Than to Condemn’

The first quote he shared is from The Spiritual Exercises:

“It must be presupposed that any good Christian has to be more ready to justify than to condemn a neighbor’s statement. If no justification can be found, one should ask the neighbor in what sense it is to be taken, and if that sense is wrong, he or she should be corrected lovingly.”

Hornbeck contrasted that idea with a social media environment in which people are quick to try to score points against strangers, often with an assumption that others mean the worst.

“The important thing here is he’s not saying, ‘Don’t judge,’” Hornbeck said. “He’s saying, ‘Don’t judge too quickly.’ He’s saying, ‘Don’t leap to judgment, don’t have a prejudice about what the person you’re speaking with might have to say.’

“And so, part of what Ignatius is inviting us to do is to see the person and to correct or to engage with or to disagree with that person as someone who is fundamentally a bearer of equal dignity as we are,” Hornbeck continued. “I think that what Ignatius is presuming in his presupposition, is this common, shared belief [that we are made] in the image and likeness of God, and if we can’t maintain that, I think that’s something that we all need to think quite a bit about today.”

Avoid ‘Excessive Fervor’

The second quote Hornbeck shared with the attendees is from a letter Ignatius sent to Jesuit scholastics in Coimbra, Portugal, in May 1547:

“Disorders in the life of the spirit arise not only from coldness of heart (ailments like tepidity), but also from overheating as where there is excessive fervour. … The philosophical dictum ‘Nothing in excess’ applies to everything, even justice itself. … When such moderation is absent, good is transformed into bad and virtue into vice, and many problems arise for those taking this path, blocking their basic purpose.”

“What Ignatius is asking us to do is to find something like a middle way or a middle path, not because we shouldn’t believe deeply in the things in which we believe,” Hornbeck said, noting that while sometimes decisive action is needed, it may not be appropriate in every moment. “It’s in this moderation and the pushing against the temptations or instincts that we have that we learn to become more fully ourselves.”

Cultivate Ignatian Indifference

The final quote Hornbeck offered is one from The Spiritual Exercises that speaks to the ways that any created tool—including the internet and social media—can be used for both positive and negative ends:

“The human person is created to praise, reverence, and serve God Our Lord, and by so doing to save his or her soul. The other things on the face of the earth are created for human beings in order to help them pursue the end for which they are created. It follows from this that one must use other created things in so far as they help towards one’s end, and free oneself from them in so far as they are obstacles to one’s end. To do this we need to make ourselves indifferent to all created things.”

This passage describes a form of spirituality that “acknowledges that all that we have on the face of the Earth is neither good nor bad unto itself, but good or bad only as we use those things,” Hornbeck said, clarifying that the indifference Ignatius referred to was not the same as apathy, but “the sense of not being attached to something, not being convinced that a certain career or a certain way of life, or a certain standard of living is in and of itself good.”

“And so Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and all of the other tools that we have at our disposal, I think Ignatius would say are neither good nor bad. It’s how we use them. It’s … deciding when to engage [and] in what kind of spirit we should engage.”

Toward the end of the event, moderator and Fordham University Alumni Association board member Jake Braithwaite, S.J., GABELLI ’11, GSAS ’15, raised a question about how Ignatius would handle deep disagreements not only with strangers online but also, say, at the Thanksgiving dinner table with loved ones.

“Ignatius was a man of very strong convictions,” Hornbeck answered. “And so my guess is Ignatius might have been quite feisty at the Thanksgiving dinner table. But I think that what he would encourage us to think about is how [to do] it while doing our very best to maintain our relationships—that we can gently, and without that kind of excessive passion that he was talking about, say, ‘You know, I just don’t see it that way,’ and then explain how it is.”

This event was part of Forever Learning Week, a series of free talks and tours featuring Fordham experts that is sponsored by the Fordham University Alumni Association.

The quotes from St. Ignatius Loyola used in this article are taken from the Penguin Classics edition of Ignatius’s personal writings.

“We’re living in a very, very unusual time, an unprecedented time,” Father McShane said during a Saturday morning address, referring to the confluence of the coronavirus pandemic and nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice galvanized by the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

In addition to Fordham’s potential to promote racial justice, Father McShane spoke about the possible impact of the pandemic on enrollment this fall and the University’s plans for holding classes amid the uncertainty it has fostered. He gave a special welcome to this year’s newest Jubilarians, members of the Class of 2015, as well as the newest Golden Rams, members of the Class of 1970, who also graduated in a year of tumult, one that saw on-campus protests over the war in Vietnam.

In his remarks, Father McShane emphasized that a virtual Jubilee is still Jubilee.

“The format is virtual; the feelings are real,” he said. “So it’s not just a virtual Jubilee; it’s a heartfelt Jubilee at a time of not only great turmoil but great opportunity—opportunity to show what Fordham brings to the world.”

The University is planning to invite this year’s Jubilarians to next year’s Jubilee celebration, said Roger A. Milici Jr., vice president for development and university relations, who took part in the session.

Approximately 150 people attended the virtual Jubilee gatherings, which included a Friday night “Wine 101” tasting and both a yoga and meditation session and a virtual Mass in the University Church on Sunday. Father McShane spoke Saturday during a “Coffee and Conversation” session moderated by Sally Benner, FCRH ’84, vice chair of the Fordham University Alumni Association Advisory Board.

Working for Racial Justice

In his talk on Saturday, Father McShane spoke of the long and troubled history of race in the U.S.

“As we all know, the past two weeks have been weeks where the United States has been really challenged to examine its conscience,” he said. Now is the time to engage “in deep conversation with one another across age groups, across socioeconomic groups, across racial divides,” he said.

“I think at this moment, Fordham has a very special role to play,” Father McShane said. “I think those characteristics of heart and mind that have always distinguished Fordham graduates—character, conscience, competence, compassion, and deep commitment to the cause of the human family, out of love for the Gospel—those are extraordinarily important gifts that we bring, extraordinary things that enable us to help the national conversation to go forward.”

Asked what the first steps might be, he noted that St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus, called for “an honest examination of our own heart.”

“This is difficult stuff. It takes time. We have to ask ourselves what is it that stands between me and entering freely into a conversation, and respectfully into a conversation, which will allow us to listen and be listened to?

“I’d say it begins with humility, [a]realization that we don’t have all the answers.”

Plans for the Fall

Asked about the enrollment picture for this fall, Father McShane said the University is wrestling with uncertainties about the potential size of the returning class as students and their parents ponder the option of taking a “gap” year. Fordham’s budget is “in much better” shape than those of other colleges and universities, he said, but there’s concern about international students’ enrollment because consulates have closed due to the pandemic, slowing the processing of visas.

On the other hand, he said, summer session enrollments “have gone through the roof,” even though the classes are all online, “and that’s really heartening for us.” The number of returning students seems on track to increase compared with a normal year, perhaps partially because of less interest in studying abroad, he said.

He praised faculty members’ “extraordinary” efforts to quickly make the transition to online education in March. “Most of them had never taught a virtual course before. They had never dealt with online education,” he said.

Faculty members continue to help and teach one another, forming “networks of instruction for instruction,” he said. The University is overhauling course formats to create a “flexible hybrid learning environment,” in the words of Provost Dennis C. Jacobs, Ph.D., in case the pandemic prompts new mandates for sheltering in place this fall.

Embracing the Bronx

On the topic of racial justice, Father McShane also spoke of how Fordham is seeking to listen to and engage with its neighbors in the Bronx, overwhelmingly a “borough of color,” such as helping local merchants draw up business plans and apply for U.S. Small Business Administration loans and providing support through the graduate schools of education, social service, and law to help people near its New York City campuses cope with current stresses.

He said faculty and administrators are coming up with ideas about how the University can respond to nationwide protests that he called “a cry of the heart from the African American community.”

The conversation turned to two recently deceased titans of Fordham—Joseph Cammarosano, Ph.D., the Fordham professor emeritus and administrator who guided the University through difficult times, and Joseph A. O Hare, S.J., president of Fordham from 1984 to 2003.

During times of turmoil in the Bronx, when many were questioning whether Fordham should remain in the borough, Father O’Hare not only resisted but bravely said, “‘We’re building a library, and we’re building the library to make a statement,” Father McShane said. “‘We’re the Bronx and the Bronx is us, and we’re not going to turn our back on it.’”

When I went to the University Church this morning to pray, I stopped to pray before the stained-glass windows in the East Transept.

The window on the left is a rendering of the vision that St. Ignatius had at LaStorta, in which God the Father asked Jesus (who is bearing the cross) to take Ignatius as his companion. (This is where the Society’s name came from: Companions of Jesus. The vision at LaStorta also became the source of our understanding that we Jesuits are called to follow the Lord in bearing the cross.)

The window at the right shows St. Aloysius Gonzaga receiving his First Communion from St. Charles Borromeo. Aloysius, the son of an Italian Renaissance noble (whose family gave the Medicis a run for their money in corruption) entered the recently founded Society. He died ministering to plague victims in Rome. Known as one of the “boy saints,” he has been for many years the patron saint of all who minister to victims of plagues.

The juxtaposition of the windows hammered home to me how right it is for us to stand with and minister to the victims of the coronavirus pandemic.

Joseph M. McShane, S.J.