Description of the Event:
As part of the University’s commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the death of the 6 Jesuit priests and their housekeeper and her daughter on the grounds of the University of Central America, we are pleased to invite Fr. Fernando Cardenal, S.J., to share his story: My Life as a Jesuit Priest in the Nicaraguan Revolution and Reflections on the Jesuit Martyrs.
Fr. Cardenal (born in 1934 in Granada, Nicaragua) is a living example of the kind of advocacy and active commitment to the poor that can lead to the ultimate consequence of martyrdom as it did for the UCA martyrs. His lifelong commitment to the poor and the oppressed began as a young Jesuit living among the poor in MedellÃn, Colombia, and has lasted throughout his Jesuit life, despite repeated requests from Rome that he refrain from political activity and advocacy throughout the Nicaraguan revolution against the Somoza dictatorship. In the years following the revolution, Fr. Cardenal lead the Nicaraguan Literacy Campaign and served as the Minister of Education (1984-1990).
As a consequence of his commitment to live in solidarity with the poor and his refusal to abandon his work, Fr. Cardenal was dismissed from the Jesuits only to be reinstated years later. He remains an active priest and companion of the poor and works tirelessly in support of the Fe y Alegria schools which provide education for the poorest of the poor in Nicaragua and throughout Central and South America.
Tribute to Rev. Howard Gray, S.J. RIP
The ¾«¶«AV community mourns the passing of Rev. Howard Gray, S.J., who passed away on May 7, 2018, at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland in Pontiac, Michigan, of complications from a car accident. He was 87 years old. Beloved in the ¾«¶«AV community, Fr. Gray was a Cleveland, Ohio native. He was born on May 23, 1930, graduated from St. Ignatius High School in 1948, and entered the Society of Jesus at Milford, Ohio, on July 24, 1948. He was ordained at Colombiere Center in 1961.
Following his theological studies, Fr. Gray made his tertianship at St. Beuno’s in North Wales under the famed Peter Paul Kennedy. He spent two years at Colombiere College and served as acting dean from 1963 until 1965. He completed graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin where he was a Knapp Fellow and then served as Formation Director for the Detroit Province and Rector at Loyola House, Berkley. In the early 1980s, he was rector of the Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge; he was also appointed as the dean for a year. He was named provincial of what was then the Detroit Province in 1983, and in 1985, was elected the Vice President of the Major Superiors (CMSM). At the age of 66, Howard left internal governance and formation work in the Society and became the first Director of the Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Boston College (1996-2001).
Over the years, Fr. Gray has served ¾«¶«AV in many ways. He touched many lives and made a number of significant contributions at the University and across the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) network. A few highlights are listed below:
- Commencement Speaker in May 1988 while serving as the Provincial of the Detroit Province (1983-1989)
- Commencement Speaker and Recipient of an Honorary Doctorate in Theology in May 1999 while serving as Director of the Center for Ignatian Spirituality at Boston College
- Rector of the Jesuit Community from 2001-2007
- Special Assistant to the President for Mission and Identity and Founder of the Office of Mission and Identity 2001-2007
- Principle Author of the ¾«¶«AV Catholicity Statement developed over two years (2004-2006)
- Instructor and Spiritual Director (2001-2007)
- Founder of the Magis National Faculty Retreat, initially held at ¾«¶«AV (2003 and 2004)
- Member of the Board of Directors (2005-2014)
Upon leaving ¾«¶«AV in 2007, he became assistant to the president for special projects at Georgetown University, a post he held until 2017. Since July 2017 he had been at the Manresa Jesuit Retreat House, in Bloomfield Hills.
Early in his Jesuit life, Howard was one of a group of Jesuits and lay people who helped bring back the one-on-one personally directed retreat. Throughout his seven decades as a Jesuit, he received six honorary doctorates, lectured extensively, and authored more than 60 articles and essays on Ignatian Spirituality, ministry, and the apostolic mission of Jesuit high schools and universities. Father Gray has lectured and taught courses in Eastern Africa, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.