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In my opinion: Tribe of priests on “cannon-ball” run espouse courage to change
If Inigo does not get hit by the cannon ball, millions of students do not get an education; hundreds of thousands of young men do not become priests and, thousands of priests do not join the Jesuits
Because a Spanish soldier got hit by a cannon ball on May 20 1521, in a battle now referred to as the Battle of Pamplona, I got an education. My education came 460 years later in Pune, 7,450 km from Pamplona in Spain.
Iñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola was the soldier. And his “cannon-ball moment” changed the world. It certainly changed my world. It gave me access to education. Ignatius of Loyola would go on to found the Catholic Society of Jesus, now known as the Jesuits and the Jesuit mission – as far as my experience of the priestly order goes – has been one of education, social justice and empowerment of the underprivileged masses.
From May 2021 until July 2022, the Society of Jesus celebrates the Ignatian Year. What is an Ignatian Year? May 20, 2021, marked the 500th anniversary of Ignatius’ conversion — that fateful day when Inigo the soldier, struck by a cannon ball, began his transformation into Ignatius the pilgrim, or as those in the Catholic faith refer to him today, Saint Ignatius. July 31, the day Inigo died in 1556 is marked as his feast day.
As the pandemic sent the Pune Jesuits and the Jesuits across India online to celebrate, mark and “re-live” the “Inigo impact” in India, one catch-phrase has caught on – “cannon-ball moment”.
If Inigo the soldier does not get hit by the cannon ball, effectively, this column does not get written; because, myself and millions of students in Pune do not get an education; because hundreds of thousands of young men do not become priests and, thousands of priests do not join the Jesuits; priests like Fr Maximillian Riklin and Fr Rudolph Schoch do not come to Pune; St Vincent’s High School in Pune Camp never sees the light of day.
The school website – stvincentspune.com - has the names of principals from the year 1867 – which is when the St Vincent’s High School cannon-ball run is believed to have begun.
That “millions of students” figure above is based on an anecdotal calculation of 70 students per class, four divisions per standard, and Classes 1-10 at the very least. That was just one generation (1979-1988/89) at my alma mater – St Vincent’s High School.
The Jesuits are firmly entrenched in the edu-social mission in Pune. Apart from St Vincent’s, the Jesuits run the Loyola High School in Pashan , the St Vincent’s night school, now on Shankarsheth road and the St Joseph’s technical school at the same premises. The latest addition to the Jesuit resume is the St Xavier’s High School in Vitthalwadi – co-ed, CBSE board, no less.
My grandfather, my father, my brother, me and my son, all attended the same Jesuit school of St Vincent’s in Camp. So, forgive the over-indulgence in cross-referencing the St Vincent’s impact with Inigo’s cannon-ball moment.
The fact is, four generations of one family went to school because of a cannon ball.
Modern day “worthiness” is more often than not judged by the “super-achiever” count – how many world-famous names came out of Jesuit institutions? In Pune, it is not so much about the big names, as it is about the masses (as in people, not the Catholic church services).
Educating the masses so that the cogs that allow the world to wheel on are primed for the job, is what the Pune Jesuits are all about.
I could list the big names that got to where they are because of the Jesuit education, but I would rather tip my hat to the masses, like myself, who got the essentials of life from priests responding to their own “cannon-ball” moments – essentials like character, discipline and service, all firmly ingrained.
As I sit across the table from Fr Kenneth Misquitta, SJ, my former school principal and now director of the night school/college, he reminds me that we do not choose our cannon-ball moment, but when the cannon ball strikes, how we respond is the key.
Inigo, a soldier building his career and looking to win the love of a woman, responded to being hit by a cannon ball by picking up a Bible. The rest is history.
Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy, a person repeatedly referred to as a “human rights defender” by the press, died in custody nine months after his arrest on alleged charges of terrorism – charges that, as has been repeatedly pointed out by political commentators, were far from the truth. His cannon-ball moment shook the foundations of democratic process in the country.
The argument that the Jesuits use education as a Trojan horse to further the much-maligned Christian ultra-motive of “conversion”, does not hold any water in my experience.
Not one of the 2,600 students who were in school with me at St Vincent’s converted to Catholicism; and if any did, it certainly was not because they received an education, or a fee reduction, or access to the best sporting facilities, or a chance to live life… because my school, St Vincent’s, provided all that, at the very least.
Instead, values, principles, character, and that fundamental of “service” was exemplified by the priests at St Vincent’s. That and a good knock on the head back in the day when corporal punishment was de rigueur.
The Jesuits in Pune allowed each of their individual cannon-ball moments to collectively impact a city and educate its “sons of the soil”.
The Covid pandemic is Pune’s cannon-ball moment. Collectively as a city, in our societal groups, in families, and as individuals... we have been hit.
Like Inigo, our response can impact the generations to come. Like Inigo, from this position of pain, discomfort and loss we can all reach for our “bibles” – that book, person, belief or vision – that, like Inigo, can change us and the world forever.
Roopesh Raj can be contacted at roopesh.raj@htlive.com
