St. Ignatius of Loyola and
the Centenary of Loyola College, Chennai

Remarkable Testament: Hold your head high! God has been very propitious to everyone who has gone through the portals of this temple of learning. Loyola College, Chennai enters majestically into the centenary year. So let us start illuminating our minds and hearts. The Province joins all of you in exalting Loyola for its mighty contribution to the world of knowledge. The centenary of Loyola is a remarkable testament to God’s showers of blessings to the Tamil land and to our Country. As we enter the threshold of the hundredth year, we realise more powerfully than ever that God is the source of all learning and the be-all and end-all of all human endeavours. Loyola, at the outset, tries to expand this fact in word and deed.

Gift of God: We feel thrilled that from its humble beginnings in 1925 to its current status as a beacon of academic excellence and service to society, Loyola College has shaped countless lives and left no stone unturned to make an indelible mark in the annals of our history. The milestones that Loyola College has crossed in its giant strides as an agent of transformative education and social change in our country are so many. These moments are unmistakable signs of God’s amazing grace and unfailing Providence.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam: Centenary celebrations are not merely about looking back on our past accomplishments, but also about recognizing God’s guiding hand that has sustained us through winds of challenges and storms of successes alike. The founding Jesuits and all those who toiled in Loyola College have been guided by the Ignatian vision of education, ‘to form our students as men and women for others’ for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (for the Greater Glory of God). Loyola has been attempting its best to educate, not merely to graduate, the young people to become the agents of transformation in our larger society.

‘Let Your Light Shine’: All its curricular, co-curricular and extracurricular activities are entwined with a dual dream: one is to grow in self and the other to grow in sensitivity. And, everything happens in the realm of God, and we believe, it is God who makes them happen. We are going to celebrate precisely this accompaniment of God with Loyola. The motto of Loyola College, “Let Your Light Shine” expresses deeply the objective of Jesuit Education which emphasizes the development of the whole person – intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, and socially so that each individual may shine forth with his/her unique talents and virtues for the betterment of society and the Greater Glory of God.

Intellectual Renewal: The Centenary is an opportunity to express our gratitude for the countless persons – the Jesuits, Staff (former and present), Alumni/ae, Students, partners and stakeholders – who have been part of the great journey and contributed much to the growth of the College and to achieve the vision of Jesuit education. The centenary celebrations should facilitate us to have a spiritual and intellectual renewal, individually and collectively to revisit, reorient and recommit in our life-mission of forming our students according to today’s context giving them the best education focusing on the least, the last and the lost.

Novel and Innovative: Throughout its history, Loyola College has embodied the Jesuit values of Magis (striving for excellence), Cura Personalis (care for the whole person), and Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. May we continue to be inspired by the Ignatian tradition of seeking God in all things and striving for excellence in education, service, and leadership! Let us carry forward the legacy of Loyola College with humility, faith, and a steadfast commitment to making a positive difference in the world. Loyola has never failed to update itself with the growth of the social realities. It has exposed its gut-level strength in opposing anything that damages humanity and upholding anything that helps to enhance the dignity of human persons. As a remarkable example, we have been witnessing for the past eleven years, Loyola bringing thousands of folk artists to the Campus for two days (Veethi Viruthu Vizha), recognising and infusing a new life into folk arts, taking care of their life and the education of their children through the collaboration of State government and others. Loyola has been doing all that is novel, innovative and unimaginable!

Forming Responsible Citizens: The impact of Loyola College is vivid through its former students who are leaders now in various fields committed to intellectual contributions, social justice, ethical and political leadership, and service to the marginalised. It continues to shape generations of students not only intellectually capable but also socially responsible citizens through its emphasis on Ignatian Spirituality, socially relevant research pursuits and value-based education. In this way, we not only inform the students but form them as responsible citizens searching for truth.

Happy Feast: The Feast of our Founder St. Ignatius invites us to continue to search for truth and to find Him in the entirety of truth. When Ignatius was illuminated with the truth that was gifted by the Lord, he realised that only in service would anyone be exposed to that in-depth experience. Let us re-form ourselves as the acclaimed contemplatives in action.

Happy feast of our dear Founder
St. Ignatius of Loyola!

Jebamalai Irudayaraj

Provincial – Chennai Jesuits