St Ignatius of Loyola

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Mary Ward and her first companions spent many years discerning the new kind of life to which God was calling them. Their answer came in 1611 when, in prayer, God showed Mary that they were to ‘take the same of the Society.’ From then on, Mary Ward and her companions sought to adopt Ignatian spirituality and Jesuit models of life and ministry.

Today, the Spiritual Exercises are still central to our spirituality, and we have the full Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, adapted for women.

Our Ignatian charism means:

  • Finding God in all things, being attentive to the presence of God who encounters us and speaks to us in our everyday experience
  • Discernment as a way of life, as we constantly listen for how God is calling us and to whom he is sending us
  • Companionship with Jesus in mission, sharing his concern for the poor and marginalized, and his desire to heal and reconcile
  • Universal mission, bringing the love of God not just to geographical frontiers, but to the new ‘borderlands’ and margins of a divided and suffering world

Serve God with great love and liberty of mind.

Mary Ward