Tributes to Cecil McGarry SJ

A number of tributes to Cecil McGarry SJ have come in in recent days. They are all fired by deep warmth towards the man who did so much, as Provincial from 1969-1975, to steer the Irish Province in the heady years after the Second Vatican Council, and who rose to equally large challenges in Rome and in Kenya until his death on 24 November last. An excerpt from Louis McRedmond’s history of the Irish Jesuits, To the Greater Glory, provides valuable context for understanding Cecil’s contribution to the Irish Province. And below you can read Michael Hurley’s personal recollections of Cecil, acknowledging the immense debt he owed him for his commitment to ecumenism. Also a short note by Paul Andrews, recognising Cecil’s iconic status in the 1970s. Read more »

Funeral of Cecil McGarry SJ

Over 500 people gathered in St. John the Evangelist Church in Nairobi to bid farewell to Cecil McGarry SJ on Saturday, November 28th 2010. The Chapel in Mwangaza Spirituality centre where Cecil worked, lived and died was too small for the numbers expected. The funeral service was moved to the neighboring parish Church. Religious sisters formed the majority of the congregation and over 30 concelebrants participated. Fr. Provincial of Eastern Africa, Fr. Orobator Agbonkhianmeghe presided and Hekima College Choir led the singing. Cecil’s sister Doreen, his nephew Andrew and wife Trish were present and John K. Guney SJ represented the Irish Provincial at the ceremony and gave the homily. Cecil was buried in the Jesuit cemetery in Mwangaza retreat centre where another Irish Jesuit, Fr. Sean O’Connnor is at rest. Cecil got a great send-off, and the crowds present at the Mass and at the burial service were an indication of the impact he made in Eastern Africa over the past 25 years. Read more »

Forthcoming events

• 10 December: Michael O’Sullivan SJ launches “The Coldest Night: A Family’s Experience of Suicide” by Carol Anne Milton. All Hallows College, Drumcondra: 5pm.
• 14 December: Soul Journey – evenings of prayer, Gardiner St Church: 6pm-6.30pm
• 16 December: Advent Lunchtime Mass, Gardiner St Church: 1pm
• 19 December: Christmas preparation for children, Manresa, Dollymount: from 3.00pm to 5.00pm

‘Where to now?’

‘Where to now? Ethics and the Future’ was the topic addressed by Peter McVerry SJ to nearly 80 people gathered in Trinity under the auspices of the Church of Ireland Chaplaincy, on Saturday 28 Nov 28th ’09. Under the chairmanship of RTÉ’s Bryan Dobson, he and the other speakers – Senator Ivana Bacik, Justin Kilcullen (Director of Trocaire), and Linda Hogan (Professor of Ecumenics, TCD) – spoke of how they had formed their own ethical values and what they thought were the causes of the current malaise. Fr Peter McVerry said his ethics came from the homeless people with whom he worked. He felt the Celtic tiger had resulted in happiness being seen in unsustainable consumption security in assets, and an excessive individualism where there should be solidarity and community.

Pioneering and the community

Over 150 people attended a very successful “Pioneering and the Community” event which the Eglish Pioneer Association, Northern Ireland ran last month. The event brought together some of Northern Ireland’s most high profile speakers from the world of politics, sport and the media. Pictured here at the event are: Hugh Jordan, Sunday World Journalist and author; Dame Nuala O’Loan, former Police Ombudsman; Richard Moore, Children in Crossfire founder; Tom Herron, Trauma Therapist; and Oisin McConville, former Armagh footballer. Also this week, the Pioneer Association launched its ‘Here’s to Moderation’ Christmas message. More details below.

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Crescent superstars

As part of their sesquicentenary celebrations, Crescent College in Limerick staged an elaborate production of Jesus Christ Superstar for four nights, from 3-6 December. Directed by Richie Ryan, whose son Conor played the part of Judas, the show was a huge success and played to sell-out audiences every night.  Headmaster Nick Cuddihy said it was a great achievement for all involved: “We had a cast of one hundred and fifty in the one hundred and fiftieth year of the school and what we saw and heard was a profound message for the times we’re in”. The musical director was Marie Keary Scanlon and the choreographer was Susan Ryan. The performance starred Cian Scanlon as Jesus, Caoimhe Maguire as Mary Magdalene, and Kevin Prendergast as King Herod.

Ireland and the Jews

“God has kept true to both Christians and Jews, and is steadily throwing light on our similarities.” So writes Tom Casey SJ in one of his contributions to The Bridge, a bilingual newsletter (‘Il Ponte’ in Italian) of the Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies in Rome. Tom is the new director of the Bea Centre, bringing much related academic experience. In his opening piece, ‘Desiring the Impossible’, he remarks on James Joyce’s magnificent creation, the Jewish Dubliner Leopold Bloom. “Joyce was always struck by the similarities between the Irish and Jewish experiences,” he writes; “both nations suffered oppression and exile; the Irish and Jewish people are scattered around the world.” Read the full text below or view it in the newsletter on the Gregorian University website. Read more »

Looking steadily at death

A copy of this year’s winter issue of Studies should be sent to every school in the country, said Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, the veteran RTE broadcaster, at the Studies launch on 7 December. Young people, he explained in his excellent address, need to be educated about death and end-of-life care, as they can too easily be protected from these realities and therefore struggle to handle them when they arise in their lives. Contributing to the theme of ‘Death, dying, and bereavement’ in Studies are actor Gabriel Byrne, Denis Doherty (Chairman of the Irish Hospice Foundation), and Maurice Manning (Chancellor of the NUI). Pictured here at the launch are Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh, Fr Fergus O’Donoghue SJ (Editor), Bob Carroll (Hospice Ireland), and Maurice Manning. More detail in the press release below. Read more »

New advocacy network launched

A new initiative for international Jesuit collaboration on advocacy has emerged in the form of the Ignatian Advocacy Network. Its proposed working groups include Peace and Human Rights, Governance of Natural Resources, and Development. Meanwhile, it has been decided to draw the International Jesuit Network for Development (IJND) to a close. The IJND acted as an umbrella group for Ignatian social justice centres. It grew out of the work of Jesuits for Debt Relief and Development (JDRAD), which was coordinated for some years by the Centre for Faith and Justice in Dublin. One of its publications during this time was The Development of Peoples (2007), to mark the 40th anniversary of Populorum Progressio.

Reflection on the recession

“The truth will set you free.”  So said Michael D. Higgins TD (pictured here) at an evening prayer service in the Jesuit Church in Galway on Sunday 29 November. Almost 250 people gathered to reflect on the current economic crisis at the “Glortha  Dochas” (Voices of Hope) ecumenical event organised by Coláiste Iognáid and the Ignatian Identity Group. Principal Bernie O’Connell invited members of the Jesuit community, teachers, students, parents, religious and the general laity to “come to the God’s altar in all our brokenness to pray as one voice for divine guidance”. Dr Padraig Lenihan (U.L.) gave an historical perspective on how we, as a nation, coped with past crises, while Aer Arann MD Padraig O Ceidigh outlined how every individual  can contribute to the solutions.  The evening ended with a traditional Irish blessing  from Cathal O’Doherty SJ inviting those present  to “remember and look forward in hope”.

JESUITICA: Casting light on the sun

Curious that one of the pioneers of the scientific study of the sun should be called Scheiner. The man in question, Christoph Scheiner (1579-1650), was a German Jesuit and an astronomer and mathematician. He seems to have beaten Galileo, by a number of months, to the discovery of sunspots. He himself was in no doubt that he got there first, and the question of priority caused a long and bitter dispute between the two men. In fact, however, both of them were beaten to it (one year earlier) by Frisian astronomers David and Johannes Fabricius. Unfortunately for Scheiner’s reputation, these other pioneers recognised that sunspots argued in favour of Copernicus’ heliocentric view of the cosmos, whereas Scheiner himself defended the geocentric model to the end.