In recent years, the Catholic Church has made a concerted effort to apologize to Indigenous communities for decades of abuse and neglect, most notably in residential school settings. Jesuit colleges and universities are among the Catholic institutions and organizations that have become more intentional in their work to support Indigenous people and find a path toward reconciliation.
In advance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day next week, this issue of Connections examines the relationships and partnerships between Jesuit institutions and Indigenous communities. In addition to featuring five Jesuit institutions in the United States (College of the Holy Cross, Gonzaga University, Loyola Marymount University, Marquette University and Santa Clara University), we are proud to feature our associate member institution in Saskatchewan, Campion College, to provide a closer look at Pope Francis’ historic visit to Canada this past summer, where he made an in-person apology to Indigenous people for past abuse committed at Catholic residential schools.
Finally, a note to our readers: this fall, we are experimenting with a new bi-monthly version of Connections, the online magazine of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). Instead of publishing nine issues per year, we will be publishing five, beginning with this issue on Jesuit partnerships with Indigenous communities. We welcome your feedback on our new model! Please send me your questions or comments by writing to dhowes@ajcunet.edu.
We hope that the 2022-23 academic year is off to a strong start for you!
By Deanna Howes Spiro, Vice President of Communications, AJCU