On Saturday, May 14, the Year of Ignatius of Loyola was celebrated in Ankara St. Tereza Church.
On this occasion, Father Jean-Marc Balhan, the High Priest of the Jesuit Community residing in the capital Ankara, and priests Father Alexis Doucet and Father Michael McGuckian, hosted the Vatican Ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan, Apostolic Nuncio Monsignor Marek Solczyński, Archbishop of Izmir and President of the Conference of Bishops of Turkey Monsignor Martin Kmetec, the Vicar of the Apostles of Istanbul, Monsignor Massimiliano, the Vicar of the Anatolian Apostle and Monsignor Paolo Bizzeti, who is himself a Jesuit, the President of the Conference of European Jesuit Archpriests and Father Franck Janin, the High Priest of the Jesuits of Turkey, and the Chancellor of the Apostolic delegacy of Anatolia, who is also a Jesuit; Father Antuan Ilgit.
The meeting, which has a very rich content, was attended by Father Seraphin Kazadi, who is in charge of the Ankara Virgin Mary Church, members of the city’s Catholic community, four Protestant pastors and several members of their own congregation, as well as Father Felianus Dogon from Istanbul and Maria Grazia Zambon from Konya. It started in the morning hours in the meeting room of the Ankara Jesuit community.
Then, referring to the meaning and importance of the celebration of the Year of Ignatius, Father Balhan added: In a battle in Pamplona, Spain, on May 20, 1521, Ignatius saw his ambitious plans as a knight crushed by a cannonball. During his long convalescence, he embarked on a journey of transformation and a new life with Christ. On March 12, 1622, Ignatius of Loyola and his companion Francisco de Xavier were canonized. The Church later recognized that Ignatius had a message to convey to the Church all over the world. That is why the High Priest of the Jesuits, Father Arturo Sosa, proclaimed the Year of Ignatius, whose motto is “seeing all things new in Christ”, culminating with the Feast of St. Ignatius, which will be celebrated on July 31st.
in the second part of his speech, Father Anthony wanted to draw attention to the spiritual dimension of reasoning in the context of the Church. Then there was a general discussion with all the participants. It was an interesting exercise to find a connection between the answers given by the audience when asked which words and expressions touched their hearts in Father Antuan’s speech.
At the end of the celebration, all the participants gathered in the courtyard of the Church to share lunch.
