History
Founded in Santa Clara County in 2008, Ignatian Companions expanded to Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Mateo Counties in 2010. In the fall of 2013 we expanded once again by offering our program in the City of San Francisco.
Due to our initial success, Jesuits West, a province of the Society of Jesus, has recognized Ignatian Companions as an endorsed work of the Province. As such, we have been able to strategically partner with a variety of Jesuit organizations, including the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education and the Jesuit communities of Santa Clara University and Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. Generous resources such as meeting facilities, liturgical space, spiritual direction and faith facilitation have been shared with us through these vital collaborations.
We are also grateful for our ongoing relationships with local and regional community-based and faith-based organizations that support our common mission.
Due to our initial success, Jesuits West, a province of the Society of Jesus, has recognized Ignatian Companions as an endorsed work of the Province. As such, we have been able to strategically partner with a variety of Jesuit organizations, including the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education and the Jesuit communities of Santa Clara University and Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. Generous resources such as meeting facilities, liturgical space, spiritual direction and faith facilitation have been shared with us through these vital collaborations.
We are also grateful for our ongoing relationships with local and regional community-based and faith-based organizations that support our common mission.
News
Here's an article from Catholic San Francisco about Ignatian Companions.
Retired adults find new purpose as Ignatian Companions
By Christina Gray
Mary Yanish wasn't even one year into her retirement after a 49-year career as a licensed clinical social worker when she realized she still had work to do.
"I felt strongly when I retired that the main focus of the last stage of my life was my spiritual developement," said Yanish, a lifelong Catholic who had once dreamed of being a contemplative nun.
Catholic San Francisco talked to Yanish Aug. 14 at St. Anne's Home for the elderly run the Little Sisters of the Poor. She was there to see Gerald Johns, a legally blind, formerly homeless man accurately nicknamed "Smiley," who moved there with her help on Aug. 2. Helping him get off the streets and navigate the practical and spiritual details of his new life at age 68 is one part of
her journey as an Ignatian Companion.
Read the full article HERE
Retired adults find new purpose as Ignatian Companions
By Christina Gray
Mary Yanish wasn't even one year into her retirement after a 49-year career as a licensed clinical social worker when she realized she still had work to do.
"I felt strongly when I retired that the main focus of the last stage of my life was my spiritual developement," said Yanish, a lifelong Catholic who had once dreamed of being a contemplative nun.
Catholic San Francisco talked to Yanish Aug. 14 at St. Anne's Home for the elderly run the Little Sisters of the Poor. She was there to see Gerald Johns, a legally blind, formerly homeless man accurately nicknamed "Smiley," who moved there with her help on Aug. 2. Helping him get off the streets and navigate the practical and spiritual details of his new life at age 68 is one part of
her journey as an Ignatian Companion.
Read the full article HERE
Read this article in The Catholic Voice about the Companions program.
Companions answer the call to direct service with the poor
By Michele Jurich
Mature people who have the "desire to deepen their spiritual life and connect service and spirituality" are being invited to journey with like-minded individuals through Companions in Ignatian Service and Spirituality. Among those who have answered this call is Rita Mitchell, a parishioner at Corpus Christi in Piedmont and St. Perpetua in Lafayette, who joined the first year Companions was offered at Santa Clara University's Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. It had been originally thought that retirement would be the entry point for Companions but many of the participants are working, as Mitchell is, or semi-retired. The program begins with a 10-month program of monthly meetings, bookended by retreats.We are also grateful for our ongoing relationships with local and regional community-based and faith-based organizations that support our common mission.
Read the full article HERE