Above: Ms. DeWitt wearing her Xavier gear proudly at Castillo Javier, Spain.


Greetings from Spain: An Update from Kaija DeWitt

On April 17, Director of Campus Ministry Kaija DeWitt departed for Spain to participate in an intensive course titled "The Ignatian Charism in the Modern World: An International Immersion Course." Below, she reflects on her experiences and travels so far. To view photos from her journey, click here.


Greetings from Manresa, Spain! My first three weeks here at the Cova Sant Ignasi Centre Internacionale Espiritualitat (or, “the cova” as it’s called) have been extraordinary. 

Spain is where St. Ignatius studied, prayed, grew, and began his life as a pilgrim. I am doing those very things here, too. The graces have been overwhelming.

My days here are jam-packed. In typical Spanish style, we rise a bit later in the day than I would if I were heading into Xavier. Morning prayer begins at 8:15. Breakfast follows at 8:45. On days where we are in classes, those start at 9:15 and run through lunch late in the afternoon. While I’m assured that northern Spaniards do not actually sleep during siesta, we are allowed a couple of hours off before afternoon class begins again. Mass is celebrated at 7:30, and dinner is served around 8:30. Our courses so far have focused on Ignatius’ autobiography and spiritual diary. This week we begin The Mystagogy of the Spiritual Exercises.  

The program is not just an intellectual one, however. My second week here I made my first eight-day retreat of the Spiritual Exercises. The retreat is done in silence, except for a short daily conversation with your spiritual director and Mass. Each morning began with an introduction by our retreat director, Cecil Azzopardi, S.J. At Xavier, I spend much of my time coordinating retreat experiences for students. I am so grateful to have had this transformative retreat experience of my own, even getting to pray alone in the cave of St. Ignatius.  

Following the retreat, we returned to the source of our Jesuit identity, the birthplace of St. Ignatius, Azpeitia. I felt like a kid in an Ignatian candy store. Our group stayed in the spirituality center directly connected to the Basilica of St. Ignatius and his childhood home. Following dinner on the first night (10 p.m.!), we were given a private tour of the basilica and of the room where Ignatius had his conversion (while recovering from his injury suffered at Pamplona). As if this weren't wonderful enough, we were also given key access to both places so that we could individually pray there whenever we wanted, even after the public access was closed! It was a sacred time. While in Loyola and Azpeitia, we visited a number of places that were important to the life and conversion of Ignatius. A small group of us climbed a mountain (3000 ft. and 10 miles round trip!) in order to get a more sweeping view of Ignatius' homeland.

Our travels back to Manresa brought us to Castillo Javier in the Navarre region of Spain. While the Castle of St. Francis Xavier has been entirely converted into a museum on the interior, the exterior has been renovated to give us a sense of what it would have looked like while Francis was living there. Our group celebrated mass inside the castle together. And the nuns who currently look after the family chapel allowed us access to spend some time there in prayer.  

The experience has also brought me to Montserrat, home of the Morena and the Benedictine monastery where St. Ignatius lay down his sword, where he began his pilgrimage away from a life of military service, vanity, and wealth.  

Perhaps most importantly, this pilgrimage continues to be one of the feet, the head, and the heart. In Jesuit education we use phrases like educating the whole person, magis, and seeing God in all things. More than ever, I understand what they mean. I am seeing the world with new eyes. I am seeing my vocation at Xavier with new eyes. Fr. Joaqui Salord (my spiritual director on retreat and one of the coordinators of the program) said to me, "Rejoice.You are alive. Today is a good day. Say, 'Thank you, Lord.'"

Today I say, "Thank you, Lord."