Central America, from the Ignatian perspective

Central America will be the host for MAG+S in 2019, and the Central American Province of the Society of Jesus will welcome the young pilgrims who will arrive from different parts of the world. Between January 10-11, 2019, the participants will arrive- from all five continents- to the countries that comprise the Central American Province: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. It is the first time that MAG+S will be hosted in a region of six countries, which creates an organizational challenge. However, it also amplifies the experience that will let participants get to know the sociocultural, spiritual, ecological, culinary, and intellectual richness of Central America: a region with profound hope and which, in the midst of the current challenges that it faces, is presented to the world as a geographic area that “has indigenous blood, and still prays to Jesus Christ and still speaks Spanish,” as the Nicaraguan poet, Rubén Darío, described it.

GUATEMALA

In the different works of the Society of Jesus in Guatemala City, we will have the opportunity to encounter up-close the local reality by living among and sharing with the communities of San Antonio parish. In La Merced parish, there will be art and cultural activities at a food festival. In San Ignacio parish and the University of Rafael Landívar, we will cultivate an environment of reflexion and meditation over our lives, including our history and what brought us together.

In Mixco and Santa María Chiquimula, we will also have the opportunity to share with the local community and, at the same time, show our care for the environment by collaborating in recycling activities and a clean-up campaign.

EL SALVADOR

A small country with a great history. The land of martyrs, the land of Rutilio Grande, S.J. and Mons. Óscar Romero, of Elba and Celina Ramos, the home of Ignacio Ellacuría, S.J. and his Jesuit companions. In San Salvador, we will come to better know and understand this rich cultural history at the Central American University “José Simeón Cañas”.

In Santa Tecla, a place of art and culture, we will collaborate with the Monte Tabor parish in assisting with their needs, and in the El Carmen parish we will participate in a food festival.

We will also have ecological activities at one of the principal lakes of the country: Lake Coatepeque, along with other environmental activities in a pilgrimage “Make your neighbor happy” in Arcatao, located in the northern part of the country.

HONDURAS

Land of missions. In Honduras, the experiences will be held in the northern part of the country.

In El Progreso, we will have nature hikes and pilgrimages, sharing with the local community. In Yoro, we will interact and share with youth from the Santiago Apóstol parish, and in Tocoa, we will meet and accompany children and elderly in the San Isidro Labrador parish.

Art and cultural activities will be organized by the Nuestra Señora del Pilar parish, and we will help out in the repairs and construction of church buildings and schools around the parish of Nuestra Señora del Tránsito; both of which are located in the department of Atlántida.

NICARAGUA

In Nicaragua we will have a diversity of activities. In Chinandega, we will make pastoral visits to rural families, and we will have a pilgrimage to the Virgin of El Trono. In Managua, we will have activities with youth and children from diverse communities, Ignatian-themed hikes and artistic activities in the Cultural Center of Batahola.

In Masaya, we will have insertion experiences with the rural communities of El Arenal, and in Matagalpa, we will have social and environmental projects with the local community.

COSTA RICA

Immersed in the natural beauty of Costa Rica, the Society of Jesus has also shared the great legacy of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Our experiences will live them in the Parish of Our Lady of Lourdes and its surroundings.

We will have the opportunity to deepen our reflection on the Call of the King and the Way of the Cross in the parish of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, and in this same place, we will also share art activities with local youth. Around the parish, we will have ecological activities like planting trees, harvesting coffee beans, and cleaning local rivers.

PANAMÁ

Host of the closing event for MAG+S and World Youth Day 2019. We will have experiences spread across Central Panama, Western Panama and Colón.

In Hogar San José of Malambo, we will share in the work at local farms. In Hogar Bolívar, we will accompany the elderly and help to decorate the space. In Casa Hogar Mi Milagro and Hogar Divino Niño we will work with children, and in Hogar Santa Luisa de Marillac we will care for and accompany the sick and elderly.