Centennial Appeal

For 100 years, our benefactors have given generously in good times and bad, providing us with the funds to establish schools, parishes, retreat centers, social outreach programs, and missions which in turn have nurtured the minds, hearts, and souls of countless people.

Our donors have also enabled us to invest in turning points in society, including pioneering programs in education, gang intervention, and restorative justice. Through these programs, we meet the poor, lonely, addicted, and hopeless--the same kind of people our founder Ignatius of Loyola told us to serve. God still calls us there, plunged into the heart of the world.¹

To celebrate the centennial of the California Province's inception in 1909, we are embarking on initiatives that are visible signs of God’s presence.

Kino Border Initiative. This binational ministry centered on the U.S.-Mexico partners the California Province with other Jesuit and Catholic organizations on both sides of the border including Mexico's Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist. Donors to the Kino Border Initiative will help establish a Jesuit residential community in Nogales, Ariz., support the migrant care center and women’s shelter in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, and facilitate immersion programs in which visiting groups can learn about Catholic social teaching and the complex challenges of migration. Read more.

Jesuit Retreat Center of the Sierra. Offering a peaceful retreat in California’s Gold Country, the center near the village of Applegate provides freshly remodeled lodging, dining, and conference facilities to accommodate a wide range of groups and individuals, many of modest means. Because the California Province is committed to serve the spiritual needs of all, we must supplement the limited income from operations through fundraising. Gifts earmarked for the Jesuit Retreat Center of the Sierra will help us meet operating expenses, maintain the facilities, and provide scholarship funds for low-to-moderate income groups, including students. Read more.

¹ General Congregation 35, II, 3/9

“Wherever the Lord has called us over the last 100 years, where He calls us now, and wherever He may lead us in the future, it is all for the greater glory of God and the good of the people we are sent to serve.”

Rev. John P. McGarry, S.J., Provincial

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