Why a pilgrimage and a seminar? Administrators and professors told us they would like to explore the context in which they live out their vocation as educators—the developmental phases of adulthood, the spiritual life whether explicitly religious or not, family and personal relationships, career trajectories, the work/life balance—and what resources a Jesuit university might provide to help us integrate these dimensions of our lives. We decided to organize the seminar around two metaphors, journey and its more intentional cousin pilgrimage.

The program will begin in the spring semester with an overnight retreat, followed by three on-campus meetings. The fall semester will have two on-campus meetings.

The metaphor of pilgrimage will take a very concrete form midway through the seminar. In June, the whole group will travel to Spain and Rome for 10 days, to retrace some of the key steps in the unfolding life journey of Ignatius Loyola. Spending these days together—as pilgrims, not just tourists—gives us deeper insights into who he was, time and leisure for reflecting on our experiences and life journeys, and plenty of opportunity to share our reflections over vino and tapas.