This summer, the Collaborative Theology Initiative (CTI) of the Society of Jesus offered an intensive summer course hosted by the Jesuit School of Theology at Hekima University College (HUC) in Nairobi, Kenya, from June 13 to July 11, 2026. The CTI is a network of eight (8) Jesuit schools of theology around the globe that work together to imagine concrete pathways for responding to Pope Francis’ call for a theology that is synodal, contextual, global, transdisciplinary, intercultural, interreligious, and responsive to the needs of the Church and the world.
This year’s course was entitled “History and Charisms of the First Jesuits: Discovering Our Friends and Our Friendship in the Lord,” and was facilitated by Christopher Staab, S.J., Professor of the Practice of Ignatian Spirituality, Jesuit School of Theology, Santa Clara University. He was assisted by Emmanuel Foro, S.J., Rector, Jesuit School of Theology, Hekima University College and Matthew Somy, S.J., Delegate for Formation, Jesuit Conference of South Asia. The course was complemented by immersive pastoral, spiritual, and social activities through the city of Nairobi.
The CSTM was brilliantly represented by three students: Gregory Abbott, M.A. ‘26, Grace Beene, M.A. ‘27 and Raj Vijayakumar, S.J., S.T.L. ‘27, who joined a cohort of 28 students from diverse backgrounds, engaging in a global learning community and sharing their intellectual and pastoral experiences shaped by the Ignatian tradition.
In the following blogs, Gregory, Grace, and Raj reflect back on key aspects of their immersive experience in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Society and Inclusive Collaboration
Grace Beene, M.A. '27
This summer, my classmates, Raj and Greg, and I spent one month in Nairobi, Kenya at Hekima University College, studying written sources from the early years of the Society of Jesus with students from Jesuit theologates around the world. As we studied letters and writings from St. Ignatius of Loyola and his companions, the first Jesuits, we used these sources to inform our way of proceeding, as seen through the Universal Apostolic Preferences, as the Society of Jesus and the synodal Church increasingly welcome lay and female collaboration. With this course as the foundation of our program, my classmates and I engaged in dialogue about our shared mission, as collaborators of the Society, informed by the diversity of homelands and vocations represented in the class.
Looking back on my time at Hekima, I feel a deeper sense of belonging and collaboration with the Society’s mission. As a lay, female theologian called to ministry, I must reconcile my call to collaborate with the Society of Jesus with the fact that I am not a Jesuit. Throughout my time in Nairobi, my classmates and I wrestled with these questions and looked to the early Jesuits, and their lay, female collaborators, for inspiration and encouragement.
The more I interact with the early Society’s sources and learn about those individuals, particularly the lay women, who formed and collaborated with Ignatius, the more I’m trying to see and believe that there’s a legitimate, integral role that women have in the Society’s formation and mission. As a lay person discerning a vocation to share in the mission of the Society of Jesus, this program has given me the historical and theological foundation to view the Society of Jesus as fundamentally belonging to God and as a gift to all people of good will.
I am extremely grateful to Pope Francis for his vision of intercultural theology and to Father General Arturo Sosa, and the deans of the Collaborative Theology Initiative for establishing and uplifting this program as an opportunity for all collaborators of the Society, non-Jesuit and Jesuit, lay and religious, female and male to learn from and with each other, to more effectively proclaim the gospel and work towards a more just, peaceful world.
Transformative Friendship
Gregory Abbott, M.A. '26
Over the last couple of months, I have been grappling with how my CTI experience in Nairobi transformed my relationship with God. I entered this experience with a profound desire to immerse myself in the world and build relationships with my brothers and sisters from different cultural contexts. What I received was that and so much more: genuine friendships forged through a shared passion for bringing the world together through God’s love.
After all, “friendship in the Lord” was the central theme of our course. Through primary and secondary sources, we saw how the Jesuit tradition was forged through deep-rooted, intimate friendships. This understanding gave me a more holistic and accurate view of the tradition. I was especially intrigued by the pivotal roles that various members of the early Society of Jesus played in its growth. Each person, with his or her unique gifts, talents, passions, and social connections, helped the Society expand throughout the world. All the while, their work was nourished and sustained by Ignatius’s steadfast devotion to them as “friends in the Lord.”
In what I consider the most interesting source we encountered in the course, Peter Faber, in his Memorale, recounts how Ignatius accompanied him through his internal struggles. Shaped by his own anguish and suffering, Ignatius helped Peter better understand his suffering. Drawing from his darkest experiences, Ignatius channeled God’s profound light, helping Peter understand not only his inner conflict but also how it could be used for good. Yet it seems that Faber could not have grown in his understanding of God’s work without friendship. Ignatius’s presence in his life profoundly illustrates what it means to be a “friend in the Lord.” Faber’s story also concretely demonstrates how, though our scars may be thick and unsightly, God’s indescribable love can transform them into even greater sources of love and healing. This experience has left me praying for that same grace.
Perhaps the most impactful part of the course, however, was our focus on how Ignatius’s friends were not vowed Jesuits. These men and women, rooted deeply in Christ’s love and mission, helped shape the Society of Jesus into an order that collaborates closely with the laity and recognizes their immense importance. It was incredible to see this historic cooperation embodied in our community this summer at Hekima: men and women, lay and religious from diverse countries and schools, united by a profound desire to serve our Church and our world and to help them grow and flourish today. Our laughter, prayer, conversations, and shared experiences (spiritual, pastoral and social) revealed the Holy Spirit working through friendship, just as that same Spirit worked through Ignatius and his companions. Over the course of the month, our friendship deepended daily and extended to the various welcoming people we met in Nairobi, whether through Jesuit apostolates, non-Jesuit apostolates, local churches or people we met at the crossroad of various acitivies (visits, walks, marketplace, outings, safari, etc.) in the Kenyan society. I am forever grateful for this experience in this beautiful country, where I formed lifelong friendships in the Lord that I know will continue to bear immense fruit.
The Power of Interpersonal Encounters
Raj Vijayakumar, S.J., S.T.L. '27
The CTI summer course has opened my eyes to the power of interpersonal encounters. Near the end of my time in Nairobi, I was waiting in the parking lot at about noon for one of my classmates. One of the local Jesuits, hollered to me from across the courtyard, “Are you all taken care?” I didn’t know what he meant or what he was asking for, but he proceeded to come up to me and engage me in conversation. After all, “friendship in the Lord” was the central theme of our course. Through primary and secondary sources, we saw how the Jesuit tradition was forged through deep-rooted, intimate friendships. This understanding gave me a more holistic and accurate view of the tradition. I was especially intrigued by the pivotal roles that various members of the early Society of Jesus played in its growth. Each person, with his or her unique gifts, talents, passions, and social connections, helped the Society expand throughout the world. All the while, their work was nourished and sustained by Ignatius’s steadfast devotion to them as “friends in the Lord.”
Our chat went from the weather to education there in Hekima, and eventually to struggles that we both face in religious life. The conversation, took on great depth in a matter of moments. To my greater surprise, I realized that I was encountering a kindred spirit – one who saw the world and experienced it in ways that were astoundingly similar to myself.
Although, many things struck me in the conversation, one point I wish to highlight was the comment that this individual made about encountering others. He mentioned to me that in Africa, they understand by nature, that anyone who comes to you as guest may be the presence of God in disguise. The guest therefore must be duly honoured, respected, and taken care. This Jesuit was sharing the meaning of hospitality with me from a Kenyan point of view before it was popularized by Christopher Nolan in his summer epic.
After I shook hands with this Jesuit and we parted ways, I took some time to reflect on this encounter. I was moved by his hospitality. What’s more, I was brought to some humility when I realized that this Jesuit was treating me as though I embodied the presence of the divinity. There was a respect, a thoughtfulness, and an openness to learning that this person was showing me all throughout our conversation. I was being taught through more than just words.
I was left with a deep sense of reverence and appreciation for how a simple conversation, a welcome, an attentiveness to the needs of others can unfold into one of these mysterious encounters with God. Not all of my conversations seem to open me up to the presence of God. Most tend to be awkward and dare I say scripted. Yet, in these surprising moments of generosity, heart can speak to heart, and asking someone if they have been taken care of, can lead us more deeply into the divine. This immersion program at Hekima College has opened my eyes to the power of human encounter and deepened my desire to build relationships with people from all background.