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At Loyola High School, faith is an integral part of an education that is both respectful and inclusive. Last year, the leadership at Loyola High School felt it was important to have more structured programming and a clear vision for providing pastoral care that is meaningful for young people. This vision led to the hiring of Louis Félix Valiquette as full-time campus minister, a dedicated resource who is approachable to students.The school’s campus ministry team is made up of two Jesuits, Father Leonard Altilia, SJ, and Father Matthew Hendzel, SJ, as well as a full-time campus minister who is supported by two faculty members Mr. Eric Vani and M. Nicolas Duchesne, M. Valiquette explains: “We are the only school in Quebec that still offers a Jesuit, Catholic education. Our students come from all faiths and backgrounds who are all invited to participate respectfully in community prayer, of which the participation is optional.
“The aim of the campus ministry is to foster a spirit of peer leadership in the service of the school community, helping students deepen their faith and understanding of the Gospel call,” says Father Altilia. Various initiatives allow young people to discover how their faith can be translated into concrete action. It’s a space where students of all faiths can explore questions of meaning and commitment, guided by the Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs).
Loyola High School’s campus ministry team embodies the values of the Jesuit tradition of spiritual guidance and holistic formation, while responding concretely to the contemporary challenges faced by young people, among whom the campus ministry team learns to inculturate.” “The Jesuits dedicate their lives ‘For the greater glory of God (AMDG)’ and all pastoral ministries at Loyola lead us to embrace AMDG,” adds Marcelle DeFreitas, President of the school.
“The ultimate aim of Jesuit education is the full growth of the person that leads to action — action that is suffused with the spirit and presence of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Man-for-Others. The goal of this action, itself grounded in sound understanding and enlivened by contemplation, urges students to self-discipline and initiative, integrity and accuracy.” — Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, SJ, in “Characteristics of Jesuit Education”
From promoting Belonging to encouraging active Christianity
“We’ve also created a space for youth to get together, relax, decompress or ask questions about faith. It’s a place where they know they can come if they need to,” he explains. This inclusive space is designed to make students feel supported as they explore the big questions of life and faith. It offers them an environment where they can find meaning and purpose in their daily lives, while at the same time being immersed in their culture, in perfect alignment with the school’s Jesuit and Catholic charism.
This inclusive space is designed to make students feel supported as they explore the big questions of life and faith.
Little by little, connections are being forged between the campus ministry team and the students, some of whom are becoming increasingly involved. “At Loyola, students have the opportunity to develop a strong sense of belonging to their school community—both Jesuit and English-speaking—which helps them to overcome certain generational challenges in Quebec society, where the expression of faith is being threatened. It’s easy to live one’s faith inside Loyola’s walls, but more difficult outside,” explains M. Valiquette. This highlights the school’s efforts to help young people integrate their faith into their daily lives, so they can draw the strength they need to face the difficulties of their environment.
Young people also ask many questions about their place in the world. The campus ministry team accompanies them in these questions by working on their vocation as Christians and committed citizens. During retreats, the team addresses these issues by inviting students to reflect on their role in society. “We try to show them that faith can give them meaning in everyday life, and that it helps them cope with the difficulties of their environment,” says M. Valiquette, adding, “we encourage them to think about how their actions can reflect their Christian values.”
Young people also ask many questions about their place in the world. The campus ministry team accompanies them in these questions by working on their vocation as Christians and committed citizens.
In this way, these initiatives aim not only to foster inclusion and support young people in their quest for meaning and resilience, but also to prepare them to become active and engaged citizens, in keeping with the school’s Jesuit and Catholic charism. In the coming years, the team hopes to strengthen the links between the academic program and spiritual formation activities, thus integrating faith formation more explicitly into the fabric of school life.
Diverse programs
“Through discussion, reflection, prayer and service, students are encouraged to share their gifts with their peers in a variety of activities ranging from community prayer to organizing charity drives for the less fortunate, from collaborating with others on environmental projects to engaging with other Jesuit schools in the promotion of the UAPs,” Father Altilia explains.
The Christian service program is a cornerstone of the pastoral care offered at Loyola. It includes mandatory volunteer work for students at all levels, with a Christian perspective through involvement with marginalized communities and links associated with the UAPs. “Once their service is completed,” explains M. Valiquette, “we engage in reflection with them: What was the meaning of this activity? What has changed in them? How were they able to encounter Christ through these interactions?”
Another highlight of the program is Loyola’s Experience Week, which is a week-long immersion for Secondary 4 students. Some travel to the Dominican Republic or Costa Rica, for example, to live and work among the local community. Others get involved locally with the elderly, people with physical or intellectual disabilities, or those less fortunate, to develop a better understanding of these people and their realities. Reflection on consolations and desolations takes place throughout this experience. “Ignatian tools,” says M. Valiquette, “are very simple and easy to use, even for teenagers.”
The campus ministry team also includes student groups. They hold open discussions on topics such as whether or not to believe, everyday challenges, or any other topic of interest to the students. Based on their questions, the school campus ministry team can accompany them. Older students, for their part, discuss leadership projects such as the annual food drive, participation in seminars within the Jesuit School Network on topics related to social injustice, and taking responsibility for the faith life of the school community. These initiatives often come from the students themselves, enabling them to get involved as citizens inspired by their Christian faith.
Finally, each class goes on an annual retreat outside the school. They experience community life and reflect on themes that are very relevant to them, in connection with the UAPs, giving them an opportunity to reflect on life’s difficult situations from the perspective that God accompanies them.
One can sense M. Valiquette’s enthusiasm for these programs. “We give them a chance to learn, to discover: What is faith? What is the Church? Who is God? What does Jesus want for them and what do they want to do with Jesus? And when they get a bit older, we turn these questions into leadership and civic action. It’s really good to sit down with them, listen to them, and see the sprouts of hope in what they’re telling us.”
According to M. Valiquette, the aim of these programs is “formation with young people, for young people, in a spirit that is not only Jesuit and Ignatian, but also synodal.”
“It’s really good to sit down with them, listen to them, and see the sprouts of hope in what they’re telling us.”
The challenges ahead
The campus ministry team wants to continue finding ways to make their programs more meaningful for young people, to better meet their expectations, which requires a lot of listening and hard work.
For example, explains M. Valiquette: “I took material from recent years to use for the 2023-2024 school year retreats. I adapted it as best I could, but we realized that this material didn’t really correspond to the reality of young people. So, this year, we’re going to talk about the environment and the climate crisis at our retreats, exploring the Christian significance of these issues and our responsibility in addressing them. We want to be as close as possible to what the students are experiencing, because there’s no point in giving them the Church’s catechism without context; it’s not concrete for them. You have to enter into their culture to help them find meaning in it.
Another challenge, or rather a calling and desire, is to work more closely with other Jesuit apostolates in Quebec and the rest of Canada.
Another challenge, or rather a calling and desire, is to work more closely with other Jesuit apostolates in Quebec and the rest of Canada. The campus ministry team at Loyola High School is more vibrant than ever. The students find a safe place there to grow, and the entire school community is actively involved in the well-being of the youth entrusted to them. To quote a student who is deeply involved in campus ministry work: “It’s a welcoming environment, a calm and lively place where I can be myself, reach my full potential, and find God in everything.”
