This story is a part of the Student Life Blog, a blog written by Georgetown students about their experiences and life at Georgetown.
Luke Hughes (SFS’27) is a Georgetown Storyteller and sophomore in the School of Foreign Service studying science, technology and international affairs. He is from Lake Forest, Illinois.
It’s not often that one finds a university where its students can attend Mass in the Chapel of Convalescence in Azpeitia, find solitude in the Sanctuary of Arantzazu, spend an evening next to the Monsterrat Monastery, sit under the stained glass windows of Santa Maria del Mare in Barcelona, and experience the same sights and sounds that St. Ignatius of Loyola did.
As a Georgetown student, however, that is exactly what my break from school looked like, tracing the steps of the founder of the Society of Jesus. I spent the last week living out the Jesuit ideal of a “contemplative in action,” integrating prayer, discernment and reflection into my daily life. It was a week I will remember for decades to come.
Campus Ministry offered five Magis Immersion Seminar (MIS) courses this semester. These experiential three-credit classes culminate in an international experience to live and breathe what’s taught inside the classroom. My class, Ignatian Tradition and Pilgrimage, taught by Jim Wickman with Fr. Greg Schenden, S.J., walked the path that St. Ignatius took from his hometown to the port of Barcelona while en route to the Holy Land.
On the altar at La Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón, a Jesuit parish in Barcelona with a relic of what the Jesuits there claim to be St. Ignatius’ sword. Our class surounding St. Ignatius’ baptismal font inside the Church of San Sebastián in his hometown of Azpetitia, Spain. Following Mass, said by Fr. Greg in the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona.
My journey exemplified why I chose to attend Georgetown. Even before the trip, attending class in the Ecumenical Chapel every Monday and Wednesday was a constant affirmation of my college decision. Student-led discussions on the development of St. Ignatius’ spiritual exercises and how Georgetown’s Jesuit identity is lived out in the world provided me with an immense amount of insights.
On an afternoon hike on the Mountain of Montserrat with Michael Woch (C’26).
We learned and grew from each other. Despite practicing a variety of faith traditions and coming from unique backgrounds, I so easily identified similarities with my classmates’ individual faith journeys. It reminded me that although there is a uniqueness in each Georgetown student, we each share common values that brought us to the Hilltop and a desire to better understand our spiritual needs.
Our time in Spain was filled to the brim with life lesson after life lesson. Wickman described how, despite studying music in college, his discernment process brought him in a different direction. Fr. Schenden expressed similar sentiments, and how it’s okay to “not have everything figured out” when it comes to what one is called to achieve in life. And to me, that’s what a Jesuit education is all about.
I chose Georgetown so that I can engage in class-wide discussions and critical thinking exercises that provide insights into this loaded question. Learning about the life of St. Ignatius and walking in his footsteps demonstrated how even saints may not hold the answers. Like the founder of the Society of Jesus, we all may need our own “cannonball moments” to find direction in life. Traveling to Spain with my class helped me recognize little times such as these throughout my daily life. Moments of consolation, contemplative reflection and eye-opening realizations.
Ignatian Tradition and Pilgrimage students on an afternoon walk in Sos Del Rey Catolico.
I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my spring break anywhere or with anyone else. Georgetown is unique because we have students who choose to participate in difficult discussions about personal matters halfway across the world rather than vacationing on a beach. And that’s something very special to me. My Georgetown story features opportunities left and right that put me in uncomfortable places.
These opportunities have made me become a human grounded in the core tenets of Ignatian spirituality — being open to new perspectives that challenge my own beliefs and deciphering between the things that bring me consolation rather than desolation.
This pilgrimage to Spain has definitely been one of the most impactful of these experiences, an opportunity that has helped me progress along my spiritual journey, something I will remember for a lifetime.
