Dear friends and colleagues, This year we're celebrating the Feast of St. Francis Xavier on the 3rd of December in a special way! As you know, Francis Xavier was the first Jesuit missionary whom Ignatius of Loyola sent to Asia. His zeal for his mission was extraordinary, leading him to bring the Gospel to the people of India, Malacca, the Moluccas, and Japan. He was the first Westerner to venture into many of these areas, learning about the different cultures and languages. Had he not died in Shangchuan Island just off the coast of Guangdong, he would have made it to China too. He was truly a global Jesuit!
What better way to honor St. Francis Xavier than to celebrate our global network of Jesuit schools? For his feast this year, we are holding a FRANCIS XAVIER GLOBAL NETWORK INSTAGRAM COMPETITION. To participate, you need only three things:
1) Ask your school to download the Educate Magis global map of Jesuit schools and display it prominently somewhere on campus. Please download the larger map at: https://www.educatemagis.org/printable-map/
Sep 15th – Oct 15th
2) Invite students and teachers to take a creative and "out-of-the-box" photo of themselves and/or their friends in front of the map to convey any--or several--of the following messages:
Oct 15th – Nov 15th
* "Today no Jesuit school is an island. We belong to a worldwide network of diverse communities united by the Jesuit tradition."
* "St. Francis Xavier, look how far we've gone!"
* "We can all help build our global network of Jesuit schools by reaching out and working with one another."
* "We are a worldwide community of learners, enriched by our diversity, but united by our zeal for the magis and desire to be persons for others."
(These are just sample themes. Please suggest if you think of others)
Note: Feel free to use filters and Photoshop to enhance your photo. The only requirement is that the map is recognizable and the subjects (e.g., students) are real.
3) Post your photo on Instagram by November 13, 2016 (That's a Sunday!). Make sure you add the hashtag #sfxsouthasia2016 each region will have their own hashtag!
Five finalists will be selected from among the entries, and the winner will be announced on the feast day of St. Francis Xavier on December 3rd, 2016. The winners will be featured in Educate Magis and will receive a special prize.