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Division of Mission and Identity Programming

Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, sought and saw God in all things and believed himself called to be a co-laborer with God. His vision of the world lies at the heart of the Jesuit method of teaching, research and service in place at Saint Louis University.

Saint Louis University’s Division for Mission and Identity invites you to discover what it means to work at a Jesuit university and the difference it makes to your profession and field of study.

A priest stands next to a man attending Java with the Jesuits. They're talking and smiling.
 

Introductory Level

Experience: A launch point to the mission formation opportunities through short presentations, workshops, service immersions, prayer experiences, retreats, and more. 

Time Commitment: Varies from one hour to a full day. 

Outcome: No specific project or follow-up. 

New Employee Orientation

For each new employee, these mission video modules serve as an introduction to the Catholic Jesuit educational mission of Saint Louis University. Extending through the first year of employment, this program also offers opportunities for community-building through the formation of cohorts and the accompaniment of a mission mentor.

Advent and Lenten Twilight Retreats

Once each semester, in preparation for Christmas (fall semester) and Easter (spring semester), an evening retreat is offered for all SLU colleagues to come away for quiet reflection and prayer during hectic holiday preparations to re-center and refresh.

Book Club

Each semester, a mission-focused book is available to read, reflect on, and discuss for a month. An introductory gathering sets the tone for the read, optional small group discussions are offered, and a final luncheon with a related keynote presentation provides opportunities to reflect on SLU’s Jesuit, Catholic mission.

Immersion Trip Panel

Soon after spring break, students, faculty and staff who participated in spring break immersion trips speak about their experiences through the lens of the Jesuit mission.

Liturgical Ministry

Every week during campus Masses and during the year at liturgical services, various ministries are needed to enhance the spiritual experience of the SLU community.

Campus Kitchen and Billiken Bounty

Operating year-round, these student-led organizations rely on volunteers to help prepare, package, and deliver meals to SLU students and neighbors who are food insecure.

One-time Volunteer Opportunities

Various service opportunities coordinated by the Saint Louis University Center for Social Action allow for short-term investment in becoming people for and with others.

Occasional Engagements: Social Thought and Public Life

Impromptu panel discussions are offered in collaboration with university partners, serving as a vehicle for dialogue when significant social, political, cultural or religious experiences affect our world.

Ignatian Pedagogy Institute
Each spring, the Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning offers this one-day workshop to faculty to link teaching to Ignatian principles.  A three-year topic cycle allows for more in-depth participation if desired.
Magis Brown Bag Lunches 

Once a month, a topic that connects the Jesuit mission to SLU’s current reality will be presented by SLU faculty, staff or leadership. Offered during the lunch hour, each session treats a different aspect of the Ignatian identity at SLU:

  • Ignatian Spirituality:  Contemplatives in Action
  • Ignatian Prayer 
  • Discernment of Spirits 
  • Integrating Spirituality and Action 
  • Ignatian Pedagogy:  The Mission Enacted
  • The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, Explained 
  • The Jesuit University in a Divided World 
  • Leading from Mission 
  • Ignatian Service:  The Faith that Does Justice
  • St. Ignatius and SLU’s Mission Today 
  • Becoming Men and Women for and with Others 
  • The Intersection of Mission and DICE  

Deepening Level

Experience: A deeper dive into the mission formation areas through multi-session seminars, community engagement, retreats, and more. 

Time Commitment: Typically ongoing short-term commitments through the academic year. 

Outcome: No specific project or follow-up. 

Introduction to the Spiritual Exercises

This four-week lunchtime series occurs annually on SLU's campuses, deepening participants’ understanding of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  

Weekend Retreat

Once each semester, an Ignatian retreat is offered off-campus, beginning on Friday evening and concluding on Saturday evening.  This allows participants to sink more deeply into Ignatian spirituality personally and professionally. In coordination with the Billiken Teacher Corps, faculty or staff members meet monthly with a Billiken Teacher Corps participant, serving as a mentor for teaching in the Jesuit tradition.

Ignatian Mentor
In coordination with the Billiken Teacher Corps, faculty or staff members meet monthly with a Billiken Teacher Corps participant, serving as a mentor for teaching in the Jesuit tradition.
Center for Ignatian Service
Committed volunteers for the academic year (weekly or monthly) offer help at a local site dedicated to helping our under-served SLU neighbors, usually in an educational setting.
Staff Mission Liaison
Staff members from departments across the university meet monthly to liaise with the Division of Mission and Identity. They provide input, gain ideas for more purposeful and meaningful integration of the mission, and convey mission initiatives in their departments.
Faculty Mission Liaison
Faculty members from differing departments meet monthly to serve as liaisons to the Division of Mission and Identity, providing input and gaining ideas for more purposeful and meaningful integration of the mission and conveying mission initiatives in their departments.
Mission Mentor
SLU colleagues who are well-versed in the mission and identity of the university can be trained as mission mentors to new employees.  Mentors meet monthly during the academic year with a new colleague (ideally in the same department), starting after completing the first three mission modules from the new employee orientation.

Immersive Level

Experience: An immersion into the mission formation areas through program participation, service projects, extended retreat experiences, and more. 

Time Commitment: Typically ongoing monthly commitments of an hour to a day to overnight. 

Outcome: Varies by activity, but generally a short-term personal or professional development project. 

ICP @ SLU

For two years, participants commit to monthly meetings, an annual retreat, and an annual service experience with a diverse SLU cohort (staff, faculty, leadership.)  Modeled on the national Ignatian Colleagues Program of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, the ICP @ SLU allows participants to be immersed in Ignatian spirituality, the faith that does justice (service,) and Ignatian pedagogy in ways that further the mission for themselves personally and professionally.

Mentoring for Mission in Teaching

In collaboration with the Reinert Center, full-time faculty members commit to a year of study and small group work to develop interdisciplinary and mission-driven courses.

19th Annotation Retreat

Participants commit to weekly meetings with a spiritual director for the academic year, immersing themselves in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius as a “contemplative in action.” 

Immersion Trip

Participants join an alternative spring break student group in collaboration with Campus Ministry.

Prison Education Instructor/Volunteer

In collaboration with the Prison Education Program, participants commit to a year of service with our brothers and sisters who are incarcerated or working with the incarcerated.

Mentor for the Transformative Workforce Academy

Collaborating with the Transformative Workforce Academy, participants commit to a year of personal and/or professional accompaniment for persons returning to the workforce after incarceration.

Cura Personalis Course

In collaboration with the University Undergraduate Core, faculty or staff teach a section of Cura Personalis 1, 2, or 3. 

Ignite Seminar

In collaboration with the University Undergraduate Core, faculty teach an Ignite First Year Seminar.

iSERV Scholars

In collaboration with the College of Philosophy and Letters, faculty register one (or more) of their courses for inclusion in the Ignatian Service Minor.

Fluency Level

  • Experience: Integrating all the mission formation areas through engagement with AJCU partners and programming, national seminars, Ignatian retreats, international immersion trips and more.
  • Time Commitment: A year to two years involving national and/or international travel.
  • Outcomes: A department-specific project for furthering the mission in teaching, leadership, research or Ignatian principles. 
Arrupe Fellowship 

A year-long capstone program after completion of the ICP @ SLU, culminating in an Ignatian pilgrimage in Spain with colleagues from other Jesuit universities in the AJCU.

Ignatian Colleagues Program

An expansion of the Jesuit mission and identity through participation in a national mission program with other Jesuit universities in the AJCU.

Ignatian Colleagues Retreat

A six-day silent Ignatian retreat offered in collaboration with colleagues from other Jesuit universities.

Leadership Institute

A year-long professional development program designed for the mission formation of administrators and faculty in leadership positions, offered in collaboration with colleagues from other Jesuit universities in the AJCU.