By Teresa Martinez - Belen Jesuit Preparatory School
MIAMI | Hundreds gathered at Gesu Church in downtown Miami for a Mass in honor of the feast day of St. Ignatius Loyola on July 31.“This is a special occasion to thank the Lord for the gift of Ignatian spirituality and for over 115 years of Jesuit presence in Miami,” said Jesuit Father Pedro A. Suarez, president of Belen Jesuit Preparatory School. “Gesu Catholic Church opened in 1896 by the Society of Jesus and as the city of Miami grew and expanded so did the Jesuits and their mission of educating others.”
The main celebrant of the Mass was Jesuit Father Eddy Alvarez, pastor of Gesu Church, and the homilist was Jesuit Father Eduardo Najarro, who is a theologian and professor at the Major Seminary in Santo Domingo.
St. Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus in 1540. He was beatified by Pope Paul V in 1609 and canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. A former Spanish soldier, St. Ignatius is the patron saint of military personnel and the Society of Jesus.