CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Visitors from 27 countries will soon be on their way to Cleveland to attend the World Union of Jesuit Alumni (WUJA) Congress, which runs from June 28 - July 2 at John Carroll University.
WUJA is an international organization founded in 1956 to support the mission and ideals of the Jesuits. Every four years, WUJA convenes friends and alumni of Jesuit schools from around the world to celebrate Jesuit education and Ignatian spirituality. This will be the first-ever WUJA Congress held in North America.
Countries represented at this year’s event will include: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Columbia, Congo, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Lithuania, Mexico, Panama, Rwanda, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela.
The 2017 Congress will feature a three-day program with some 60 speakers and 30 breakout sessions. Among the keynote speakers are: the Very Rev. Timothy P. Kesicki, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States; Rev. Gregory J. Boyle, S.J., founder and executive director of the social enterprise Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles; Rev. James Martin, S.J., author and editor-at-large of America magazine; Chris Lowney, best-selling author and current board chair of Catholic Health Initiatives; Katherine Marshall, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs; and Rev. Peter Balleis, S.J., director of Jesuit Worldwide Learning, a collaborative initiative that provides certificate and diploma programs to those who live in refugee camps and in other places where higher learning is out of reach.
Fr. Arturo Sosa, S.J., the new Superior General of the Jesuits, will participate via video feed from Rome.
Evening activities include a night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; a Lake County Captains baseball game; a performance of a specially commissioned classical piece at the Maltz Performing Arts Center in University Circle; and a Saturday liturgy service at Gesu Parish.
For information and registration options, please visit www.wujacongress2017.org. Click here to register for the full conference or for one day, which includes the Welcome Reception on Wednesday.