St Aloysius students at Jesuit Colleges' congress

A group of five first-year students from St Aloysius College Sixth Form recently attended the 23rd Congress on the Jesuits and History, hosted by the College of Santa Maria del Mar in La Coruña, the beautiful city in the north of Spain overlooking the Atlantic.

Since this year the Jesuits worldwide are celebrating the 500th anniversary of the birth of St Francis Xavier, the congress focused on various aspects of the life of this great Jesuit saint and his legacy in Europe and in the Far East, where he was a pioneer of Catholic missions.

The Maltese students gave an interesting talk on the artistic representation of St Francis Xavier in Malta in relation to the Jesuits' presence and work on the islands. The earliest expressions of devotion to this saint in Malta can be found in the church of the Old University in Valletta, founded by the Jesuits as the Collegium Melitense in 1592.

Other early paintings are found in the chapel of the Archbishop's Curia in Floriana, originally a Jesuit Retreat House, and several parish churches in Malta. More contemporary paintings are found at Mount St Joseph Retreat House in Mosta and Loyola House, Naxxar. The Maltese students' presentation also referred to statues and paintings found at St Aloysius College, the former Jesuit College of St Ignatius in St Julian's, and in Gozo.

Together with participants from other colleges from Italy, Portugal, Spain and Albania, the Maltese students took part in sports activities, cultural visits to the beautiful pilgrims' city of Santiago de Compostela and the historical centre of La Coruña, where they were received by the alderman for education in the majestic Municipal Palace in Plaza Maria Pita.

The participants also organised an "evening of friendship" followed by a traditional Spanish dinner organised by students of the College of Santa Maria del Mar and their families, who hosted the students during their stay.

The Maltese delegation included Roberta Bellizzi, Laura Cutajar, Sera Cutajar, George Saliba and Charlene Zammit. They were accompanied by Mr Jean-Paul De Lucca, teacher of philosophy.

Assistant heads, Ms Marion Pace Asciak, Ms Isabelle Borg, Fr Joe Cassar, SJ, religious studies teacher Mr Lionel Chircop and Mr De Lucca helped the students in their preparations for the congress.