General News

Advent arrives quietly at Ignatius Jesuit Centre. The days shorten, the fields rest, and the trails take on a different kind of stillness amidst the snow. This season invites a slower pace, and the land makes that invitation clear. Even a short walk now brings the full presence of winter: snow-covered fields, quiet forest paths, and the steady movement of winter birds that stay close all season. The trail network at IJC has grown over several decades. What began as simple walking paths used by Jesuits, farmers, and retreatants slowly developed into a marked system that now spans around 19…

For more than a century, Ignatius Jesuit Centre has been a place where land, spirit, and community meet. The 600 acres of farmland, forest, and wetland have witnessed generations of growth: spiritual, ecological, and human. From the Jesuits who first arrived in 1913 to the volunteers and partners who care for the land today, IJC’s story is one of restoration and renewal. A Landscape of Faith and Work (1913–1960s) The conservation story of Ignatius Jesuit Centre begins with the founding of the St. Stanislaus Novitiate in 1913. The Jesuits of the English-speaking Province of Canada purchased Bedford Farm, 600 acres…

At our September Community Gathering and potluck, we had the chance to share an update on the transition now underway at Ignatius Jesuit Centre. Four months had passed since we announced that IJC would be entering a period of transition. Much has started to take shape since then, and there is still much more ahead. This update offers a picture of what we are building together—what we’ve been setting in motion over the past months, what we’re focusing on now, and what we’re beginning to imagine further down the road. The First Four Months Since the spring announcement, we have…

In this piece, Carsten Knoch, Senior Director, Transition, shares his reflections on learning from the land at Ignatius Jesuit Centre—and how the same care and renewal we bring to our soil and forests can guide how we tend our organization itself. Since starting to work at Ignatius Jesuit Centre in March of this year, I have observed that we treat the land with an extraordinary degree of care. On our 240 acres of farmland, we follow organic and regenerative principles. We also require our community gardeners and farm tenants to follow these principles. The aim is to care for the…

This reflection was shared by Father Dirk Dunfee, SJ at the Opening Mass for the Season of Creation 2025 at Ignatius Jesuit Centre. Each year, the Season of Creation invites Christians around the world to join in prayer and action for our common home. At IJC, it is a time to reflect deeply on our call to care for creation through worship, community, and stewardship of the land. Father Dirk’s words remind us that prayer is not simply about asking God to “fix” the world, but about entering more fully into relationship with God, with one another, and with creation…

At Ignatius Jesuit Centre, we often return to the question of how faith, ecology, and community life intersect. In the last decade, Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ has given us fresh language for this intersection, introducing the vision of integral ecology. While the term may sound academic, at its heart it is a way of seeing and living that insists everything is connected: human flourishing, the wellbeing of the natural world, and the call to justice for those most vulnerable. In this guest contribution, Simon Appolloni, M.Div., PhD, offers a primer on integral ecology unpacking its theological roots, tracing its…

This year, as we celebrate the Season of Creation at Ignatius Jesuit Centre, we do so with a spirit of transition. While Loyola House has long been a place of prayer, rest, and encounter with God, as its retreat ministry winds down, our community is shifting into new ways of gathering and connecting. Change always brings mixed emotions, but it also opens space for renewal. At the same time, the wider Ignatius lands remain a living place of encounter. In her essay “Ministry to Place and Placelessness in a Globalized World,” Sister Mary Frohlich, RSCJ, reminds us that sacredness is…

Each year, the Season of Creation invites us to pause and notice how our lives are woven together with the natural world. At Ignatius Jesuit Centre, this season feels especially alive across our land, farm, and conservation projects. It is also present in the quieter corners of our community spaces, where simple encounters with plants, trees, and gardens open us to wonder and care. To mark this year’s Season of Creation, we’re sharing a series of guest reflections from friends and partners who bring unique perspectives on what it means to live in right relationship with creation. We’re honoured to…

What does it mean to live in peace with creation? Peace is more than the absence of conflict. It is the presence of right relationship. Peace with creation emerges when care is woven into how we live on the land, when we recognize the dignity of all living beings, and when we act with intention for the generations to come. It is found in the quiet work of restoring habitats, in the joy of growing food in healthy soil, in the humility of listening to the natural world, and in the choice to live gently within our means. At Ignatius…