Jesuit Alumni Associations of India

St. Paul's High School - Jesuit Alumni Associations of India

How it all began ..The Jesuits, India and JAAI

The Jesuit Order “Society of Jesus” was founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1530s. One of his first companions was the then professor of the Paris University, Francis Xavier, who came to India in 1542. He opened the first Jesuit school in Goa in 1543. It was named St. Paul’s College. Nothing exists of this institution today except its memory, but it was the predecessor of hundreds of other schools and colleges. JAAI is also affliated to the World Union of Jesuit Alumni.

Today, in India the Jesuits conduct not less than 38 university colleges, 5 Institutes of Business Administration and 155 high schools spread throughout the country, almost all of them among its most reputed (For example: St. Paul’s (Belgaum); St. Xavier’s (Kolkata, Mumbai, Ranchi); Loyola (Chennai, Vijayawada); St. Joseph’s (Bangalore, Trichy); XLRI (Jamshedpur); XIM (Bhuvaneshwar)). In them, more than 250,000 students belonging to every religious, linguistic and socio-economic group, receive their education.

The establishment of JAAI

JAAI was conceived at the Jesuit Alumni Congress in Chennai in 1995. Since then it has taken shape as an organization, with a Governing Council, Constitution and a rotating Secretariat in place. It has also hosted five national congresses and an international congress. The 5th National Congress was held between September 7-9, 2007 in Trivandrum on the theme “Role of Alumni in Resurgent India”.

Jesuit Alumni Associations of India (JAAI) is a subsidiary of the World Union of Jesuit Alumni/ae (WUJA).

What does JAAI Do

JAAI is a forum for networking between alumni from across India to play a role in shaping public policies in favour of secularism,  poverty alleviation, women empowerment, upliftment of marginalized, safeguard human rights, preservation of environment and spread of literacy.

Constitution

Preamble:

As beneficiaries and as inheritors of the Jesuit/Ignatian Legacy of Education, the members of several Alumni/ae associations, have come together to form a Federation of Jesuit Alumni/ae Associations. Bonded in love and fellowship we affirm we shall ever endeavour to be men and women for others and that we shall be Partners in the Jesuit effort of forming human beings grown to their full potential, freed from all bondage, who will give themselves to the service of others.

Name

The name of the Federation shall be: “Federation of Jesuit alumni/ae associations of India”

Motto

To give and not to count the cost.

Objectives

  • Bring Alumni Associations together – forum for networking
  • Encourage formation of Associations
  • Link with Associations across the world
  • Role in shaping public policies in favour of secularism, alleviation of poverty, empowerment of women, upliftment of marginalized, safeguard human rights, preservation of environment and spread of literacy.

Contact

Jesuit Alumni/ae Associations of India (JAAI)
St. Xavier’s College, Room No.5,
30, Park Street, Kolkata – 700 016, India
E-mail: jaaindia@gmail.com

Governing Body – World Union of Jesuit Alumni/ae (WUJA)

The Origins

The World Union of Jesuit Alumni (ae) – sometimes known in short as ASIA (“ Antiqui societatis Jesu Alumni”) – was established on 31 July 1956 in Bilbao (Spain) during a congress held on the occasion of the fourth centenary of the death of Saint Ignatius. This congress adopted a statement, known as the “Magna Carta of Loyola”, setting out a number of general objectives, insisting above all that the Alumni actions should be strictly linked with those of the Society of Jesus. At that time, the Union was known as “the international movement of Alumni”. It had no statutes and no formal organisation. It laid on the personal commitment of three strong personalities : Enzo SALA and Pietro ADDONINO from Italy, and Théo LOMBARD from France.

WUJA Today

WUJA brings together former pupils or students of Jesuit schools and universities in the entire world in order to build international relationships between these people, to contribute to the mission of the Society of Jesus and to promote the universal dynamic of Jesuit education.

For these purposes, WUJA organizes world meetings of Alumni around themes related to the commitment in the world and the society in the perspective of Christian and humanistic values, as practiced and promoted by the Society of Jesus in its educational work.

With the broad network of member associations, WUJA also launches or supports initiatives for solidarity or development, particularly in the field of education or in partnership with Jesuits.

 WUJA wants to federate and mobilize as many Alumni as possible who are sensitive to this dimension of their education and interested in this global dynamic, by reaching them among others via the Alumni associations in the Jesuit schools and universities worldwide and the national structures or local groups of Jesuit Alumni.

Contact

World Union of Jesuit Alumni
3 rue Jos Keup, L – 1860 Luxembourg
E-mail: info@wuja.org

Further Reading

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