ALUMNI
Cannonball Enlightenment ALUMNI REFLECT ON TRANSFORMATIONAL MOMENTS OF IMPACT On May 20, 1521, St. Ignatius of Loyola was injured in battle by a cannonball – and thus began his enormous change of life during recovery, from a soldier to a spiritual pilgrim went on to start the Society of Jesus, the largest order in the Catholic Church. To mark the 500th anniversary of that fateful day, the Ignatian family is celebrating an Ignatian Year through July 2022. As a tribute to Ignatius and his leadership, heroism and spirit, several alumni reflect on their own ‘cannonball moments’ when they felt called to pursue a religious vocation.
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Fr. Bill Sheahan, SJ ’85 Rector, Ciszek Hall Jesuit Residential College at Fordham University in New York In January of my senior year, two classmates and I arrived at St. Stephen’s Indian Mission in Wyoming to begin our three-week Senior Project. We would serve as grade school teachers’ aides at St. Stephen’s School. The school and the mission, at that time sponsored by the then-Missouri Province Jesuits, served Arapaho and Shoshone residents living on the Wind River Reservation. Our schedule called for the three of us to attend 7:15 a.m. daily Mass at the mission church before going to work at the school. Although otherwise cooperative to what was asked of us, we ignored the Mass attendance requirement. Except one morning, I awoke early and could not sleep. Frustrated, I got up and decided to go to Mass. As I headed outside, the sun barely pierced the darkness. Everywhere was silence, save for the sound of my every step as my boots punched through the frozen, crusted snow. Ahead, I noticed lights on in the church. Opening the church door, I looked up at a multicolored, Native American-style mural of the Holy Spirit covering the ceiling. The Stations of the Cross represented Jesus as an Indian. The Christmas
creche depicted the Holy Family nestled in a small teepee. This place, so foreign, somehow felt inviting. During Mass, I felt moved to be a Jesuit. Although it would be many years before I discerned that God was giving me the grace to be a Jesuit, I identify that morning pilgrimage, that Mass, that silence, as my ‘cannonball moment.’
Fr. Brian Fallon ’04 Vocation Director, Archdiocese of St. Louis Pastor, Church of Magdalen I had heard about the grueling schedule at SLUH, but I just thought they said it to impress the parents. But when I found myself with poor grades after freshman year, I realized I had underestimated Backer Memorial and the institution built upon it. Ignatius of Loyola took a cannonball head-on. It shattered one leg and badly damaged another. This sent him reeling: he had miscalculated life’s meaning, and had staked his worth upon gallantry now vanished. Poor Algebra grades might not have foiled my life as badly as Ignatius, but I was in high school. I was used to catastrophizing. My recovery looked a lot different than that of our storied saint. He was bedridden with religious books, whereas I went on a two-week backpacking trip with my scout troop. I had lightened my pack down to the necessary
