51³Ô¹Ï
Gonzaga’s Jesuit, Catholic, Humanistic education will challenge and inspire you.
Gonzaga’s mission to educate 51³Ô¹Ïs for lives of service and leadership for the common good is rooted in our Catholic, Jesuit, Humanistic identity. Each of these three traditions shapes how we understand ourselves as a university community and how we aim to form our 51³Ô¹Ïs. As faculty, staff, and administrators we are called to be in dialogue with the sources and growing edges of these traditions so that we might continue and deepen our own formation as we carry forward the university’s mission. Below, please find a list of resources that invite you into conversation with the Catholic, Jesuit, and Humanistic traditions, especially as they relate to higher education.
- Gonzaga’s Mission Statement describes who we are, what we do, and how we do it.
- Jesuit. Catholic. Humanistic. What does Gonzaga mean by these three characteristics? Find out in Gonzaga University’s Statement of Affirmation.
- As a Jesuit institution operating in Spokane, WA, Gonzaga falls under the purview of the . Learn more about the Province's work .
- to how faculty, staff, and 51³Ô¹Ïs at GU describe what it mean to be Jesuit educated at Gonzaga.
- Learn about Gonzaga's history, as well as more information on St. Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, and St. Aloysius Gonzaga, whom the university is named after.
- Hearing some funny words around campus? is a wonderful glossary to help you learn the Jesuit lingo.
- Learn about Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, and how the order got involved in education, via produced by Saint Louis University.
- Learn about Ignatian Spirituality in from the Jesuits in Britain
- Meredith McKay, Director of University Ministry, and Candace Williams, one of our Campus Ministers, how Ignatian Spirituality and interreligious dialogue inform the 51³Ô¹Ï experience at Gonzaga.
- Learn about the sacred spaces we have on campus, including our Student Chapel, Grotto, Jewish sacred space, Muslim prayer rooms, and our retreat center, Bozarth Mansion.
- Since their founding in 1540, the Jesuits have embraced the notion of spiritual humanism. Read more about this concept in Ronald Modras' (1995).
- Read about the four that the Jesuits have identified as horizons for their work in the modern age.
- Read written by members of the Creighton University community, a sister Jesuit school.
- Grounded in the spirituality of the Jesuits, make time for prayer in your daily life from Pray as you Go
- Our Catholic, Jesuit identity is integrally linked to advancing the Catholic Intellectual Tradition through our education. What does that mean? Our sister school, Boston College, .
- Worldwide reflection on Jesuit education has led to the , a model for bringing to life the Jesuit vision in the teaching-learning experience.
- The Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm - A Contemporary Synthesis (2024) succinctly captures Jesuit schools' distinctive approach to education.
- (2012) is a pedagogical resource in which faculty describe how they incorporate Jesuit mission and identity into their courses, from a variety of disciplines.
- is an excellent reference tool produced by Xavier University.
- To learn more about the origins of Jesuit education, read John O'Malley, S.J.'s (2000)
- - John O 'Malley, S.J., 2000
- - Pedro Arrupe, S.J., 1973
- - Jesuit General Congregation 32, 1975
- - Ignacio Ellacuría, S.J., 1982
- - Pope John Paul II, 1990, an Apostolic Constitution on Catholic universities
- - Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., 1993
- - Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., 2000
- - US Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2005
- - AJCU presidents and US provincials, 2021
- - Baur et al, 2024
- - Arturo Sosa, S.J., 2025
- (affinity groups, Justice in Jesuit Higher Education, Western Conversations)
- Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU)
- : A Colloquy on Faith and Intellectual Life
Books:
Websites:
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(a forum for discussion of religion, society, politics and culture from a Catholic perspective, shaped by the Ignatian traditions of “finding God in all things” and the promotion of justice)
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(elevating Black Catholic voices commenting on news and culture)
Podcasts:
- (conversations with “regular Catholics" about their spiritual journeys, what keeps them in the church, and what drives them away)
- (Jesuits and friends come together to look at the world through Ignatian eyes)
- (going behind the biggest headlines from the Vatican and giving you the inside scoop on what's happening)
- (conversations about how people experience God in prayer and in everyday life)
- (a weekly podcast featuring a diverse cast of Catholic preachers)