Our Story
Our Vision, Our Mission, Our Identity
After his conversion experience, St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, realized that in order to live his life for the Greater Glory of God, education was an indispensable component. So, at the late age of around thirty-three years (33), Ignatius went back to the classroom, his legs sticking out of the front of undersized desks, as he sat among young students, to learn the basics of Latin, in order to advance his own education. Ignatius would later go on to the University of Alcala, Salamanca and the famous University of Paris. It was in the context of his own education that the group of school-friends who would later become the Society of Jesus would be constituted. And it was no surprise that years later, as Ignatius and his companions looked at the existential and social crisis that the world of his time was thrown into, they saw one way out – education. For Ignatius, education provided a means for personal depth, individual conversion and discernment, and social transformation; in one phrase – human excellence! Since then, Jesuits have been in the forefront of education with a long tradition that has stood the test of more than four centuries. For Jesuits, education is not just a mission – it is “identity-mission” as one word, one reality, one call. It is embedded in the story of the conversion of Ignatius himself, in the story of every Jesuit, and every student of Jesuit schools, in his/her quest to serve the Greater Glory of God.
A lot has changed in the world since Ignatius and his companions took the world by storm. The world we now live in is a different one, with new and sometimes, unimaginable challenges. In 2017, the Society of Jesus initiated a global process of discernment and conversation. The goal was to discern what God was calling Jesuits to pay attention to, in the context of our increasingly globalized and digitalizing world, and our rapidly changing climate. These series of conversations led to the launch of the Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs) of the Society of Jesus in 2019. These preferences include: 1) to show the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises, 2) To walk with the excluded and marginalized, 3) to accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future, and 4) to care for our common home. These are the four signs of our times that the Jesuits see, feel and hear as they pay attention to the “voices” echoing within the current existential landscape of our world.
In the midst of this global conversation and discernment by the members of the Society of Jesus, an ongoing initiative by the Jesuits to establish a new school in the South East of Nigeria was generously taken up and brought to life by Dr. Ernest Nnaemeka Azudialu-Obiejesi. Gonzaga Jesuit College, Okija, Anambra State, is the result of the magnanimous benefaction of Dr. Ernest & Barr. Mrs. Nnenna Azudialu-Obiejesi. This act of generosity was done for the good of humanity and for the greater glory of God. The journey began when the Jesuit team, accompanied by Engr. Paul Erinne and Dr. Ifeanyi Uchendu approached Dr. Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi with the proposal regarding the establishment of a Jesuit school in Okija.
Dr. Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi accepted the proposal and offered to build the entire school for the Jesuits. The Jesuit Superior General Fr. Arturo Sosa Abascal S.J., was glad to give his permission and for construction to begin in earnest.
Thus Gonzaga Jesuit College Okija was born.
GJC is named after St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a young Jesuit who is considered the patron saint of youth. Aloysius was undergoing studies for the priesthood when a plague broke out in Rome. The young Aloysius poured out his life, caring for the sick, and eventually died, on 21 June 1591, at the age of 23. Aloysius is recognized as patron saint of: youth; people living with HIV/AIDS; caregivers; and the patron of service projects. It is therefore no coincidence that a school started during the Covid-19 pandemic, in the context of Africa’s youth bulge, in the wake of the Catholic Church’s Synod on youth, and against the backdrop of the Jesuits’ third Universal Apostolic Preference (UAP) which is the accompaniment of youth, is being named after St. Aloysius Gonzaga. GJC embodies our belief that young people are the change-makers and prophets in our current moment. In accompanying them and together with them, we can create a hope-filled future, for them and for our entire world.
This is what shapes the foundation of GJC. Our goal is not just to educate, but to form people of depth – intellectually, spiritually, and psychologically. Our mission is to form people who are open to change, who exercise aptitude for personal conversion and social transformation. “Conversion” – that capacity to change in the light of new realities and in a manner that fosters depth, is the new virtue of our modern age! Those who will transform the future will be those who have the capacity to adapt and change often, not only in terms of being able to quickly adapt to technological and employment changes occasioned by rapid digital transformation, but especially in terms of deeper processes of moral and spiritual growth. As John Henry Newman says, “to grow is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.” This capacity to change in a way that brings depth is the moral backbone of GJC education.
This is how GJC hopes to give flesh to this vision: First, in addition to the regular secondary education curriculum in Nigeria which will be blended with other curricula, GJC will also be running a unique and parallel package tagged GONZAGA EXPLORATIONS (GE). GE will include studies in the areas of innovation, critical thinking and creativity, ethical decision making, mentorship, life coaching among others. This program will also host an Innovation Lab, which will introduce GJC students to the basics of coding, digital skills and other areas of innovation. Right from the first year, teaching and learning in GJC will happen in ways that will help GJC students to transition smoothly into the changing world of the digital universe. Our goal is to form young people who are empowered to deal with change, and who are capable of conversion – whether spiritual or social; and who because of this formation, are empowered to work for the transformation of the world around them.
Our Story Continues
Second, it is no longer news that our world is now a global village. Consequently, any form of education today, must be an education with a global imagination for cosmopolitan citizenship. At GJC, our vision is not just to become another school in Okija or even Nigeria. GJC will be a “universitas” where people, global influences and ideas converge intentionally. GJC will be one of the schools in Nigeria where the study of History will be compulsory. More so, as part of our GONZAGA EXPLORATIONS, we will include a strong mentorship program, which will bring to GJC, experts from diverse walks of life and origins to help open the minds of GJC students to what is possible, what is different, and to what is happening in various spheres of the world. The GONZAGA EXPLORATIONS as well as the philosophy of education at GJC in general, will specially train our students on how to think systematically and work collaboratively, how to network, and how to deal with the tensions of inter-personal relationships. And all these will be integrated into the curriculum of GJC. So, at the end of six years, every GJC graduate is expected to advance from the College, not only with the excellent academic results that are distinctive of Jesuit schools, but also with a “portfolio” that he or she has built up over the course of six years.
Most importantly, like our patron saint, Aloysius Gonzaga, we hope that our students and graduates will be people who find joy and meaning in service – people who realize that our lives are more meaningful and joyful when we are able to pour out our lives in the service of others, especially the people in the margins of society.
Indeed, our vision is not just to run another Jesuit school. At Gonzaga Jesuit College, we are enlisting young people for the transformation of the world. That’s our mission, that’s our promise. Welcome on board!