Boston College receives $10 million grant from Lilly Endowment
Boston College has received a $10 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support an Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies program designed to promote the renewal and expansion of faith practices in high school students, college students, and parishioners through a yearlong immersion in faith exploration and service through Jesuit spirituality.
The grant, awarded through Lilly Endowment’s National Youth and Young Adult Initiative on Faith and Service, will enable the IAJS to conduct a two-year pilot of AMDG, a program intended to energize the personal and communal religious practices of youth and young adults between the ages of 16 and 29. AMDG is shorthand for Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, the Latin version of the Jesuits’ motto “For the Greater Glory of God.”
Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies Director Casey Beaumier, S.J. (Lee Pellegrini)
“Boston College has had a strong relationship with Lilly Endowment over the years. This most recent grant builds upon that strong foundation and we are grateful for this newest support from Lilly Endowment,” said IAJS Director Casey Beaumier, S.J., a vice president and University secretary at Boston College who will oversee the program along with IAJS Associate Director Matt Schweitzer. “The AMDG program will draw from the depths of the Jesuit tradition and its vast national and global apostolic networks so that the beauty of the Catholic faith can be instilled in young people in a lasting way.”
Launching in July, the program will involve 625 participants representing 15 high schools, five colleges and universities, and five parishes throughout the United States. AMDG will draw on the success of IAJS’s Ever to Excel program, an initiative for high school students who spend a week at Boston College learning about how to create a more meaningful life through the lens of Jesuit spirituality. More than 1,500 young people from around the world have participated in Ever to Excel since the program’s inception in 2016.
A new Ever to Excel session for young adults will be one of the faith formation elements of AMDG along with a four-day in-person retreat based on the Spiritual Exercises, a digital guided retreat that highlights Catholic liturgical practices and devotions, and a virtual pilgrimage that highlights the locations and accompanying formational outcomes of the conversion journey of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus.
Another formational element will involve modules and facilitated group discussions based on The Conversational Word of God, a book from the Institute of Jesuit Sources that will help participants develop and deepen their capacity to engage in spiritual conversations.
Each year, the AMDG program will culminate with participants making a 10-day pilgrimage on the Camino Ignaciano in Spain. Pilgrims will follow the path St. Ignatius took in 1522 from Loyola to Manresa.
IAJS Associate Director Matt Schweitzer
Throughout the AMDG program, participants will engage in service designed to provide a deep encounter with the teachings and example of Jesus, according to Fr. Beaumier.
“Service lies at the heart of the Christian faith and is deeply woven into the fabric of every Jesuit apostolate,” said Schweitzer. “What is often lacking, particularly among young people, is an intentional connection between service and religious practice. AMDG seeks to bridge this gap, fostering profound integration of faith and service."
The AMDG program also will offer mentorship development for 25 adults each year, who will serve as the program’s ambassadors. The ambassadors will have the opportunity to complete IAJS’s Certificate in Jesuit Studies, a five course program that will deepen their knowledge of the heritage and vision of the Jesuits and their many works.
“In order to facilitate and nurture faith in young people, we recognize that we need to recruit and support adult guides and empower them with formational resources so they have the necessary skills to address the complex issues facing young people,” said Fr. Beaumier.
Fr. Beaumier sees the AMDG program as forming these ambassadors to not only help AMDG program participants but also to serve as future leaders for mission in the different networks of Jesuit schools and parishes.
“The AMDG program will also offer a great formational opportunity for BC undergraduates to learn how to accompany a faith journey,” said Fr. Beaumier, who noted that each year 25 students will be selected to serve as beadles (assistants) for the program. As beadles, the BC students will mentor AMDG participants, attend the retreats, and accompany the group on the Camino pilgrimage.
Boston College is one of 12 U.S. organizations awarded a grant from Lilly Endowment’s National Youth and Young Adult Initiative on Faith and Service.
“I’m pleased that Boston College is seen as a resource for the networks of Jesuit schools,” Fr. Beaumier said. “People turn to BC for all things Jesuit and for ways to deepen the understanding of what it mean to be a Jesuit school, college, or parish. We’ve become a light for the global network of Jesuit works.”
“The projects being funded through the Faith and Service Initiative hold the promise of helping young people grow spiritually by drawing on Christian traditions to reflect on the meaning of service,” said Christopher L. Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “They also will strengthen their ties to faith communities and help those faith communities understand more fully the needs and perspectives of young people.”
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. The principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the U.S., primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the U.S. and across the globe.