Arrupe Immersions
What are Arrupe Immersions?
Arrupe Immersions are local and global experiences designed to open participant's eyes to the realities of the world. Each immersion is constructed around specific issues, where participants will learn to recognize the unjust suffering of marginalized communities and allow those experiences to inform their vocational discernment.
Immersions are a unique opportunity for Dons to expand their world view, and inform their scholarship through empathy, allowing for deep reflection and introspections which will undoubtedly invite participants to consider their place in the world.
The Arrupe Immersions focus on the following areas:
- Migration, Borders and Transnational Communities.
- Street Children and Welfare.
- Sports Serving Communities.
- Life in the Favelas.
- Migration and Restorative Justice.
- Coal Mining and Environmental Justice.
- Indigenous Rights and Environmental Justice.
Immersion Process.
After applying and being selected for an immersion trip you will participate in the pre-immersion preparation process. Immersion teams will meet 4-5 times in the weeks leading up to the immersion and all participants will attend a Pre-Immersion meeting intended for team building and reflection on themes that will be deepened through the immersion itself. Immersion participants commit to attending all team meetings and the pre-immersion general meeting. These are opportunities for your team to reflect, share and get to know one another, to learn more about the community you will be visiting and the current issues facing that community and to pass on details on trip preparation, travel, etc.
During your immersion, you will be accompanied by a Resident Minister and/or an Immersion Companion (USF faculty, staff, or graduate student), and a Student Leader. Your immersion team will be hosted by a local organization, that is part of the Jesuit Global Network. Each immersion varies in terms of what activities you will participate in so please be open and flexible. During your immersion, you will have the opportunity engage with the local community and learn about the issues facing its members, as well as connect with the other immersion participants and share in reflection about the impact of the experience.
While the immersion has ended, the full experience is a journey that is never truly over. More than an end goal, we believe that the immersion itself is a starting point for ongoing reflective and critical engagement of the realities of our local and global community. For this reason, participants commit to assisting to the post-immersion general meeting, as well as meeting at least 2 times upon return from the trip to continue processing, sharing stories, and determining next steps toward integrating the immersion experience into life at USF and beyond. Resident Ministers, UM staff members, and other members of the USF community are here as a resource to assist as you integrate your immersion into post-immersion life.
WHO WAS ARRUPE?
Pedro Arrupe, S.J., was the 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus, serving from 1965 – 1983. Fr. Arrupe was a man of great spiritual depth with a profound commitment to justice that permeated the work of the Jesuits. On February 5, 1991, Fr. Arrupe passed away but he left a legacy of ministry and leadership grounded in Christian faith that seeks to do justice. He hoped that every student at a Jesuit University around the world would have an experience that was different from what they knew as individuals.