On Sunday 31 May, the universal Church will celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit not only transforms the lives of the disciples into apostles, it brings the Church to birth and sends it out to all nations, overcoming divisions of language, race, class. The Spirit gathers us, whatever our state or condition, into the new community of Christ. Our lives and our world are restored and renewed.

In these past months, we all have experienced the devastation of CoVid-19. It has shown how vulnerable we are, how precarious our systems and limited our resources. We have also seen the great generosity and courage that can fill the human heart as so many risk their own life care and save the lives of others. Even in the small acts of kindness, generosity and thoughtfulness we glimpse something greater than we had thought possible. These moments are the ‘epiphanies of the Spirit’; the candles of love that light up the darkness and guide us into hope.

What better way to seek the gift and power of the Holy Spirit than as a world-wide community of prayer?

With more than 15,000 Jesuits and countless lay collaborators, the Ignatian family spans the globe in beautiful diversity. How appropriate, then, that this family will pray together for Pentecost - when people from many nations and languages were united in prayer.

We have never attempted something like this before. There are logistical challenges. How do you have a vigil the night before Pentecost when “night” in one part of the globe is “day” elsewhere? The Ignatian family is in nearly every time zone! We have decided to stream the vigil at three moments: 8:00 PM in Manila, 8:00 PM in Rome, and 8:00 PM in New York.

The Jesuit General Curia will stream the vigil on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. The content for the vigil will be the same each time, but there will be a live conversation and sharing of prayer intentions on social media during the vigil.

Please join us for the vigil this Saturday night. Bring your prayer intentions and a candle.

You can find more information at pentecost.jesuits.global.

Together - for the greater glory of God - we welcome the Holy Spirit. Veni sancte Spiritus!