Abdul Rahima, 15-year-old,from Mangalore, writes after participating in the “QUIZINIGO 2020”, “I always wanted to know about other religions and today your quiz competition became an occasion. I received a general understanding and spiritual facts about Jesuits and Christians. I would like to thank all the members of the organization; because of this quiz my sense of harmony among religions grew much more.” A religious nun from Pakistan, Uzma Siddique, writes, “Thank you very much for arranging the quiz competition. It was really interesting to participate and check my knowledge and know more about the life and mission of the Jesuits around the world.”These testimonies indeed speak about the purpose and intention of organizing this global event as a preparation for the feast of St Ignatius of Loyola.

The COVID 19 pandemic has compelled all of us to use the online methods for most of our works. Physical distancing and lockdown have forced us to scale down the feast celebrations in our institutions and parishes. We were wondering how to share the Ignatian vision and spirituality with our students, staff, collaborators, parents, alumni, and other religious in this context. One day a companion of ours surprised us during the supper with an idea. “What about some kind of an online celebration this year?” Another added, “How about an online quiz?” A third one affirmed the suggestion and added that we should open it up to everyone around the globe.

This gave birth to ‘QUIZINIGO 2020’, an Online Global Ignatian Quiz. The Provincial of Karnataka Jesuit Province, Fr. Jerome Stanislaus D’Souza, was supportive of the idea and personally guided the coordinating team animated by Fr. Joseph D’Mello, the socius to the Provincial.

A brochure for advertising the event was prepared and shared through social media. Online Registrations were opened on the website http://www.karnatakajesuits.org/. It was under two categories, one for teenagers, 13 to 18 years of age, and the other for the 19 years old and above. Around 2,500 participants registered within four days, from three continents across the globe. This was indeed an encouraging sign.There were multiple-choice questions and true or false questions which focused on the following themes: Life of St Ignatius, some significant dates, places, events, works that are associated with him, known Jesuit saints, works of the Society of Jesus, namely major contributions of Jesuits in various ministries and fields.

A mock quiz was organized two days before the actual quiz to give first-hand experience to many participants who were new to using this communication mode. The actual quiz took place on 27July with a large number of participants getting connected virtually to compete with great interest and enthusiasm. In the end, they received their score and an e-certificate as a token of appreciation and acknowledgment of their participation. Winners were awarded cash prizes.