Vigil for Lamentation & Racial Justice

Description of our collaboration proposal

In the wake of George Floyd’s death, Pope Francis reminded us that “We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life.” With this in mind, during the prayer vigil, anonymous lamentations from across the network will be shared to illuminate the many emotions people are feeling in this present moment. I would like to invite you to use this form to share a lamentation. Several submissions will be shared during the prayer service, and we will silently uplift all of the stories that were submitted but not read out loud.

Before we can move forward as an Ignatian family, it is important that we acknowledge the pain among us and lament all that has happened. 

This prayer vigil is a small action. In the coming weeks, we will share other ways that we hope to more deeply commit to anti-racism work. However, we will do so acknowledging we are an organization that is predominantly white-led. In addition, we work within an Ignatian and Catholic landscape that historically, and even today, is often complicit in the sin of racism, both implicitly and explicitly.  We know that in working for racial justice, we will, at times, fall short and make missteps, but to fulfill our faith-based social justice mission rooted in the Gospel, we must make this a priority.

Needs, support or request

The vigil will be an opportunity for each of us, as members of the Ignatian family, to gather for shared prayer across our network to lament and commemorate the Black lives that have been lost due to police brutality and white supremacy in the United States. You can RSVP to let us know you plan to participate here.