Happy Feast Day of our Patron Saint, Ignatius of Loyola SJ
MR MARK TANNOCK
What a special blessing it is for us in 2026 to be inheritors of this half-millennium-old living tradition that was born on a battlefield at Pamplona and orients us to the service of others, ad maiorem Dei gloriam – for the greater glory of God.
Ignatius was an amazing man, whose life has been a true gift to the Church and to the world. He chose to devote himself to God and found ‘Companions in the Lord’ who would share with him this special mission. And so, the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) was born. When Pope Paul III approved the Society’s establishment, he did so "for the service of God and the good of (all people)".
The spirituality that Ignatius revealed is the Jesuits' great gift to us - their lay companions.
In 1880, the Irish Jesuits established this special school on the Lane Cove River. On the left-hand side of the Dalton Chapel entry, there are a number of plaques commemorating the Jesuits who have worked at the College over the years and who have subsequently died. Many of these names will be familiar to our community across the generations: Dalton, Gartlan, O’Donovan, Fraser and McDonald.
The first names on these plaques, in red letters, are of two young Jesuits:
- William Wrigley SJ was from Bendigo and was a lover of cricket. In the first year of the College, 1880, he was a scholastic at Riverview; he was playing in a match with the boys against an opposing school, bowled the last man out to win the match, cheered, jumped the fence and died of a heart attack. He was only 23 years old. His death occurred where the Health Centre now stands, and a memorial plaque in his memory has been installed on a rock nearby; and
- John Flynn SJ was in training to be a Jesuit in Ireland, but due to a diagnosis of tuberculosis he was sent to Australia while still a Novice, and he made his First Vows at Riverview. By that stage he knew his recovery was hopeless, but he performed his duties as Second Prefect with all his remaining energy, until a few days before his death. He died calmly in his chair on the night of 18 August 1884. He was also 23 years old.
We remember these two young men and all the Jesuits who faithfully served the College.
146 years after this school’s establishment, we are blessed that the Jesuits remain the soul of the College. They established the College with the intention to educate the Catholic boys of NSW whose families desired an Ignatian education for their sons. All these years later, the Jesuits continue these works. We are blessed to have working Jesuits who partner with us in our shared mission of Catholic, Jesuit education for our 1650 students; most Catholic schools throughout Australia no longer have a presence of avowed religious in the same way.
The Jesuits make the same choice that Ignatius made. To choose a life in service of God, through others. For the Jesuits at Riverview, it is the service of this school community and especially its students.
A vocation is a calling. Each of us has a path ahead to follow where we are called by God. For most of us, we are called to marriage and to be a parent. However, some of our boys might be called to a religious life and might even consider a vocation as a Jesuit. Whilst the number of young Australian men who choose to become priests and religious brothers has declined in recent decades, this may be a temporary phenomenon.
A religious life is a life of freedom in service to Jesus. For those students of Riverview who might be inclined in this way, we invite them to ponder it in their hearts and let us know if they want to discuss these movements.
On behalf of our Jesuit school community, we thank Fr Tom Renshaw SJ, Fr Joe Dooley SJ and Fr Michael Hansen SJ for answering God’s call and choosing to be men for and with others. We are so blessed that you did.
