EUROPE/ITALY - A year of initiatives from Italian Jesuits, in honor of Matteo Ricci

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - Conferences, concerts, pilgrimages, and school camps, guided tours, openings of monuments and historical buildings usually closed to the public... On the occasion of the fourth centenary of the death of Father Matteo Ricci (1610-2010), Jesuits in Italy are organizing a series of cultural events. The first initiative, on January 23 in Milan, calls for a conference, a concert, and an exhibition by the Cultural Foundation San Fedele. The day will open with a talk from Father Adolfo Nicolás, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, which will be followed by the Round Table on "The heirs of Matteo Ricci." At the conclusion of the event, there will be a concert with the performance for the first time in Italy, of music for chorus and orchestra composed by Jesuit missionaries in China of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. On the same day an exhibition on the theme of the cross of Hidetoshi Nagasawa will be inaugurated and a documentary entitled "Matteo Ricci, A Jesuit in the Reign of the Dragoon," will be shown.
Other events planned during the year are: in Rome, guided tours of the Gesu Church, the rooms of St. Ignatius, the International College, and the Centro Astalli (May 8-9 and 14-15), in Macerata and China: pilgrimage with youth to the hometown of Matteo Ricci and his area of work in China, in Naples (Italy): Conference of the Jesuit Social Network; in Scutari (Albania): construction of a new school building, with particular involvement of the Magis. "Evangelization involves a profound and serious dialogue with cultures and other religions," said Father Charles Casalone, Provincial Superior of the Jesuits in Italy. "Knowing more about the history of Matteo Ricci helps us to find out how similar methods can also be used nowadays." (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 21/1/2010)