CARRYING THE MISSION FORWARD: ALUMNI DEEPEN THEIR IGNATIAN ROOTS

2/11/2026
José Juara '90

(This article was first published in the Belen Alumni Magazine - Winter 2026 edition.)

Inspired by St. Ignatius of Loyola’s directive to “set the world on fire” and guided by Belen’s strategic plan, the alumni board established the Catholic Jesuit Identity (CJI) Committee earlier this year. The CJI’s mission is to provide alumni of Belen Jesuit schools in Cuba and Miami an opportunity to encounter the person of Jesus Christ and to strengthen their relationship with Him within the context of our Catholic faith. In doing so, our alumni network mirrors Belen’s emphasis on fostering its Catholic Jesuit ethos.

Using an integrated approach to fulfilling this mission, we have identified four areas of focus:
Spiritual Development – encouraging sacramental life, retreats, consecrations, and prayer life;
Intellectual Formation & Apologetics – fostering a deeper understanding and defense of our faith;
Band of Brothers – deepening our brotherhood, maintaining accountability (“Iron Sharpens Iron”), and fostering connection to our alma mater; 
Men for Others – strengthening our vocation to our families and service to our community.

By centering these four pillars, the CJI Committee hopes to inspire alumni to deepen their faith lives and become instruments of God in their communities and local parishes, where men are needed to help revitalize the Church.

In this inaugural year, we have developed several initiatives to further our mission. To begin, the Committee launched a 25-day Rosary Rally in October—the month of the rosary—in gratitude for Fr. Willie’s 25th anniversary of priestly ordination in the Society of Jesus, as well as for other alumni in priestly formation. We have also established a monthly alumni Mass at different parishes in South Florida and a monthly service opportunity at the Missionaries of Charity soup kitchen. In November, the alumni Mass at St. Augustine Catholic Church was offered in memory of deceased members of our community. In December, we completed a 33-day Marian Consecration with 30 alumni participating, culminating in a Mass at Our Lady of Belen Chapel on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Through this journey, participants explored Mary’s role as our Heavenly Queen, who intercedes for us before her Son, and as our Spiritual Mother, who continually prays for her children.

Looking ahead, future plans include Formation Nights focused on the pillars of our faith, as well as alumni participation in campus faith events such as the Eucharistic Procession in early January and the 40-Hour Devotion during Ignatian Week. The continued growth of our Catholic Jesuit identity will rely on representatives—our “class missionaries”—from each graduating class to promote these initiatives and encourage their classmates to “cast out into the deep” (Duc in Altum), as Jesus commanded, as we work to evangelize and accompany our brothers in Christ. The CJI prayer, read at the commencement of all our alumni gatherings, inspires our work.