On November 20, Fr. José M. Guibert SJ gave a talk entitled “Leadership Lessons from St. Francis Xavier.” The talk was hosted by the Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies and was open for all to attend.
Fr. Guibert is a member of the Society of Jesus and hails from the Basque country in Spain. He has been the Rector of the University of Deusto in Spain for the past ten years and is currently the Gasson Professor at Boston College for the 2023-24 academic year.
The presentation itself was hosted in the Murray Function Room and was rather well attended. The room was mostly filled with other Jesuits, professors, and graduate students; I was probably one of only a handful of undergraduate students present, if not the only one.
Fr. Guibert opened his presentation with the rather self-referential question, “What do you think we can discover in the topic, ‘leadership lessons according to St. Francis Xavier?’” From this, he went on to describe the importance of studying the fundamental components and best practices of leadership, especially for those in academic or administrative roles.
He then identified four components of leadership that he wished to address from the perspective of St. Francis Xavier’s life: the mission, the leading person, the people and teams led, and the institution itself, its structure and needs.
After briefly elaborating on these four topics and asking further questions about them for consideration, he moved on to the life of St. Francis Xavier. He notes towards the end of his biography that, “The difficult thing is to know the inside of [St. Francis Xavier],” while merely knowing the “exterior” facts of his life is simple.
Fr. Guibert makes clear that for St. Francis Xavier, his mission was clear: “to expand the faith in that part of the world.” For Francis Xavier, that meant utilizing his spiritual and administrative authority to help bring Christ to the Orient.
As for the person of St. Francis Xavier, Fr. Guibert explains that it came to him as “a call from God.” He never could have accomplished what he did in India and elsewhere without drawing on the power of God on a daily basis through prayer and the cultivation of the interior life.
Moving on to his section on the leading person, Fr. Guibert here lingered a little longer on the topic and tried to draw some broader themes such as the Jesuit focus on Cura Personalis, or care for the whole person. Herein Fr. Guibert gave the example of St. Francis Xavier’s personalized approach to the sacrament of Confession and how he tried to take the time to work with each individual where they were.
In the final section on the institution itself, Fr. Guibert explained that St. Francis Xavier “continuously thought about unmet needs,” in whatever situation that he was in. Whether it was dealing with the thousands of baptized but unattended Christians in Southern India, or the need for schools for common children in Goa, St. Francis Xavier was always looking for ways to work with the institution to bring about the greatest good he could.
Fr. Guibert ended the presentation with a few reflections and an overview of St. Francis Xavier and his relationship to the four principles he embodied. After this, he opened the event up to a question and answer session briefly for about 15 minutes and then dismissed the audience.
James Pritchett is a Sophomore studying History and Classics with a deep affinity for his native land, the Golden State. Despite being the most recent lover of Catholicism on the Torch staff, he is the C101 editor and his main interests consist of reading Dostoyevsky, playing devil’s advocate, and correcting people on niche theological heresies.
- The Pope, Fatima, and World Youth Day - February 26, 2024
- Fr. José Guibert on St. Francis Xavier - November 29, 2023
- Where is Faith When I Doubt? - October 30, 2023