"Dear brothers and sisters, may our holy father Ignatius help us to preserve discernment, our precious legacy, as an ever timely treasure to be poured out on the Church and on the world."

On March 12, the Society of Jesus celebrates the 400th anniversary of the canonizations of St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Francis Xavier. Here are six interesting facts about this important moment in the life of the Jesuits.

Called “the Chekhov of the suburbs” for his intimate if painful portraits of American suburban life, John Cheever was a prose master and, said one reviewer, “a boyish scamp.”

Last week he was a doctoral student at Santa Clara University. This week he is helping to lead a Jesuit humanitarian offensive over the phone. Tomorrow he will be in Poland leading that relief effort in person.

Prosecutors announced charges against former president Alfredo Cristiani and a dozen other people, including former military officers, in the massacre. The list of charges will apparently include murder, terrorism and conspiracy.

My new motto has become, “Preach the Exercises always; when necessary, use words.”