Rev. Dr. James Hanvey, SJ, serves as Secretary for the Service of Faith to the General Curia of the Society of Jesus and Consultor to Fr. Gen. Arturo Sosa, SJ.
Father Hanvey entered the Society of Jesus in 1975 and was ordained in 1983. His D.Phil (Oxon) was on the subject of constructing a contemporary metaphysics of the doctrine of the Trinity in Hegel, Barth and Rahner. After a period as Headmaster of the Jesuit St Aloysius’ College, Glasgow, he taught systematic theology at Heythrop College, University of London, where he was also Head of the Department of Christian Doctrine and Founding Director of the Heythrop Institute for Religion, Ethics and Public Life. He has been a theological consultant to the Bishops of England and Wales and has held the Veale Chair in Ignatian Spirituality at Milltown Park, Dublin. After serving at the University of San Francisco as the Lo Schiavo Professor of Catholic Social Thought, he was appointed Master of Campion Hall in 2013. He served as senior Research Fellow of the Hall in theology and a member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion, Oxford University. Most recently, Fr. Hanvey was appointed by Pope Francis to the Commission on Spirituality for the Synod on Synodality, charged with the task of developing a vision of the spirituality of synodality and organizing a network on synodality and discernment.
Fr. Hanvey serves as Secretary for the Service of Faith. In his current role, he advises Fr. General Sosa, SJ and the General Council on the main issues that the Society must address in the Service of the Faith. The Secretariat collaborates with the other Curia Secretariats to animate the service of faith in all apostolic sectors, while also being responsible for coordinating and supporting the work of Jesuits and co-workers in the sector of Pastoral Ministry and Spirituality, with particular attention to the ministry of the Spiritual Exercises. Fr. Hanvey's ministry and writings are luminous and fertile—and his presentations will set the tone of the 2025 Ignatian Spirituality Conference.
The Listening Heart: An Ignatian Formation in Spiritual Accompaniment
The Listening Heart is a two-year formation program offered by the Ignatian Spirituality Institute for those who feel called and desire to enter the ministry of spiritual companioning. This program offered online with required residency retreats once a year invites participants into a sustained process of learning, prayer, reflection, and personal growth.
More than the development of skills, this is a formation of the heart. Participants are invited to deepen their own relationship with God, grow in freedom and interior awareness, and become more attentive to the sacred pilgrimmage of another person's relationship with God.