About Us: The Ignatian Spirituality Center

History of the Ignatian Spirituality Center 

In the late 1980s, Jesuits from Rockhurst University, St. Francis Xavier Parish and Rockhurst High School began providing opportunities for lay people to experience the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Over the next 10 years, the number of people making the Spiritual Exercises increased each year. Interest grew rapidly!

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Alumni whose lives had been radically changed campaigned for an organized program to train prayer guides in the Ignatian tradition solely to help more lay people make the Spiritual Exercises.

In August 2001, an Ignatian Spirituality Program was formally established in Kansas City, with St. Francis Xavier Church as its base of operations. Fr. James Blumeyer, S.J., was appointed Assistant Pastor at the parish, with running the program as his primary responsibility.

The program grew into the Ignatian Spirituality Center of Kansas City, serving the Kansas City Metropolitan area with short Ignatian prayer programs and providing training and strong support for Ignatian prayer guides to give the Spiritual Exercises.

Today we have over 40 trained Ignatian prayer guides, 350 Alumni of the Spiritual Exercises and over 1,000 people who have participated in our short programs.

In August 2026, the Center formally became part of Rockhurst University to help us expand our reach. We are housed within the Office of Mission and Ministry.