My first encounter with Iraqis occurred in , when I taught physics and mathematics at the Jesuit secondary school, Baghdad College. Even though I was dismissed from Baghdad along with 60 other Jesuits in when the Baath party took over the government, my Iraqi students have never been far from my thoughts: partly because teaching Iraqi youth was so intriguing and partly because of my continued contact with our graduates.
In Iraq was granted its independence by the League of Nations. That very same year the Jesuits arrived in Baghdad. One of the highest priorities of St. Ignatius had been a mission to Islam, which was realized in later centuries in Egypt, Syria and Turkey.
About years ago two Jesuits were sent to Baghdad to investigate the feasibility of starting a school. After their caravan was robbed twice while crossing the Syrian desert, they notified the Roman Curia that the time was not yet opportune. In , however, Pius XI decided the time had come, and at the request of the Iraqi bishops four Jesuits were sent to start a high school. With an enrollment of 1,, the college accepted applicants from the top 10 percent of the primary schools.
It became such a great success that in the government gave the Jesuits acres of land about 14 miles south of B. The grant was a stunning sign of the esteem in which the Jesuits were held. Although Muslim boys were admitted to both schools from the very beginning, the objectives of the mission never included proselytizing Muslims.
Over a period of 37 years, Jesuits served in Baghdad and in so doing discovered its fascinating history. The splendid cultures that flourished there for the past five millennia included Sumer, Ur of the Chaldees, Nineveh, Babylon and Baghdad of the Caliphs.
