59.2 F
Spokane
Thursday, May 8, 2025
HomeCommentaryGonzaga peace pole a reminder of Jesuit mission

Gonzaga peace pole a reminder of Jesuit mission

Date:

Related stories

New Pope Leo XIV Brings Joy, Perspective on Faith Over Politics

We have a new pope! May the Holy Spirit guide you, Papa!

Why certainty might be the real enemy of peace

Certainty becomes the enemy of peace when it silences doubt. True peace allows both fear and love to shape understanding.

When ‘unprecedented’ is an understatement — Welcome to now

"Unprecedented" is not overworked now: humanity faces a rapid, global metamorphosis — technological, political and spiritual — everywhere and all at once.

How a sudden clinic shutdown upended my husband’s mental healthcare

Therapeutic Solutions clinic in Spokane Valley abruptly closed March 14, leaving 1,800 patients like the author's husband without mental healthcare.

How to heal eco-anxiety with Buddhist principles of interdependence

From chickens to climate action, Tracy Simmons finds hope in backyard ecology and Buddhist values like interdependence, urging local steps to counter eco-anxiety.

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img

An 8-foot-tall cedar peace pole, with a prayer for harmony emblazoned in four languages, has sprouted from the grassy lawn behind College Hall at Gonzaga University.

Venerable Geshe Phelgye, Gonzaga’s first scholar in residence and a Tibetan Buddhist monk, gifted the pole to the university in a formal ceremony Monday as a way to thank the school for its Jesuit mission of service and promotion of peace and social justice.

“I believe this peace pole represents all peace makers around the world throughout history, like Gandhi, like Martin Luther King Jr., like His Holiness the Dalai Lama and many more,” said Geshe Phelgye.

He said when people walk through campus and see the pole, he hopes they’ll be inspired to be inspired to carry out the Jesuit mission.

Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh said the peace pole is a welcome gift that the university is proud to display.

“It represents our aspirations for peace,” he said, adding that he hopes it will be a reminder to those who pass by it that being peaceful takes action.

The pole, made of red cedar, has the prayer, “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written in English, Tibetan, Hebrew and Arab. Geshe Phelgye used his own resources to have the peace pole built.

Cree Whelshula, of the Coeur d'Alene people, said cedar is symbolic in Native American traditions, as it’s often burned during invocations, allowing the smoke to carry prayers to the creator. She was one of many speakers at the blessing ceremony and said because cedar, and peace poles, are found scattered throughout the map, Gonzaga is now tied sacredly to other lands.

More photos are available on our Facebook page.

Tracy Simmons
Tracy Simmons
Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of FāVS.News, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Associate Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.

Our Sponsors

spot_img
spot_img
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest


0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
spot_img
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x