Title:Magis Immersion Seminars

Expanding worldviews with spiritual trips

• Established by Fr. Mark Bosco, S.J., with the generous support of multiple anonymous donors in 2019
• Three-credit courses include weeklong class trips shepherded by a faculty member and spiritual leader
• Each course focuses on a different location

A key pillar of Georgetown education is cultivating a global mindset, and deepening students’ understanding of and connections to different faiths and cultures. 

“Global immersion experiences allow students to not just travel, but to come alive to the similarities and differences of our common humanity,” says Father Mark Bosco, S.J., vice president for Mission & Ministry. 

Magis Immersion Seminars, in partnership with the Office of Mission & Ministry, offer both an educational and experiential opportunity that builds on over two decades of the Magis Immersion Program. 

“Each seminar is place-based, deeply examining the context of a location from its history and culture, to its politics, economics, and peoples,” says Ryann Craig, Ph.D., director of academic initiatives and special assistant to the vice president of Mission & Ministry.

Students are eligible for the seminars from their sophomore year onward. After seven weeks of coursework on campus in the spring semester, students travel during spring break or summer for the onsite component, accompanied by a chaplain and faculty member.

Fostering development beyond the classroom

The ten-day journey allows students to live out the Jesuit principles of faith that does justice and contemplation in action, with time for reflection after visiting places of impact, including holy sites like the Jordan River or St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. 

The courses also offer cultural connections, such as engaging with Catholic and Jewish communities in Poland. During recent trips to Jordan, participants shared a meal with Syrian refugees and met Crown Prince Hassan bin Talal.  

The travel opportunities are made possible by the generosity of alumni, parents, and friends of Georgetown. 

An anonymous donor funded the first trip to Italy in 2019. Current use gifts continue to support the program, as well as an endowment created in memory of student Matteo Sachman, who had hoped to join the course. Led by Fr. Bosco, students went to Rome to study the history of Catholicism, Pilgrimage, and Jesuit identity. Students had the chance to pray at the Tomb of St. Peter, a Mass celebrated by Fr. Bosco in the rooms of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and an Ash Wednesday Mass celebrated by Georgetown alumni studying for the priesthood.  

After the first seminar’s success—called the “best class ever at Georgetown” by one student—Magis Immersion Seminars have widened to other countries and themes. 

Magis Immersion Seminars have been supported by current use gifts from multiple alumni and parents over the years. A course centered on The Footsteps of St. Paul in Greece launched in 2022, funded initially by a gift from parents of alumni, who wanted to provide students with the opportunity to learn about the origins of Christianity and Greek culture. Other donors have provided current use gifts for subsequent trips.

Naomi Eluojierior (N’23), a student in the Greece course, was interested in the trip but wasn’t sure she could attend—until she was advised there was a fund available for her.

“I went on this trip without paying anything,” said Eluojierior. “I was afforded a dream opportunity, and I didn’t have to stress about the financial component. It was at that moment that I realized Georgetown was truly committed to my growth and development far beyond the classroom.” 

Seeing the success and deep impact of these trips, other families established the Magis Immersion Current Use Fund in 2024 to which others can contribute. 

Other programs include Ignatian Tradition and Pilgrimage, which follows the steps of St. Ignatius in Spain, a trip focused on the impact of Christianity in South Korea, and a trip to the Holy Land led by a Jesuit, Imam, and a Rabbi. Additional trips are being planned with Justice and Peace Studies in the School of Foreign Service, as well as the Center for Jewish Civilization.

‘Becoming contemplatives in action’

For Berkley School of Nursing students journeying to Lourdes, France, for a Spirituality of Healthcare course with faculty and chaplain, the experience offered an opportunity for service to others. As volunteers, students assisted visitors who had made a pilgrimage to the baths at The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. 

These unique faith-centered immersion trips offer students, faculty, and chaplains the life-changing opportunity to travel, expand perspectives, and reflect together around new experiences.

“I believe that one of the most important things we can do in Mission & Ministry is offer our students these transformational moments of travel,” says Father Bosco. “Immersion trips form bonds of community between Hoyas, all the while embodying our Georgetown values of being people for others, exploring interreligious understanding, and becoming contemplatives in action.”