The top official of the Society of Jesus told students, faculty and staff Monday at Loyola Marymount University’s Sacred Heart Chapel that “collaboration is at the heart of the mission” of all those who seek a just world.

The keynote address by the Very Rev. Adolfo Nicolás, S.J., opened LMU’s Mission Day, an annual daylong event that gathers the campus community to reflect and discuss aspects of the university’s spiritual goals and priorities. This year’s theme was Companions in Mission.

“Complex problems can’t be met except through companions in mission,” Nicolás said. He emphasized the dual need of a strong identity and a willingness to enter into dialogue with those outside the Roman Catholic faith. “The Jesuit identity is the greatest contribution you bring to any endeavor,” Nicolás said. He went on to say that the tension of identity and diversity will be resolved by deeper understanding and conversation.

Nicolás, 72, was elected superior general in January 2008 and is the 30th successor to St. Ignatius of Loyola, the 16th century founder of the Society of Jesus. A native of Spain, Nicolás spent much of his career in Asia, where he was professor of theology and rector at Sophia University in Tokyo and also Jesuit provincial in Japan. More recently he was moderator of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania.

Nicolás’ visit coincides with the centennial of the Jesuits’ work in California. The California Province serves an area comprised of Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah. During his stay in California, Nicolás will meet with Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles; Archbishop George H. Neiderauer of San Francisco; Bishop Patrick J. McGrath of San Jose; Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento; and Bishop Allen H. Vigneron of Oakland.

To view the webcast of Nicolás’ Mission Day keynote address, visit i.lmu.edu and go to the Featured Webcasts section.