Immersions, Exchanges & Pilgrimages

Exploring a world beyond the classroom...

Immersion experiences offer students the opportunity to come to know families and communities directly affected by injustice. Through this learning experience and the development of relationships and friendships, students come to understand and respect a life different from one's own, and to enter into solidarity with the marginalized. The aim is for students to come to a deeper awareness of issues impacting those who live on the margins of society, and to become a voice for the voiceless as they commit to a faith that does justice.

International exchanges give students and their families a chance to experience the rich diversity of other cultures firsthand. Being hosted by a family in a foreign country requires openness to new things, and we reciprocate their kindness and generosity when their students come to our homes. In getting to know the diverse cultures and people of the world, we learn that we are more alike than different and that our differences enrich us rather than divide us.

Pilgrimages are opportunities for students to journey in faith with the hope of increasing and strengthening one’s spirituality and union with the Church’s tradition of prayer, sacraments and community life. Brophy offers students the chance to experience the Camino Ignaciano in Spain, a powerful and physically demanding pilgrimage retracing the steps of Ignatius of Loyola.

List of 5 items.

> International Immersion Experiences and the Camino Ignaciano

El Salvador (two-week summer trip)
Cities and villages throughout El Salvador
Issues Examined: Witness the effects of poverty, migration and war. Learn how the Church has served as a voice for the unheard members of Salvadoran society.

Peru (Immersion trip and international exchange: Brophy students spend time in Peru, and Peruvian students visit Brophy during the following school year)
Lima, Cusco and Arequipa
Issues Examined: Examine issues of poverty, migration, climate change and fair trade as you grow through learning, service and spiritual reflection.

Puebla, Mexico (two-week summer trip)
Puebla
Issues examined: Immerse yourself in the colonial-era city of Puebla, southeast of Mexico City, as you learn about and experience issues of migration, sustainability, free trade and poverty.

Camino Ignaciano (two-week summer trip)
Catalonia and Basque regions of Spain
Go on pilgrimage to Spain as you follow in the footsteps of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Venture from the castle of Loyola, to the real Manresa, then on to Barcelona and more, as you engage in companionship with your fellow Bronco pilgrims and grow your faith through this profound experience.
> Recurring Immersion Experiences

Kino Border Initiative
Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico
Issues Examined: Immigration, U.S./Mexico Border Issues
Brophy offers a number of day trips to KBI throughout the school year, and two weekend trips.

Oak Flat
Oak Flat Campground, Arizona
Issues Examined: Indigenous Rights, Environmental Justice
> Local Immersion Experiences

Phoenix Urban Plunge
Phoenix, Arizona
Issues Examined: Immigration, homelessness, poverty and other local topics.

Art for Justice
Phoenix, Arizona
Issues Examined: Public art as a force for social change, cultural awareness, political advocacy and spiritual revival.
(A weekend experience that includes spending the night on Brophy's campus.)
> Regional Immersion Experiences

Navajo Nation/Hopi Reservation
St. Jude’s Church in Tuba City, Arizona
Issues Examined: Exploring the storied heritage and modern challenges of Native American cultures; includes work for St. Mary’s Food Bank.

Steps of Kino/Arizona Missions
Southern Arizona
Issues Examined: Exploring the historical interplay between the Catholic faith and native spiritualities, and the challenges facing native peoples in the modern world.

De Anza Trail Eco-mersion
Southern Arizona
Issues Examined: As participants take a route through some of the most beautiful wilderness in Southern Arizona, they will gain a deeper understanding of the importance of sustainability, environmental justice and the integral ecology that Pope Francis advocates in his encyclical "Laudato Si."

L.A. Urban Plunge
Los Angeles, California
Issues Examined: Gang violence, homelessness, urban gentrification, drug addiction and unemployment.
> Domestic Immersion Experiences

United Nations and Human Rights
New York City and Washington, D.C.
Issues Examined: History and contemporary advocacy of human life and human rights such as the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and present-day networking on life issues.

Florida Keys Marine Lab
Florida Keys
Issues Examined: The human impact on climate and the need for environmental justice and integral ecology as set forth in the encyclical "Laudato Si" by Pope Francis.

Civil Rights Immersion for Service Solidarity
Alabama and Georgia
Issues Examined: The history of the Civil Rights Movement, poverty in America, race-related challenges and efforts toward diversity, equity and inclusion.

Appalachia
West Virginia
Issues Examined: Rural poverty, the opioid crisis, environmental and health issues due to coal mining and Appalachian culture.

St. Ignatius Mission
Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana
Issues Examined: Indigenous rights and dignity, environmental justice, rural poverty and faith.