Bienvenue a Paris! Welcome. These were words echoed throughout our stay in Paris as the delegates for formation gathered from the 9th - 13th November.  A hospitality which was very palpable in every community we stayed in or visited.   The theme which was discussed in detail was that of integral formation in general but most especially within the context of Centre Sèvres (the theology faculty of the French-speaking province in Paris). Overall, the group was motivated and much taken by this theme as we were all very impressed at the way Centre Sèvres truly strive to integrate the four dimensions (spiritual, community, academic, and apostolic) which make up this integral formation. There was surely much gratitude for the formation offered in Paris.  During our days together, we also had time to share our diverse situations and challenges we face which resonated within the themes discussed throughout our Parisian days. These discussions were very fruitful and much needed for all of us present.  In a special way we were very grateful to the inputs given us by Fr Franck Janin sj and Fr Mark Ravizza sj. Insights into the realities the Society is living and facing today and which we as formators are called to reflect upon. Their presence amongst us was very enriching and appreciated.  We also took the opportunity to thank Fr Janin sj for his dedication to the conference over these years of service as he now nears the end of his mandate.  The last afternoon was spent walking around Paris on the Ignatian way which was much appreciated by al of us and this then was concluded with an Eucharist in the crypt of the martyrium of Saint Denis in Montmartre followed by a lovely sumptuous dinner offered by the provincial of the EOF province.   At the end of our meeting, it was decided that next year we will hold our meeting in Portugal. Once again thank you to all the organizing team who really went out of their way to make us feel at home.  Au revoir. A bientôt! Michael Bugeja sj EUM Delegate for Formation

About 70 students from four Jesuit schools – Belvedere College, Clongowes Wood College, Coláiste Iognáid and Crescent College Comprehensive – participated in the first ever MAGIS Student Leadership Conference in Tullamore Court Hotel, Co. Offaly, on 26 October 2022. The event included an opening talk by John K. Guiney SJ, Director of Irish Jesuits International, as well as three workshops throughout the day and round-table discussions. Aifric Keogh, Olympic bronze medalist and Coláiste Iognáid graduate, also gave a talk on the importance of resilience and perseverance. Below, Belvedere College students reflect on their experience of the conference.  MAGIS Student Leadership Conference 2022  The event was well organized and was split into 45 minute workshops and seminars. The day contained many inspirational guest speakers and engaging group discussions allowing us to reflect on ourselves and then explore our views and attitudes with others.  One workshop that stood out was the topic of Change Theory. The main outcome was that a collaborative working together can put pressure on politicians to take action and therefore can achieve more significant results than individual actions. Through the far stronger efforts of a unified group, we can then incite “System Change” and help tackle injustices in the world.  Hidden World Problems  Another interesting seminar talked about forgotten crises still happening around the world. We learned that the invasion of Ukraine has drawn the full attention of the media resulting in other issues with human rights being overshadowed. Due to Ukraine’s higher political standing, their issues are getting broadcasted over smaller nations that don’t get the recognition they deserve. There are tragedies taking place at the moment in countries such as Tigray, Yemen and Darfur which are practically unheard of in today’s generation. These conflicts don’t attract any media attention and the people affected don’t receive much assistance. As Jesuit students it is our responsibility to shine light on these issues and to help those in need who are often forgotten about.  We also became aware that media outlets such as newspapers can be influenced by powerful shareholders causing reports to contain bias or exclude certain pieces of important information that the owner does not wish to be included. We were given two objective resources: Media Ownership Ireland » and  Irish Jesuits International »  Concepts of Leadership  The last seminar we attended was on leadership. Everyone in the room had differing views on what leadership is. Some believed that it means having power whilst others believed that it means to serve the masses and desires of the people. However, we arrived at the realisation that being a leader means making a difference and inspiring others to go far by setting a good example. In the words of Pope Francis: “Be men and women with others and for others: true champions at the service of others.”  These three workshops tied together nicely under the topic of leadership and helped us understand the meaning of attending a Jesuit school. It enabled us to conclude what attitude good leaders should have and what we can change to improve the Student Council in Belvedere.  

The US Metropolitan Museum of Art is touring an exhibition, ‘The Tudors: Art and Majesty', from 3rd Oct 2022 to 24th September 2023. The exhibition will be on display in New York, Cleveland and San Francisco, and will feature important Catholic artefacts from the British Province of Jesuits. Tour dates - New York (2 October 2022 - 8 January 2023), Cleveland (21 February - 14 May 2023), San Francisco (26 June - 24 September 2023) Working with the Met Museum, Jesuits in Britain have brought to the US a collection of rare Catholic artifacts of immense beauty and historical value which sit at the heart of a stunning new exhibition - The Tudors: Art and Majesty. The centrepiece is a Tudor cope (liturgical vestment worn by Roman Catholic clergy) which was commissioned by Henry VII for use in Westminster Abbey. It has been described by experts as "one of the most expensive and prestigious commissions in the early Tudor dynasty". During the iconoclasm of the English Reformation, when many Catholic artefacts were destroyed, the cope was smuggled abroad and kept safe by Jesuits in the Spanish Netherlands. Alongside the cope, the Jesuits have lent St Thomas More's crucifix, and St Edmund Campion's book, Decem Rationes, of which only six survive. Alongside the three museum exhibitions, we are planning a parallel tour in two of the cities - New York and San Francisco - consisting of lectures and events to bring alive the faith these artefacts represent and what their legacy is today. This legacy will focus on the institutions of Stonyhurst College and Campion Hall, Oxford, places where faith and human flourishing is nurtured by the Jesuits in those who will take this mission forward in the twenty-first century. This tour seeks not only to preserve the memory of faith under persecution, but also to inspire faith in those who will visit the exhibits and introduce them to the mission of the Jesuits today.

It was in the Autumn of 2021 that the European Laudato Si’ Alliance (ELSiA) organised its first ecology workshop in Taizé. As some might know, ELSiA is a Brussels-based alliance of several faith-inspired organisations to which JESC belongs, that collaborate together in order to promote the ecological vision and proposed practices of Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ encyclical letter. This first workshop went very well, so the call for a second workshop this November 2022, dedicated to “Ecological Conversion” and taking place also in Taizé, was welcomed with much expectation  So, to Taizé we went, on the weekend of 10-13th November, 25 people from several different countries and organisations, united by the work and care for our common Home. The facilities in Taizé are sober and simple, and the beauty of the place (in the French Borgogne region), the songs of the common prayers (three times a day, according to the centuries-old monastic tradition) and the hospitality of the brothers (who invited us for their table for the Sunday lunch) make Taizé a truly remarkable place.  As for the contents, the workshop had challenging inputs from different speakers, namely Fr. Federico Tartaglia and his personal call for unifying religion and nature, and Dr. Mark Charlesworth and the importance of Aquinas’ theory of virtues for proposing today a new way of living. We were also invited to immerse in nature, in “experiential moments” conducted by the experts Christine Kristoff and Dr. Raffele Rufo, as a complement  to our natural western tendency of “intellectualising reality”. There was also time for a zoom connection with two participants in COP27, the Member of European Parliament Pierre Larrouturou and the African activist Tanin Kuntai, who shared about the ongoing negotiations and the hopes and frustrations they were living in the Sharm el-Sheik meeting. Last morning, we heard the team of the innovative “Casa Velha” ecology and spirituality project in Portugal, a place where visitors are invited to learn and allow themselves to be led by the rhythms and “voice” of Mother Earth.  At the end, each participant was to summarise the learnings of these days. Some felt enriched by the intellectual inputs and shared reflections. Others named the serenity of a different style of living, in deep connection with nature. And others mentioned still the interconnectedness among all participants, when there’s the time for “real listening and sharing”. Being now back to the European cities where most of us work and live, the several imprints of this Taizé meeting remain, and drive us further in the direction of the individual and societal “ecological conversion” that our planet, and people affected by climate change, urge for. 

A "Brotherhood Sunday" takes place every month at the Jesuit Spiritual Centre of Penboc'h, in South Brittany. A day to meet and spend time with people from all walks of life. Every month, there are regulars of the centre, curious people who want to know it better as well as people who come alone and are looking to spend time with others and to bond. This day of interaction and sharing takes place in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Everyone participates according to their wishes and availability – going to Mass, sharing a meal, talking over coffee. “Talks and exchanges are always lively, open and kind. We often come back happy, peaceful or a little less lonely” say Bénédicte and Martin, who come regularly to Brotherhood Sunday. Various proposals are made according to the desires – some go for a walk, others play board games or watch a movie, etc. In November 2022, an Ukrainian couple, hosted in France for several months, shared their experience. Jésuites EOF

After 12 years of absence, Croatian Jesuits returned to North Macedonia in September this year. Fr. Vinko Maslać and Fr. Marijan Bešlić will be responsible for the Cathedral Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Skopje. On September 4, they were welcomed and presented to the community by the bishop and eparch Kiril Stojanov. This is the fourth time that Jesuits are in Macedonia. Italian Jesuits arrived for the first time in the second half of the 19th century as so-called “flying missionaries.” In 1917, the Jesuits of the Albanian mission of the Veneto Province took charge of the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Skopje, and in 1922, the Vice-Province of Yugoslavia took charge of the parish. The Jesuits left Skopje in 1935. Then, in 1963, Jesuits returned to Skopje. However, they had to leave again in 1970. More than thirty years later, Jesuits were again in Macedonia: they remained in Skopje from 2003 until 2010. In North Macedonia, Catholics make up less than 1% of the 2 million population. According to the statistics of the Diocese of Skopje, there are two parishes of the Roman Rite (Skopje and Bitola) with around 3700 Roman Catholics. In the Greek Catholic eparchy, founded in 2017, there are roughly 12 thousand Catholics of the Byzantine Rite in seven parishes. Luka Ilić SJ