In October 2020, the Iñigo House was officially born, at the same time as the creation of JRS Luxembourg. Backed by the Jesuit chapel, the House aims to be a place of welcome and outreach, and to be open to the questions of the world and of each human being. In the Church, it is complementary to the parishes, integrated in diverse social realities, open to ecological, artistic and fraternal creativity. The charter of the House defines its vocation around the four universal apostolic preferences of the Company. Like bees around a hive, groups of children, young people or adults come to the Inigo House: JRS welcomes a hundred refugees each week for French lessons and organises activities (creative workshops, discovery outings, creation of a network for internships and summer jobs). The association accompanies young refugees who often arrive without their families. 150 people from Eucharistic Youth Movement (EYM) and 100 children take part in catechesis. Around 30 young professionals in the MAGIS team meet every month. A children's theatre company brightens up the hive and its garden. On Saturdays, a “Laudato si’ garden team” of a dozen people gets together to bring life back to a green space that is just waiting to unfold its full potential each season. Ecological lunches are organised after mass, once a month. There are meetings in the evening: Council, Christian Life Community, liturgical team, Laudato si’ in Action team, baptisms, Families & Co, etc. Hundreds of worker bees bring their skills, joys and difficulties, creating a beautiful dynamic. However, an objective remains: to create more bridges between the various groups. New projects will undoubtedly arise! Christian Motsch SJ and Patricia Jamar

52 heads of Jesuit schools from France and Belgium met on January 18, 19 and 20 at the school La Providence in Amiens, France. All of these principals are secular. They meet regularly by country or by region, and between Belgians and French, once every two or three years. This was the case in Amiens, in January. We benefited from a newly renovated auditorium and colourful decorations in the corridors of the school thanks to the Jesuit Week which had taken place a few days before. These three days, around the theme of discernment, were animated by a team from the Ignatian Pedagogical Centre. Fr. Pascal Sevez sj had invited Patrick Goujon sj for an intervention which immediately set the tone: the art of Ignatian discernment must help those in charge in the school world; take the time to discern when circumstances push for quick decisions; devote this time to getting back into indifference; do the exercise of giving weight to the alternative towards which we do not spontaneously lean. Obviously, these words seemed to hit the bull's eye with the heads of establishments. On the second day, Fr. Nikolaas Sintobin sj, a Flemish Jesuit, presented parts of the Exercises of Saint Ignatius. Lastly, we discovered Amiens’ cathedral thanks to a local clergy guide whose enthusiasm and culture made it possible to forget the freezing cold of the evening. It was good that the Jesuits could share what is at the heart of their experience; it was good to see how lay people appropriated this experience; it was very good for French and Belgians to meet and share their qualities. The next seminar will take place in Belgium, probably in two years. Fr. Thierry Dobbelstein sj, Coordination of Jesuit Colleges and Schools (Cocéjé), and member of the Jesuit community of Namur

In the increasingly international and competitive context of higher education and research, the Centre Sèvres – Jesuit Faculties of Paris continues its development as a formation centre on a European scale, providing solid training to the students who come from the Jesuits, the Ignatian family as well as other congregations. The Centre Sèvres is well known across the Provinces of the Society of Jesus for the quality of its teaching and pedagogy, even though they sometimes surprise students who are accustomed to a very vertical transmission of knowledge. The academic team wants to improve those links and continue to share its formation project. A symbolic and user-friendly material The Management Board has created a new newsletter sent to superiors of Jesuit communities around the world and of some other congregations. Published in three languages (French, English, Spanish), this printed material uses the codes of a newspaper with briefs, testimonials and in-depth articles. Its name, Paris Buzz, recalls the centre’s location in the heart of the French capital, a key city in the formation of Ignatius of Loyola and which still vibrates with intellectual, cultural and spiritual life. A Professional and unifying material Intended for people in charge, the content focuses on academic subjects – pedagogy, research news, key topics of student sessions, etc. In addition to its informative role, this newsletter plays a unifying role internally: many contributors, among teachers, students and members of the administration, participate in its development (editors, translators, photographers, etc.). Clémentine MONOD (Communication of the Centre Sèvres)

Aurélie Blondel is a member and the vice-president of the Diony's Voice choir, in the northern suburbs of Paris. She shares her musical journey and how she discovered spirituality thanks to this association. On June 21, 2017, on World Music Day, I took an unusual route to return home. Passing in front of the church, I heard a choir and I was magnetized by their voices and energy. I thought about it all summer, I hesitated, then I finally auditioned in September. Diony's Voice was created in 2016 in Saint-Denis (north of Paris) by Fr. Louis Lorieux sj. The choir brings together students and young professionals around a repertoire of spirituals, gospel and African songs. It’s an opportunity for many young adults to access a musical culture and especially to meet people, open up to others, and find their voice – and their way – and I found mine there. I had never heard of the Society of Jesus before. When I joined the choir, I did not know that it involved a few Jesuits and members of the Ignatian family, which could have made me give up on it, as I had kept my distance from religion for years. But meeting them was a real gift. I was welcomed as I was, with my doubts and reluctance, which gradually gave way to trust. Choral singing revealed the world to me like a choir, showing me that, united, with our singularities, we can live as one. Although it is non-confessional, Diony's Voice has been my source of spiritual "awakening", and I am grateful for the people I met, who have gradually become dear friends. It has been the first step on a path of hope that I am now taking, led by the Ignatian spirituality which I am learning to discover step by step. Pictures: © Damien Tomezzoli

A round table with JRS Belgium and Centre Avec. On December 20, at the Forum Saint-Michel in Brussels, JRS Belgium held, in partnership with the Centre Avec, a round table on its monitoring work carried out within closed centres. The round table was a friendly moment with different actors working with detainees in prison or in closed centres. Everyone spoke about their work, the hope felt but also the tensions and discouragement. Ruben Bruynooghe, who visits people in a detention centre, explained the basics of our work. We try as best as we can to abolish the centre system because it is unfair and causes a lot of suffering. The detainees do not understand what they did wrong to find themselves locked up 24 hours a day in a centre, other than not having proper papers. Their comfort in this harsh reality lies in our visits. We share their loneliness and their hopes. Because we visit them regularly, a relationship can be forged. All this was explained during the round table, to which many Jesuits came. As the director of JRS Belgium, the event has given me motivation to organise other round tables about the Jesuits and the spirituality of Saint Ignatius.

EOF 2022 Province Assembly in Versailles.  The yearly assembly of the Province of French-speaking Western Europe took place from December 27 to 30. Unlike other years, it brought together not only 130 Jesuits, but also 50 lay people from France, Belgium and Luxembourg. The theme of the assembly was collaboration in mission.  These few days were an opportunity to discuss the theme of collaboration, to relax and to pray together.  The participants talked of the links between Ignatian spirituality and collaboration, and shared their experience of collaboration in their various missions – places of collaboration, gratitude and difficulties, hope for the future.  Many lay people underlined the great trust placed in them in the frame of their work. The Jesuits emphasized the importance of the presence of lay people working alongside them or within organisations linked to the Society of Jesus.  At the end of the assembly, Fr. François Boëdec, Provincial, emphasized that everyone – Jesuits, lay people, religious, friends, employees and voluntary collaborators, men and women – are servants and collaborators in the mission of Christ, listening attentively to the Holy Spirit:  “Today, collaboration is an essential characteristic of our apostolic impetus. We could not have the same impetus without you, lay people and religious of other congregations who work with us. It is a chance to discover other ways to serve God. We are engaged in a specific organisation, but we are all connected to a larger action.”  Jésuites EOF