Two Magis routes were offered to the 360 young Ignatian pilgrims led by the EOF Province to experience World Youth Day (WYD) in Lisbon: the International Magis Route from 21 July to 7 August and the Expresso Route from 29 July to 7 August. Jesuits also took part in diocesan routes and others accompanied an MEJ camp. Here's a look back at a fortnight that was invigorating, prayerful and joyful. The International Magis Route “Ten days before the start of WYD, 200 young people and their Ignatian guides left Toulouse for Lisbon. But why such a rush? Before the big meeting with the Pope, we took part in MAGIS 2023 Portugal, the international meeting of Ignatian youth. In his warm welcome, the Provincial of the Portuguese Jesuits emphasised how the presence of young people from all over the world, including some from countries at war, was a sign of the "future full of hope" that we want to build together. During various « experiments », we immersed ourselves in small international communities to find God in all things. We experienced some very powerful moments around Portuguese or Spanish culture, through African dances or on a surfboard, during a pilgrimage or living in an eco-location... Being able to talk about our own experience of God in depth with young people from the other side of the world was transforming and a source of strong and unlikely friendships in the Lord. So we entered the WYD already full of inner motions and stories to tell! The hills of Lisbon were filled with young people celebrating everywhere, marvelling at the beauty and charm of the city on the banks of the Tagus. Pope Francis' words to each of us and to the Church were deeply moving. But he also touched us with his invitation to silence, to let God look at us with love, to not be afraid, to be a Church with open doors... for everyone! We went home with memories that will last a lifetime. I remember the silence of more than a million people in adoration after a magnificent sunset, and the beautiful and original Way of the Cross which, with Christ, helped us to deal with the problems facing young people today. We return home knowing that we are loved, welcomed and met, like Mary and Elizabeth, ready and willing to bring this Good News to the world, wherever we are.” Sr Teresa RAMOS, sister of The Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (aci), responsible for the International Magis Route The fast option: the Expresso Route "We took 160 people to WYD with the ambition of creating an atmosphere of depth by spending two days in Loyola before Lisbon. The gamble paid off. Loyola allowed us to get to know each other and to marvel at the diversity of our origins, our backgrounds and our questions. Our attachment to Christ united us, and we shared serious questions about the place of women, the diversity of believers, the wounds of certain young people who are not well received here or there in the Church... What a wealth of reflection and what challenges to honour! Daily life was punctuated by teamwork and sharing, while discovering the life of Ignatius by visiting the house where he was born. Workshops allowed us to reflect on our emotional life, discernment, time management and questions of faith. We also suggested drawing, looking at works of art, dancing and improvisation. Young people are not lacking in creativity: the St Ignatius vigil was a festival of humour and depth based on the Pilgrim's Journey. Afterwards, we went to the WYD in Lisbon, aware of our expectations and free to choose the activities we wanted to do. It was a happy time, despite the dense and sometimes oppressive crowds. The welcome we received in Palmela from the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus won our hearts and gave our bodies a good rest. Many thanks to them." Benoît de MAINTENANT sj (Paris - Saint-Louis de Gonzague)

In February 2023, a Belgian collective launched the "Papotes Politiques" at the Café Nomade in Brussels, in partnership with the Centre Avec and La Viale Europe. Simon-Pierre de Montpellier, editor-in-chief of the review En Question published by the Centre Avec, looks back on this cycle of five seminars on Christianity and social justice. Café Nomade is a non-profit project aimed at setting up a social café in Brussels, where anyone wishing to create links, share knowledge or simply relax can find solid support. The idea is that the moderators (who claim no particular expertise) present a book they have read and suggest some food for thought. This is followed by table discussions, then a plenary session during which each table spokesperson shares the "nuggets" experienced by their group. The conversations continue over a drink in a relaxed café atmosphere. Christianity and Social Justice From February to June 2023, Café Nomade organised a series of five informal seminars on the theme of "Christianity and social justice" at the Communion de la Viale Europe in Brussels. This first cycle was a success. Around 50 people came to chat on each evening. In a relaxed atmosphere, the discussions were rich. The venue revealed its assets to us: the potential of its various spaces (bar, library, garden, etc.), its location in a multicultural district in the heart of Brussels and its links with a community (La Viale Europe), a housing estate (the Béguinage) and social associations (Jesuit European Social Centre, Jesuit Refugee Service Europe, Sortir de la Violence, etc.). At the end of this first cycle, we decided to settle here. Café Nomade is settling in. There will be other Papotes Politiques, as well as social events, cultural evenings, art workshops, crafts, moments of rejuvenation and celebration... Simon-Pierre de Montpellier

"What does the sky mean to you? This was the question put to the participants in the JRS France (Jesuit Refugee Service) Summer School, as part of the "Sharing the Sky" project: a multicultural, collective and participatory performance that took place on 6 and 7 July in Paris. For many years, JRS France has been fighting against the isolation and social exclusion of refugees and welcoming them into its community. In particular, JRS France offers the « École d'été », a solidarity-based programme combining French courses, convivial activities and an intercultural dimension. The Summer School ran from 4 to 22 July in Paris. Every day, around 70 people came to learn French, relax and meet new people... As part of the Summer School, volunteers and exiles put on a performance entitled "Sharing the Sky" on 6 and 7 July. Man has always questioned the sky In a world torn apart by armed conflict, territorial disputes, inequality of rights, and affected by environmental degradation and its corollaries, the sky seems to remain the last space of freedom, open and shared by all, in our search for the infinite and the absolute. Man has always questioned the sky for many reasons, some conflicting, some complementary. Everyday life depends on the weather and the passage of time, and the celestial vault, the path of the clouds and the stars, is the first indicator of this. No traveller starts his day without looking up at the sky; no poet does not find in the spectacle of the ether the material of his imagination; no astronomer does not wonder, through the stars, about his place in the universe and its galaxies; no prayer goes by without invoking the sky... A mirror of the soul, the sky is the shared ground for all kinds of explorations, physical, symbolic and spiritual, alone, in pairs, families or groups... "What does the sky mean to you? For this performance, local participants and exiles were invited to respond collectively, each using their own words and means, to the following question: "What does the sky mean to you? They made kites to carry their messages, using bamboo sticks, plastic canvas and cotton thread. They also wrote their vision of the sky on the ground in chalk: poetic and dreamy writings expressed in all languages and scripts, signs and symbols... They were accompanied by a playlist put together by the exiled participants during the workshops and activities in June. On 7 July, during the closing evening of the event, a choreography was performed in the heart of the Maison Magis, combining dance steps and kite flying. Team JRS France

The Jesuit Schools’ Theatre Festival took place in Amiens on Ascension Day. Pascal Gauderon, coordinator, looks back on the event. We enjoyed the well-oiled program put together by the organizing team, under a radiant and constant sunshine, just like the faces filled with wonder at the talent and friendship shared: 9 shows given by troupes of high-school students from Amiens (Providence), Reims (Saint-Joseph), Lyon (Saint-Marc et Belmont), Bordeaux (Tivoli), Marseille (Provence), offered a wide range of authors (from Shakespeare to contemporary works retouched by the students, via a mix of Chekhov... ), styles (we laughed a lot, but tragedy was often present too), moods (from Antiquity to the present day, via the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the 19th century and the 1940s... from Russia to England, via Japan and Greece...), staging styles (from the most sober to the most technically sophisticated)... In addition to these plays, which were performed in front of the other troupes and a small outside audience, a wide choice of workshops enabled festival-goers to practice various related arts (improvisation, vocal range, dance, set design...) or simply play (field hockey, for example) or discover Amiens, its cathedral and greenery, in peace and quiet. Beginning with a parish mass where the parish priest, an artist himself, made a strong link between the art of theatre and the mystery being celebrated (those who weren't there were able to discover, instead, the life of Ignatius of Loyola, evoked on stage by a Jesuit), and ending with a literal midnight mass for volunteers, this festival was truly Jesuit: driven by our pedagogy of re-reading, but also naturally enough by the very fact of theatre, by emulation, peer education, Magis, reflection on the fundamental subjects tackled in the course of the plays (love, commitment, reality TV and the fabrication of lies, missionary vocation, politics and freedom, healing of memory...), with this taste for loving and serving in many ways... theatre being a particularly appreciable and appreciated one. Pascal Gauderon SJ

The Centre Teilhard de Chardin has opened its doors on the Saclay plateau, home to 30,000 students and over 12,000 teaching and research staff. From June 2 to 4, the three-day inauguration was an opportunity to invite all those for whom the Centre Teilhard Chardin is intended: students, professors and researchers, people living in the surrounding area, donors and the curious. Father Provincial François Boëdec emphasized how "the Centre Teilhard de Chardin is deeply in line with the apostolic intuitions of the Society of Jesus: a presence among students, teachers and researchers, not in a disembodied way, or on the simple model of a chaplaincy, but articulated in different ways to the realities and questions that concern our contemporaries, particularly with regard to science and technology. A place called to be a place of life, crossroads, exchanges and celebrations". The Archbishop of Paris, Mgr Laurent Ulrich, referred particularly to the contribution of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who "was not afraid to pass on this sparkling knowledge by building a bridge between the shores of faith and science, of Christian revelation and matter, without denying anything of each of these fields." For his part, Mgr Michel Pansard, Bishop of Évry, went back over the stages of the project, citing the various players involved in bringing the Centre to fruition. "A place where the scientific and technical world can meet and dialogue with spirituality. A place to help the actors of this world, these men and women inhabited by questions of meaning...". Finally, Jean-Marie Duthilleul, the Centre's architect, presented the features of the 1,600 m2, 4-storey building, designed with environmentally friendly materials. In particular, he wanted a conical chapel, with no corners, all round, symbolizing the infinite goodness of Christ. Following these speeches, the Centre's Scientific Committee led the inaugural conference on the theme of "What kind of Enlightenment for Today? Can we advance the idea of progress? More than 300 people attended the open day on Saturday June 3, which included a tour of the premises, workshops and an exhibition on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. A mass to consecrate the Notre-Dame de la Sagesse (Our Lady of Wisdom) chapel was celebrated on June 4, after which the Provincial sent four Jesuit companions on mission to students at schools on the Saclay plateau. Watch the various speeches and the replay of the opening conference:  LINK Jésuites EOF

For several Tuesdays in a row, the Forum Saint-Michel is experimenting with a contemplative walk in Brussels, an original initiative that its organizers would like to comment on.  After various 4- or 5-week "Accompanied Prayers" (daily Ignatian prayer and weekly personal guidance), or contemplative mornings in our chapel during certain liturgical periods, the Forum Saint-Michel wanted to explore other paths. So, as this text is being written, we're in the midst of a 4-Tuesday cycle of "Praying in the streets, contemplating the city".  And rest assured, despite the photo taken by one of the participants on the second evening, it's by no means a dead end for the shoes that set out on this adventure! Admittedly, the proposal may have come as a surprise: but aren't we going to pray in a church? In a quiet corner? In silence and near-immobility? No! It's a question of opening up to the way God can speak to us in any circumstance, and more particularly here by walking through and contemplating certain parts of the city.  A dozen or so people meet at 6.30pm on Tuesdays in various locations (a room at Matteo Ricci College the first time, the chapel of the Poverello in the Rue Haute the next...). There, for half an hour, we place ourselves in the presence of the Lord, with the help of a biblical text, to receive some images that can be used during the evening (Moses' burning bush, Jonah in the whale...).  Once ready, each person sets off for two hours in the surrounding area, wherever their footsteps take them, to walk, to rest, to open their eyes, ears, nose and heart to what comes to them. And there, walking, settling down, exchanging glances, words, etc.., places that may have seemed empty or cluttered, noisy or silent, provoking fear or peace, etc. suddenly become places that invite, challenge, let emerge something of this God we seek, this Father of mercy, this Spirit of love we long for...   Around 9 p.m., we meet again at the place of departure for a time of exchange (4 or 5 people) on the experience, the journey made, the vivid memory that remains. Then, all together, we can share a few words with the Lord.  Yes, the Lord can speak to us, open up to us and listen to what we dare to say! It is indeed in every place that he can touch us and challenge us in ever-new ways!  Words from participants  "It's a real gift to be able to walk through the city, through neighborhoods that I was afraid to approach at first sight... and where I felt safe!"  "From one week to the next, in neighborhoods that aren't very far apart, there were real differences: over there, as if constantly moving from one culture to another in very limited areas, over here, a greater mixing of cultures and social categories. I felt different effects on myself, on my openness to what I was seeing.  "The proximity of the railroad tracks creates a constant noise; at first distressing, it has become like the roll of a drum that invites or takes you somewhere... beyond... "    Jean-Yves Grenet SJ (Bruxelles - Saint-Michel) and Caroline Vital (spiritual guide)