A space for dialogue between science, technology and spirituality. The Plateau de Saclay, 20 km from Paris, is destined to become a world-class centre for training, innovation and academic research. The Society of Jesus and four dioceses of the Île-de-France region have decided to join forces to establish the Teilhard de Chardin Centre in order to offer a Church presence and a space for dialogue between science, technology and spirituality. An innovative space in many ways, it will open its doors in September 2022. South of Paris, the Plateau de Saclay is set to become one of the most visible places in France for the importance given by the public authorities to synergies between Grandes Écoles, universities and businesses. In five years' time, this area will bring together some 34,000 students, teachers and researchers around the Université Paris-Saclay and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris. Many employees and families will be present on the site, which will eventually be visited by 64,000 people. This is why several Church partners have decided to create the Teilhard de Chardin Centre on this plateau. On 8 April 2021, Bishop Michel Pansard of Evry and Fr François Boëdec sj,On 8 April 2021, Bishop Michel Pansard of Evry and Fr François Boëdec sj, Provincial of the Jesuits(picture : first on the left), blessed the building site of the Centre Teilhard de Chardin in the presence of the architect, Mr Jean-Marie Duthilleul, Bishop Michel Dubost, Fr Dominique Degoul, future chaplain of the Centre (third on the picture), and Fr Sylvain Cariou-Charton, Provincial's delegate for Jesuit schools. The work will take 18 months and the Centre will open its doors in September 2022. More info, videos and pictures Jésuites EOF

2001-2021 : JRS Belgium celebrates its 20th anniversary! 4 conferences: 22 April, 29 April, 18 May and 2 June 20 years ago, the Belgian Jesuit Eddy Jadot founded JRS Belgium to accompany, serve and defend people on the borders of the democratic world - detained in closed centres. In this 20th anniversary year of JRS Belgium, we want to take an updated look at the borders of countries and disciplines: closed and open, dividing and welcoming lines. In collaboration with the Forum Saint-Michel, MigratieMuseumMigration and the Centre Avec, JRS Belgium offers four online round tables with academics and artists. Four evenings of debate with the central theme of the border as a welcoming line. Should borders be set aside to support the migration transition? What does a theologian have to say about migration policy?  How does art contribute to political change? Read more   

This year, the meeting of the superiors of the EOF communities, together with the provincials, auxiliaries and the socius, took place by videoconference from 12 to 14 February. Bringing together all these people from Belgium, Greece, France, the Reunion Islands and Mauritius, without anyone moving from their homes: one thinks that the gift of ubiquity has become commonplace, and moreover, it is good for the planet. The small group discussions were very stimulating and focused on two themes: community life during the pandemic and training on abuse. Each community's situation is different and it is beneficial to have these meetings of superiors to see this. The famous cannonball that wounded Ignatius and without which the Jesuits would not be, gave rise to exchanges. Five hundred years already! This is being prepared and will be celebrated, among other things, during a large gathering in Marseille, on All Saints' Day. Eight thousand people are expected. The presence of Pope Francis is mentioned: Will he come? Will he not come? These times of common meetings, of prayer together and of sharing in groups did a great deal of good. At each meeting of the superiors and at other EOF assemblies, many Jesuits sincerely rejoice that the two former Provinces - France on the one hand, and French-speaking Belgium and Luxembourg on the other - are now united and that this union is taking place so fraternally. The EOF Province is no longer a newborn, it is standing upright, doing well and showing innovation in several areas, which is gratifying. Let us give thanks that we are members of an apostolic body where it goes without saying that we take care of each other and that the superiors all respond "present" when they are invited to meet and share.

Since 2014, the Austrian Intercultural Achievement Award (IAA) has been awarded annually to innovative projects that successfully open up new avenues for intercultural dialogue. The aim is to highlight and encourage small or large-scale actions implemented throughout the world by associations or individuals to encourage dialogue between cultures and religions. Among the 300 projects submitted in 2020 through the network of Austrian embassies, the association JRS France is the winner of the Intercultural Achievement Award 2020 in the category of Sustainable Project. The JRS Youth programme - "The challenge of reciprocity: Share your talents, dare to meet! "caught the attention of the jury. This programme allows young (or not so young) asylum seekers, refugees or locals to meet and get to know each other around common and creative activities that they co-facilitate on an equal footing. The members are in turn participants or facilitators, and thus actors in a programme that they build together. Expression (theatre, dance, singing, drawing, writing), sports (football, volleyball, basketball, yoga, dance), discussion cafés, inter-religious meetings, outings to be experienced together (hikes, dinners at local homes, visits to museums, urban walks, board games) are all activities that promote and cement mutual understanding. A variety of activities in an intercultural environment In 2020, the JRS Jeunes programme organised 468 activities in 9 cities in France, involving 1338 participants of 60 different nationalities, including 740 refugees and asylum seekers. The grant given by the Republic of Austria to JRS France will be used to finance and carry out future collective and interdisciplinary actions in the framework of this intercultural project. The Austrian Ambassador Michael Linhart presented Fr Antoine Paumard, Director of JRS France, and Ms Pauline Blain, JRS Youth Officer, with the IAA 2020 Award at a small ceremony on 10 February 2021. More info: 

ARPEJ (Accompagner vers la Réussite les Parents Et les Jeunes) are associations that aim to support young people in difficulty and their families, through support for schooling and professional integration, but also through educational, cultural or social activities. As a member of the Loyola Formation network, ARPEJ celebrated its tenth anniversary in February. ARPEJ's adventure was born in response to a call from the Society of Jesus, launched during a meeting of the social apostolate in Saint-Chamond in 2010. In February 2011, ARPEJ opened its first "street shop" in Paris to "Accompany Parents and Young People towards Success". It then opened in Saint-Denis, followed by Versailles, Toulouse, Reims, Marseille and, soon, Bordeaux. The project To put Ignatian pedagogy at the service of young people in difficulty. Taking the young person where he is, signing a contract with him and his family, considering him with benevolence, making him an actor, rereading with him the end of the road... So many ingredients which, put together, define a way of doing things, both firm and gentle, to help the young person grow. The recipe A shop on the street in the heart of the working-class neighbourhoods to be easily spotted by the families of the neighbourhood and to encourage young people to push the door. A contract for twenty hours of accompaniment twice a week, between ARPEJ/family/youth, with a really modest financial contribution. Volunteers from all walks of life: retired people, young professionals, students, young people from Jesuit establishments... ARPEJ is a place of social mixing where those who never meet meet each other. A very committed team of facilitators who guarantee the proper follow-up of the young people, the support and training of the facilitators, the permanent search for new actions: parents' cafés, French as a Foreign Language (FLE), theatre workshops, reading workshops, self-knowledge, film club, etc. A close link with the Society of Jesus, either through the proximity of a school or a Jesuit community. The support of a network: the ARPEJs are part of the Loyola Formation network which includes eighteen establishments in France. In addition to the ARPEJs, Loyola Formation also brings together production schools and training centres. Ms France NIJDAM (ARPEJ Coordinator)

Jesuit Spiritual Centres in corona mode. How does the pandemic invites us to invent new possibilities? This is the question that the five Spiritual Centres of the Jesuit Province EOF have answered at their annual meeting. They all agree that the pandemic is a source of inventiveness and creativity. Due to the pandemic, the annual meeting of the leaders of the Spiritual Centres of the Province was finally transformed into a series of three meetings by videoconference. We regret, of course, that we were unable to exchange in an informal way in person, but we were happy to share some current topics: initiatives to adapt to the health situation, the training of animators on the issue of abuse, the progress towards a more harmonised communication of our Centres. New initiatives After a period of stupor, often due to the forced closure of the Spiritual Centres, everyone has been able to adapt and the severe health restrictions of the last few months have not prevented some good initiatives: Adaptation of the pedagogy of weekends and retreats for couples in videoconferences at the Manrèse Centre (Ile-de-France); at La Pairelle (Belgium), use of rooms and chapels with the standard of 10 m2 per person (as in shops); negotiation, at Penboc'h (Brittany), with the authorities to accommodate retreatants for thirty days, with strict confinement and room service for the first eight days; continuation, even at a low rate, of the training activity in accompaniment, thanks to the residential trainees confined with the community of Châtelard (Lyon); online artistic spiritual path to support first the relatives of the Coteaux-Païs network (Toulouse) during the Advent period, then widely spread around... The pandemic invites us, thus, to invention and opens up new possibilities. Dealing with abuse Abuse, whether sexual, of power or spiritual, is at the heart of the training courses for leaders and fellows. A training course has already taken place for one of the Centres. The writing of a small booklet of good practices for all the leaders and staff of the Centres is in progress. Another project: to draw inspiration from the kits provided by the Province to the Jesuit communities to set up short training modules. Finally, a reflection is in progress to move towards a more harmonised communication between our different Centres. Since last year, our programme booklets have offered a common presentation of Ignatian spirituality and the Society of Jesus. This visual harmonisation is likely to reinforce our visibility among our different audiences, who appreciate both the common belonging and the diversity of our spiritual Centres. Arnaud de Rolland SJ (Toulouse)