Four days, four destinations, a quiet side trip to the Flüeli Ranft to the country's patron Brother Klaus - and countless encounters in the works of the Swiss Jesuits: Father General Arturo Sosa SJ, on his first visit to Switzerland from Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 September 2019, reached the hearts and minds of many.

In Geneva, the city with around 20,000 diplomats, Arturo Sosa SJ met representatives of humanitarian organizations on Thursday at the House of the Jesuit Community in Carouge - including women and men from the UNHCR, the International Labour Organization's UN refugee agency, and the World Council of Churches (WCC). The greeting message at the end of the evening was touching: Students and teachers of the Jesuit Refugee Service JRS and Jesuit Worldwide Learning JWL reported in short videos from Afghanistan to Malawi about their challenges, hopes and dreams. Their stories resonated for a long time, as did the words of Arturo Sosa: "Jesuits often assume that young people must be led to everything and show them the way to God. Do we know this way enough ourselves? Perhaps it is not about helping young people, but rather that young people can help us".

On Saturday in Zurich, he met 30 of the 48 Jesuits of the country, including the five Swiss scholastics; four are currently studying in Paris, one is in the Magisterium of JWL until September 2020. Afterwards, 30 members of staff from the Deutschschweizer Werke joined the meeting - a great moment to experience Father General so close, cordial and uplifting. 

The afternoon was dedicated to silence: a small Jesuit delegation accompanied Arturo Sosa to Brother Klaus in Central Switzerland. His place of activity, the Flüeli Ranft, radiates far beyond the national border as a place of prayer and peace. St. Nicholas of Flüe (1417-1487) or Brother Klaus stands for the search for God, justice and peace, especially in times when peace often seems impossible. The Venezuelan Jesuit Superior General knows about the fragility of the human search for reconciliation. He used this small pilgrimage in a special way to place his intentions in God's hands in the silence of the Ranft.

Afterwards the Jesuits brought him to the Lassalle house above Zug. The name is program and goes back to the German Jesuit Hugo Lassalle SJ, bridge builder between Zen and Christianity. The Lassalle House, a house of silence, is not only the largest work of the Jesuits in Switzerland, but also the largest Christian educational centre in the country.

The Jesuit general also appeared twice in public. Some 300 people flocked to the University of Zurich for a panel discussion on Friday evening: Arturo Sosa discussed during two intensive, exciting hours with five personalities of the Swiss churches and media on the topic "Being a Christian today - Church where to?

The festive divine service in the Jesuit Church of Lucerne, which is also fully occupied here, was the final event on Sunday. Time for contemplation, time for a polyphonic worship: The Collegium Musicum in Lucerne performed the Missa Palatina by Martin Schmid SJ (1694-1772), who had lived, worked and composed in the former Jesuit missions of South America. Afterwards there was an aperitif for the large church service community. Right in the middle of it was Father General, chief of more than 15,000 Jesuits worldwide - close to people, cordial, genuine.

Adieu und auf Wiedersehen, Father General!

Pia Seiler – Pictures: Céline Fossati