Cogito, ergo Zoom

Traditionally, the Jesuits of French-speaking Western Europe (EOF) meet between Christmas and New Year's Day to live their Province Assembly. This year, because of the health crisis, the meeting did take place, but by videoconference. The large souvenir photo of the group gave way to a constellation of faces on a screen. For the closing, on December 31, friends and relatives of the Jesuits were invited to re-read 2020 and offer the coming year.

For these two days of remote meeting, the program of the annual assembly was composed of four parts – re-reading, workshops, information, celebration -, led by a trio of three Jesuits: Jacques Enjalbert S.J. (Paris), Pascal Gauderon S.J. (Lyon) and Perrin Lefebvre S.J. (Paris). The re-reading of the year was proposed by Remi de Maindreville S.J.(Province Consultor). Everyone was invited to seek the consolations that the painful aspect of 2020 has taught us, especially the awareness that we hold our lives from the attention of others. This was the introduction to the meditation on the Good Samaritan echoing Fratelli Tutti: who has done me good during this past year? And who will I be next tomorrow? After the personal meditation, the participants were divided by the magic of the computer into small groups where each one could share the 'experience' of his year: mourning, sadness, trials, but also creativity, generosity, interiority, community...

The afternoon was devoted to the different workshops. The themes focused on one country (Greece, Lebanon, Mauritius and Reunion Island), on one work (the new Jesuit Matteo Ricci College in Brussels, JRS and the ‘jungle’ of Calais), or on two more transversal concerns in the Province (the Laudato si' ecological worksite and the pastoral care of families).

We do not have enough space to report here the observations made the next day by Fr. Provincial François Boëdec, and by Antoine Kerhuel, Secretary of the Society of Jesus. As for the final celebration of Vespers in the Church of St. Ignatius, it is not to be told: it is sung... and it is to be followed in replay on our website!

You can find the video of the final celebration, the meditations, homilies and intentions here.