All you wanted to know about the Jesuits, in 36 cases.

As part of the offer of the ELC Region (North Belgium and the Netherlands) for the Ignatian Year, a small travelling exhibition was set up. This exhibition has already passed through Amsterdam, Nijmegen and Heverlee and has now been in Mechelen for several weeks.

In three exhibition cabinets with 12 boxes each, there are interesting objects that tell something about the beginnings of the Society, about the most important fields of apostolate in the first centuries, and some remarkable Jesuits from history. But also the four universal apostolic priorities are presented.

For each object there is a short presentation and per section also a QR code that refers to a longer story or a video.

It is interesting to know that the city of Mechelen, where the exhibition is currently on display, has two Jesuit churches. The former St Francis Xavier Church, built at the end of the 17th century, is part of the complex where the Jesuits came in 1606, the old palace of Margaret of York. The exhibition is set up in the side aisle of this beautiful baroque church.

The other Jesuit church is a former monastery church of the Norbertine sisters, where the Jesuits came after the suppression of the Society, at the beginning of the 20th century. In this church of Our Lady of Leliendaal, we celebrated the feast of Saint John Berchmans and the 400th anniversary of his death on November 26. The fact that Jan attended school in Mechelen at the then newly founded Jesuit College and also entered the Society here is certainly something special for the people of Mechelen. In addition, the particularly precious relic of the heart of St. Jan Berchmans is preserved in our church and was beautifully decorated and honoured during this jubilee celebration.

Philip Debruyne s.J.