The 2022 meeting of the JUPC (Jesuit University Pastoral Care) network had been planned for Lisbon. However, the COVID wave across Europe called again for a change and thus we met online for the second consecutive year.  

The experiences of university chaplaincy during the pandemic have invited us to reflect on how to widen the spaces where we can minister to young people to include the digital world. The session on 9th February was led by Nikolaas Sintobin SJ (ELC) on the possibilities of internet in our ministry and in evangelization. It was a privilege to have Nikolaas with us. His wide expertise has shown that this way of connecting is a grace, rather than just a threat to face to face encounters, and requires taking risks, constant adaptation, inculturation, and professional expertise. Nikolaas led the group in a contemplative exercise using visual storytelling, mainly with YouTube videos, as a path to interiority. Check his well curated collection of short videos at seeingmore.org. 

World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon will be a highlight of the Church year and MAG+S 2023 an opportunity for those ministering with young adults. This was the focus of the second day of our conference, 10th February. Samuel Beirão SJ (POR), responsible for organizing MAG+IS 2023, and part of his team were with us. They explained various aspects of their preparations, including around 100 experiments planned in Portugal and Spain, and explored with us the profile of the young people we want to invite to this opportunity and how to reach out to them. 

JUPC is a network of chaplains who gathers yearly to share initiatives and good practices, and to foster collaboration among Jesuits and friends who work in Jesuit chaplaincies on campuses in Europe and the Near East. Although meeting online has helped the continuity of these connections, we very much look forward to meeting face to face in 2023, in Lublin, Poland, most probably. 

Alicia Perez, FCJ 
Manchester Universities’ Catholic Chaplaincy