Since 2015, the JCEP has been promoting formations on Ignatian leadership, discernment in common and apostolic planning. More recently, the Conference has sponsored meetings of a group of formators on those areas, some who have been involved since the beginning in the Conference programs with others who are available to continue to develop that mission of promoting Ignatian formation in Jesuit apostolic works within the JCEP. They have defined themselves as a Learning Community of Practitioners.

The years of the pandemic limited the interaction to online meetings. But last year, it was possible to hold the first in-person gathering in Drongen in the beginning of July. This year, again, the Community met, this time in Rome. There were 13 participants, Jesuits and lay men and women, from several countries and with diverse experiences and affiliations.

The program for the 3-day encounter consisted of an in depth sharing of the details of four different programs that have been offered in recent years: the Ignatian Leadership Program in its different formats (from 4 modules in 2 years, to a single one-week program); the Discerning Leadership Program based in Rome, directed to higher level Church leaders; the new ILP in French now developing in the EOF province; and the formation on Discernment in Common and Apostolic Planning (DICAP) that took place in Rome in 2019, organised by the JCEP.  This allowed for a better mutual understanding of the different approaches, and the identification of communalities even when different tools are used. Some themes were, then, looked at in more detail in a form of small group workshops.

Being in Rome, there was also the possibility of meeting, in the Jesuit Curia, with John Dardis, General Counsellor for Discernment and Apostolic Planning, David McCallum, Director of the Discerning Leadership Program and Mark Ravizza, General Counsellor for Formation, for a conversation on the importance for the Society of Jesus and the Church of these formations.

As always, the most profitable, and also most agreeable, was the opportunity to be together, engage in spontaneous conversations and share moments of prayer, reflection and fun. All felt reenergised in their commitments to promote Ignatian formation and renewed their availability to serve the JCEP in future initiatives around leadership and discernment in common. Concretely, a team was formed to prepare and offer a new ILP formation, again in Rodizio – Portugal, between January 28^th and February 2^nd, 2024.

Herminio Rico SJ
JCEP Socius