From Saturday, November 11 to Thursday, November 16, 2023, Father General Arturo Sosa SJ visited the Czech Province (BOH). He successively visited all the places where the Jesuits are active in the Czech Republic and was able to personally get to know the Jesuits and the apostolic work that they and their collaborators are engaged in. During the visit he was accompanied by his assistants P. Tomasz Kot SJ (ECO) and P. Cipriano Díaz Marcos SJ (EMR).

On Saturday, November 11, after arriving from the Vienna airport, Father General stayed at the Jesuit community in Olomouc, where he also celebrated the Eucharist on Sunday morning in the chapel of the Centrum Aletti. The service was also attended by collaborators from the Centrum Aletti, from the academic parish and from the Catholic University Students Movement of Olomouc, with whom he met informally during a common breakfast in the Jesuit community.

Father General's Sunday program continued at Svatý Hostýn, where members of the Jesuit community congratulated Father General on his 75th birthday. The Jesuits in Olomouc had done likewise the day before. In addition to getting familiar with the pilgrimage site, he also spoke with members of the Hostýn Jesuit community about the importance of the reflection (examen) of the De Statu Societatis report.

The next day, Monday 13 November, was devoted first to a visit to Velehrad, where he met with students of one of the classes of the “Stojanovo Gymnázium Velehrad” grammar school and answered their questions. He also had meetings with the Czech Provincial and his consultors, with whom he discussed, among other things, the future of the province in the process of restructuring. He then moved on to Brno, where he celebrated an evening Mass in English for university students in the Jesuit church. In his homily he recalled the personality of St. Agnes of Bohemia, whose memory the Czech Church celebrated that day. He also stopped in the crypt of the church to see the relics of Ven. Martin Středa SJ (1587–1649). The service was followed by a debate, during which he answered questions from the faithful for about an hour.

On Tuesday, November 14, Father General went to Prague, where he spent the afternoon touring the centre of the Czech capital and the monuments connected with the history of the Jesuit Order. In the evening he also met with members of the Prague Jesuit community. Wednesday, November 15, was devoted to a visit to Děčín in the north of Bohemia and the Nativity Primary School, which is run by the Czech Province. There he met with its pupils and teachers. In the evening, back in Prague, he presided over a Mass in English for university students at the Church of St Ignatius. After the service, he also had the opportunity to speak personally with the students during an informal meeting in the hall at the Jesuit church. He left Prague early on Thursday morning, November 16.

This was the first visit to the Czech Republic for Father A. Sosa. Before him, Father General Adolfo Nicolás SJ last visited the Czech Province in November 2012.

(Written by Petr Havlíček SJ, Photos by František Ingr)