About a year and a half ago, some radical modifications were made to our monastery, “St. “Ignace” in Al-Aziziya - Aleppo. Rooms were converted into halls and spaces serving youth activities. The monastery now includes a center called the Center of Jesuit Formation, or what is known for short as “CJF.”

The second (upper) floor of the monastery is now being converted into a study and study hall, “Study Zone”. This floor was previously the headquarters of the JRS administration and the Finance Department. As a result of these modifications, the JRS administration has permanently moved to the Monastery of Saint Wartan in the Al-Midan area, while the Finance Department has temporarily moved to the monastery basement until the completion of renovations to the upper floor of the Al-Aziziya Monastery.

Necessary work was necessary to prepare the monastery for all these activities. Sanitary, electrical, carpentry, painting, etc. works. Father Fouad continues to supervise all these works with great precision and quality. As a result of these amendments, our group in Aleppo had to move to another place, so we rented two apartments in a building close to the monastery. However, with time, we saw that it was better to buy two apartments next to the monastery with the possibility of connecting them to the monastery, and this is what happened in the past few days. Naturally, the two apartments also need repairs and renovations.

As for our mission in Aleppo, it is diverse and includes many activities that respond, even if only a little, to the calls of the reality surrounding us. This can be summarized in the following points:

• Jesuit Refugee Service ( JRS ) : The organization meets a fair amount of the needs of individuals and families in the areas where we work, while maintaining the Jesuit Ignatian spirit. We serve everyone without discrimination or distinction, and even build bridges of love with non-Christians, knowing that the percentage of beneficiaries of the organization’s services ranges between 90% Muslims and 10% Christians.
• Jesuit Formation Center ( CJF ) : The Center is primarily concerned with training young graduates and preparing them for the labor market. This training includes developing computer technical skills, learning the English language, and developing life skills such as: communication skills, time management, leadership...etc. One of the most important things the center offers to young people is “group accompaniment” sessions, where topics related to our daily living reality are raised and discussed from personal experience, in an atmosphere of comfort and without restrictions or preconceived assumptions. What distinguishes our center is the spirit of openness to others who differ from us in thought and belief. This appears in the relationship between the work team and the young graduates who frequent the center, and in the ability to build harmonious and harmonious relationships with others. We also experience that group escort sessions create a greater feeling of comfort, safety and freedom of expression.
• Jesuit Scout : It has a great deal of individual and group skills, leadership and innovation skills, and various intellectual, social and psychological skills.
• Christian Life Group ( CVX ) : CVX Aleppo groups (about 10 groups) meet every two weeks for prayer and meditation. They are also currently adopting a special message towards the elderly in a project called “Our Elders"