Educating for Faith in the 21^st century

 From 24 till 28 June 2024 more than 100 members of the Jesuit Global Network of Schools (JGNS), from 37 countries, gathered at the De Britto College, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, to explore what Educating for Faith in the 21st Century means for contemporary Jesuit schools. They participated in the II Global Seminar JESEDU-Jogja2024, which is part of the nine-year cycle of international gatherings for the ongoing discernment of our schools: “Walking as a Global Network at the Service of the Mission”.

 14 members of the Jesuit European Committee for Primary and Secondary Education (JECSE) represented our Conference at the seminar. They were joined by colleagues from Jesuit and companion schools from around the world via social media networks and live streaming hosted by Educate Magis. A virtual pre-seminar, which took place from 1 April to 6 May 2024, preceded the face-to-face seminar and contributed to its preparation and progress.

 Fr Jimmy Bartolo SJ (Rector of St Aloysius College, Malta; JECSE Board and Steering Committee member), moderator of the first day of the Seminar, stated: “The seminar in Jogjakarta was a unique experience of the strong and rich global network of Jesuit schools in the Society of Jesus. I felt the Lord calling us to go deeper in strengthening our Catholic identity by a mature dialogue with other religions and with our secular and post-Christian contexts. The hospitality of our Indonesian colleagues was special”.

 The dynamics of the experiences

 Each day, participants had the opportunity to engage in a series of activities that encouraged conversation and provided time for reflection to explore how they could deepen their effectiveness in faith formation in the local context. Each day began with prayer led by scholastics and ended with the Eucharist. The morning sessions included a meeting with prominent keynote speakers and a presentation of two experiences combined with a plenary discussion. The afternoons were devoted mainly to individual prayer and reflection and spiritual conversation in international groups.

 On the third day of JESED, the main event was a pilgrimage - a spiritual journey to three well-known religious shrines in the Yogyakarta region. The aim was to give participants an experience of 'education for inter-religious dialogue'. They were encouraged to spend time in prayer and reflection, guided by biblical texts. The day ended with a visit to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Ganjuran Temple, built in the Javanese style, which houses a Hindu statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus depicting Jesus as a Javanese king. The pilgrimage concluded with Mass, during which Fr Damian Czerniak SJ (Director of the Jesuit School in Gdynia, Poland) gave an inspiring homily on “The Heart on an Open Palm”.

 Our schools as apostolic bridges

In his introductory video to the participants gathered in Yogyakarta, Fr. General Arturo Sosa SJ acknowledged that "our world, including our schools, is becoming more diverse than ever in terms of religions and cultures". In response, Fr Sosa recommended that Jesuit schools "become apostolic bridges between this beautiful and God-given diversity and our faith". Over five days of shared prayer, reflection and sharing, the seminar participants discerned how our schools today can faithfully and fully respond to this call.

 Sharing God through Ignatian Spirituality

On the first day, Dr Damian Zynda (Director of Mission and Pastoral Care at McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, NY) gave a presentation entitled “Sharing God through Ignatian Spirituality”. She presented the transformative power of Ignatian spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises in education, advocating a holistic approach that fosters a life-changing encounter with God. Fr. Álvaro Lobo SJ (Educsi, Coordinador de Pastoral, Spain) then presented the development of the transmission of the faith in Spanish schools in a session of sharing experiences. Inspired by the presentations, the participants discussed the integration of Ignatian formation programmes and the importance of faith in educational settings. They stressed the need for faith to be an essential part of the school culture and not just an obligation or a secondary priority.

 Educating for Inter-Religious Dialogue

The keynote speaker on the second day was Dr Fatimah Husein (Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University, Yogyakarta). She spoke on "Education for Interreligious Dialogue: The Indonesian Experience". She stressed that engaging in interfaith dialogue does not weaken one's religious commitment, but provides an opportunity to reflect on it more deeply. Participants discussed the importance of a more hermeneutic approach to religious language and the importance of involving parents in the education of their children.  They also stressed the importance of Jesuit schools embracing, sharing and celebrating their Catholic identity, which is characterised by a kind of interreligious dialogue modelled on Jesus Christ, in which the divine identity embraces the human.

 Forming a Resilient Faith

The theme of the fourth day was "Forming a Resilient Faith: Teaching for In-Depth Faith Formation in our Secular Context Today", led by Dr Paul Sharkey (Catholic Theological College, University of Divinity, Melbourne, Australia). Also on this day, Mrs Minerva Porcel (Pedagogical Director, Fundació Jesuïtes Educació, Spain) presented a new educational project for Jesuit schools in Catalonia that integrates the latest legal requirements with Ignatian pedagogy and values.

During the plenary sessions, participants addressed issues such as the importance of creative fidelity in deepening faith and the importance of preserving a sense of the sacred in the face of secularisation. It was noted that it is important that Ignatian practices such as Examen, discernment and prayer do not lose their transcendent dimension, but remain ways of engaging with God and Jesus. They also emphasised the importance of the formation of all members of the school community, including pastoral leaders and formators, in Ignatian spirituality, pedagogy and worldview. 

 Daniel Patrick Huang SJ (Faculty of Missiology, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome) introduced the participants to the reflections of the final day of the seminar. He spoke about evangelisation in multi-religious and secular settings, emphasising the importance of an Ignatian approach that focuses on building relationships and active listening. An open discussion between participants and the speaker focused on the need to develop models of evangelisation in education that can help to build clear and welcoming identities. As we celebrate current evangelistic efforts in our schools, we must continually seek new ways to provide relevant and meaningful faith formation opportunities for all, always keeping Jesus at the centre. Being part of a global network and being open to others can inspire us as we explore our 'Glocal' reality.

 Continuing our journey of caring for Catholic identity and faith formation in our schools

At the end of the meeting, the regional groups discussed the main invitations, reflections and questions that emerged from JESEDU-Jogja2024. Each conference shared the resonances of the days of the meeting, how to share their experiences and what the next steps should be for education for faith in the 21st century in each region.

 Fr. José Mesa SJ, Secretary for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education of the Society of Jesus, chaired the final plenary and presented a draft vision statement that will be published in the coming days. Fr. Mesa thanked all the participants and organisers of JESEDU-Jogja2024 and announced that the next meeting of the Jesuit Global Network of Schools, the II Congress JESEDU, will take place in Montreal, Canada, in 2027.

 The representatives of the Jesuit and Companion Schools of our Conference would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to the organisers of this exceptional meeting for the excellent preparation and the warm welcome in Indonesia. We would also like to thank all those who reflected with us throughout the week on the theme of the Catholic identity of our schools and the possibility of further faith formation in them, so that we may be even better able to respond to the challenges of our time, faithful to our mission.

 JECSE representatives at JESEDU-Jogja in alphabetical order: Ms Agnieszka Baran (JECSE Director), Fr Jimmy Bartolo SJ (Malta, EUM), Fr Damian Czerniak SJ (Poland, PMA), Francisco Delgado SJ (Spain, ESP), Mr Mindaugas Grigatitis (Lithuania, ESP), Ms Gabriele Hüdepohl (Germany, ECE), Fr Alvaro Lobo (Spain, ESP), Ms Minerva Porcel (Spain, ESP), Mr Miguel Poza (Spain, ESP), Mr Juan Reuda (Spain, ESP), Mr Jonathan Tiernan (Ireland, HIB), Mr Bob Van De Putte (Belgium North, ELC), Ms Jospehine Vassalo (Malta, EUM), Fr Alessandro Viano SJ (Italy, EUM)