The St. Ignatius Retreat House hosted over sixty Jesuits from the Czech Republic and Slovakia in Prešov from September 9 to 12. This was the second inter-provincial meeting of the Jesuits from these two provinces. The goal of these gatherings is to foster mutual understanding and strengthen ties, which are vital for the development of collaboration in our apostolic work across Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia.

The first day featured a joint excursion to Bardejov. After celebrating Mass in the Basilica of St. Egidius, we toured the basilica and the town hall. We also made a brief stop at the local parish, where we were warmly welcomed by the local dean, Marek Kreheľ. Though we had planned to spend the afternoon at the Bardejov Spa, the cold weather and rain altered our plans. Instead, after a delightful lunch, we returned to Prešov, where we continued our time of relaxation with informal brotherly gatherings and conversations.

On the second day, we dedicated ourselves to prayerful reflection and spiritual conversations focused on our collaboration with others. In personal prayer, we reflected on the faces and names of those who work with us in our mission—employees, collaborators, benefactors, directors of our ministries, clergy, ministers, teachers, musicians, and others.

We also reflected on the words of our 36th General Congregation (2016): "Collaboration with others is the only way the Society of Jesus can fulfill its mission. This partnership includes those who share our Christian faith, those from different religions, and people of goodwill who, like us, wish to cooperate with Christ and His work of reconciliation. As Father General Sosa reminds us, the Jesuits' vocation from Christ is not exclusively ours but is shared with many others who have dedicated themselves to serving others."

In the Ignatian spirit, we spent time in silent prayer, considering what we have already done to foster collaboration, what we are doing now, and what more the Holy Spirit calls us to do. After a joint Mass and lunch, we split into small mixed groups to share the fruits of our personal reflections. We then gathered in a plenary session to bring together the insights (sentire cum – feeling and perceiving together) from our group discussions:

Together, we felt the Holy Spirit renewing our desire for collaboration, recognizing that cooperation is integral to living out the Gospel of Christ. We expressed our deep gratitude for our co-workers, seeing them as gifts that inspire us to strive for more (Ignatian magis) in our relationships with them. We also acknowledged the need to continually open ourselves to collaboration, building partnerships based on listening, faith, hope, and trust. Lastly, our reflections on cooperation with others raised the essential question of how we can deepen cooperation among ourselves.

The inter-provincial meeting concluded with a Mass of thanksgiving, celebrated by the Slovak provincial, Father Jozef Šofranko, with a homily by the Czech provincial, Father Petr Přádka, encouraging his confreres. After a final lunch at the retreat house, where we were grateful for the generous hospitality, the Jesuits departed, enriched by their time together, returning to their communities, ministries, and missions across the Czech Republic and Slovakia.