Miguel Almeida, provincial of Portugal and moderator of the Southern European Assistancy, hosted the March meeting of the JCEP Consult. We convened in the Jesuit Community of Porto, a city in the north of Portugal which, in the last years, has become a very popular tourist destination. And yes, we took one afternoon to walk through the old city, check some relevant sites in Jesuit history, enter a few impressive churches, cross the river through the historic bridge and visit one of the famous Port Wine cellars (concluded with a delightful wine tasting).

The times of personal sharing, exchange of news from the different provinces and discussion of Conference ongoing issues were also enjoyable. The main topics centred around the preparation of the next Assembly in Bologna at the end of April, the long-term perspectives of the apostolic presence of the Conference in Brussels, and the radical change in the composition of the Consult that will happen until mid-2026, as all the current Consultors will finish their terms of office by that time. 

On Tuesday evening, we participated in a special Lenten Eucharistic liturgy with more than one hundred university students in the adjoined Jesuit University Centre CREU.

Thank you, Miguel and the whole Community in the Jesuit Porto Residence for the warm welcome.

Herminio Rico
JCEP Socius