JECSE Secondary High School Heads Conference 2025, in Málaga

This October 14-17, Secondary School directors from most provinces of Europe gathered in Málaga, Spain, for a 4-day JECSE conference. The title chosen for the conference was: “Sharing the Best We Have: Faith, Community, Mission”. The goal of the organizers was to create a space of gathering for Ignatian Educators to be inspired and challenged by a variety of presentations that led to intense conversation and meaningful moments of prayer.

There is no denying that our understanding and experience of key realities such as Faith or Mission can no longer be taken for granted in today’s fast-changing, and increasingly secular world. Being Catholic and Ignatian in name does not guarantee that leaders, teachers, and students in our schools have the “in-depth faith formation” which the most recent Jogjakarta international gathering of the education sector of the Society of Jesus asked for.

The mandate to put faith formation at the center of our schools´ life is easily accepted in theory, but not easily put into practice. Nor is there a clear consensus as to how much emphasis should be placed on faith or what the best ways to promote our mission and identity are.

JECSE conferences, such as this one, allow people in leadership positions in our schools to take a step back from their busy day-to-day work and view their own personal reality, as well as the concrete context of their schools, with new eyes. These four days together enriched us through individual and communal prayer, silent reflection, inputs from different speakers, and especially the many opportunities for conversation and discussion with our peers from all over Europe.

A Welcoming and Diverse Community

We were happy to discover that we had veteran participants who have been in their role as directors for a long time, as well as newcomers who were participating in a JECSE event for the first time. The friendly atmosphere in the group made it easy for everyone to feel not just welcome, but like they truly belong.

The first question we explored was: “What does it mean to be sent?” Fr. Damian Czerniak SJ, from Poland, helped us explore what it means that our schools are part of the apostolic mission of the Society of Jesus. As usual in JECSE events, there is always plenty of time for moments of individual reflection and also group discussion about the inputs we receive through the different presentations and activities.

Deepening Faith and Joy

The second day was intense, full of rich presentations in the morning. We began the day led by Fr. Bernard Peeters SJ, from Belgium, in following St. Ignatius’ footsteps and exploring creative ways to enter and be nourished by the Spiritual Exercises. This was followed by a more personal testimony by Mr. Marco Emanuele, an Italian alumnus of Jesuit Schools, who shared with us how the Jesuit education he received shaped him and his faith. It is always encouraging to see how the experiences students go through in our schools can have such a lasting and fruitful impact on their lives. To conclude the morning, Ms. Stéphanie Medina, from Belgium, invited us to discern in our own personal experiences the difference between fleeting joy and deep, lasting joy. This helped us understand, in a very concrete and personal way, how Ignatius’ own discoveries at Manresa can illuminate our own inner experience today.

The afternoon began with an insightful exploration of the question: “Can we give what we do not have?” by Mr. Jérome Widemann, from France. His presentation helped us hold the tension between knowing that to share God with others, we ourselves must first experience and possess something from God, but how, at the same time, God often uses us to give to others something that doesn’t come from us because it transcends us. The day concluded in an Ignatian prayer workshop, where I, Mr. Francisco Machado, from Portugal, led participants into two longer periods of personal prayer and shared some practical approaches to understanding and living friendship with God in practical and contemporary ways.

From Personal Experience to Communal Discernment

The following day focused on translating personal experience into a communal one, and for this, Fr. José de Pablo SJ, from Spain, led with a presentation titled: “Discernment in Common as a tool for community building.” He offered us a nuanced explanation of the many factors at play when we want to do spiritual conversations or communal discernments in our schools. And he gave us useful tools to help us avoid common mistakes that happen when we try to put into practice these very special forms of teamwork. After his presentation, we had time to discuss the topic in mixed groups. The whole afternoon was devoted to a more in-depth experience of Spiritual conversation in small groups led by facilitators.

On the final day of the conference, we visited three very different Jesuit Schools in Málaga, San José, SAFA ICET, and San Estanislao, where we had a beautiful conclusion Eucharist presided by the Spanish Education Delegate, Fr. Jaime Badiola SJ, who reminded us that Faith, Community, and Mission are not three separate things but one same reality. Depending on our context and on the moment each of our schools is in, we may choose to begin with, or emphasize one of these doors. But, no matter which we enter first, the path should always lead to the other two dimensions as well.

This was the first conference in JECSE’s 3-year cycle focusing on the same theme: “Sharing the best we have: faith, community and mission”. In the upcoming years, we will gather Pastoral Coordinators, then Primary School Directors, and, finally, Pedagogical Coordinators.