On 24 November of this year, Jesuits serving in Russia, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan held an online meeting with the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr. Arturo Sosa, SJ. The virtual gathering offered the confreres an opportunity to share the joys and challenges of their mission in these countries, which together form the Russian Region of the Province of Greater Poland–Masovia (PMA). Also present were the scholastics—Jesuits in formation preparing for priestly ordination. In total, representatives of nine nationalities took part.

After hearing brief presentations from each country, Father General addressed the group with a message of encouragement and spiritual orientation.

He first recalled that, although Jesuits are widely scattered across different parts of the world, they share one mission within the universal Church. Acknowledging the difficulties posed by the current geopolitical situation, he invited his confreres to be messengers of reconciliation—a mission the Society of Jesus has embraced as fundamental for decades.

Fr. Sosa referred to Pope Leo XIV’s recent address to the superiors of the Order gathered in Rome. The Holy Father had recalled the words of Pope Paul VI, reaffirmed by successive pontiffs: “Wherever, in the most difficult and remote places of the Church, at the crossroads of ideologies, on the social peripheries, the burning desires of man and the eternal message of the Gospel have collided (and continue to collide), there were and still are the Jesuits.” To live and serve on the frontiers—this is how the Jesuit mission can be described, Fr. Sosa noted, echoing the language of recent Society documents.

The General also reflected on the Order’s Universal Apostolic Preferences, approved by Pope Francis:
– Showing the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment;
– Walking with the poor and marginalized;
– Accompanying young people toward a hope-filled future;
– Caring for our common home.

To bear fruit in such a diverse mission, he reminded the confreres, Jesuits must remain rooted in a deep personal relationship with Jesus—a simple but essential foundation for all apostolic work. Equally central is the Ignatian attitude of holy indifference, an openness that includes the willingness to serve wherever the needs of the mission are greatest.

In his remarks, Father General also referred to the upcoming meeting of the Russian Region, scheduled for May 2026 in Warsaw-Falenica, and encouraged prayer and a courageous path of communal discernment in the period leading up to it. The last such meeting in the ECCC took place in 2019 and coincided with Fr. Sosa’s visit. On that occasion, Fr. Tadeusz Drozdowicz, Fr. Piotr Kropisz, and Bishop Stephan Lipke made their solemn profession of vows. (Translator’s note)

Toward the end of the meeting, participants exchanged ideas on how to attract new Jesuits to serve in the Region. Father General asked that concrete proposals be developed for this purpose. He concluded by offering his blessing for their continued ministry.

As one participant commented afterward, the encounter with Father General was a profound source of comfort and joy. It is hoped that this meeting will strengthen all the confreres in their shared mission and deepen their sense of unity across great distances.