JESPHIL is one of the networks of the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials (JCEP), bringing together Jesuits engaged in teaching and research in philosophy across European institutions of higher education. The 2026 meeting, held at the Facultés Loyola Paris, provided an opportunity for Jesuit philosophers and colleagues to reflect together on ecological transformation, while also strengthening academic collaboration, intellectual exchange and the shared mission of Jesuit higher education in Europe. The following article offers a glimpse into the discussions and activities of this year’s gathering.

From 27 to 30 August 2026, the Facultés Loyola Paris hosted the biennial JESPHIL meeting, which brings together the Jesuits teaching philosophy in European institutions of higher studies. Twenty-two participants took part, among them seven Jesuit doctoral students in philosophy (five from Paris, one from Munich and one from Rome). On the Friday, three non-Jesuit members of the host faculty joined the work: the Rector, Louis Lourme, and Professors Blandine Lagrut and Cécile Renouard.

Under the theme “Eco-Transformation in Philosophical Perspective”, eight lectures asked what the ubiquitous word “transformation” actually means, and at which level it operates: the individual subject, communities, institutions, and the technological milieu itself. Georg Sans, Louis Caruana, Cécile Renouard, Francis Kyalo Mutunga, Eric Charmetant, Thierry Meynard, Yves Vendé and Piotr Janik approached the question from Kant’s “revolution in disposition”, ecological conversion, strategies for eco-justice, water governance, artificial intelligence, the Zhongyong, transcultural hermeneutics and Dennett’s account of the subject.

Evening conversations with Fr Dalibor Renić, President of the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials, and Fr Thierry Dobbelstein, Provincial of French-speaking Western Europe, linked this reflection to the mission of the Society in Europe. On Saturday, the group walked in the footsteps of Ignatius through the Latin Quarter and visited the restored Notre-Dame Cathedral.

At the statutory session on Sunday, the members amended the Statutes so that the non-Jesuit teachers of the host institution are normally invited to take part in the meeting. They elected Fr Jacek Poznański (PME) as Coordinator for the next six years, succeeding Fr Eric Charmetant (EOF), who remains on the Coordinating Committee as Assistant together with Fr Szczepan Urbaniak (PME). The next JESPHIL meeting will take place from 24 to 28 February 2028 at the Ignatianum University in Cracow, with Fr Urbaniak as local coordinator.