From 12 to 18 October 2026, the 39th General Assembly of the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials (JCEP) took place in Manresa House, Dublin. As on other occasions, the participants of the General Assembly were the provincials of the 15 provinces and 1 region of the Conference, as well as the JCEP President, who chaired the meeting, the Socius, and the three assistants to the assistancies of the Conference (Western Europe, Southern Europe, and Central-Eastern Europe). On this occasion, we had several guests with us: Francisco J. Ruiz SJ and David McCallum SJ, who facilitated the first stage of the process of apostolic planning; Antoine Kerhuel SJ, Secretary of the Society of Jesus, who participated in the process; and John Guiney SJ and Brian Cramner, who visited for one day to present the work that is being done on safeguarding.

The main goal of this General Assembly was beginning the process of Apostolic Planning that will take us to October 2028, when we hope to finish it. The whole of this process is being facilitated by Francisco José Ruiz SJ, former provincial of Spain, who had previously led the complex process of merging the Spanish provinces in 2014. For this reason, the Assembly began with an evaluation, by the JCEP President, Dalibor Renić SJ, of the work done following the previous JCEP Apostolic Plan 2021–2026. Along these same lines, we had a very interesting talk by Antoine Kerhuel SJ, Secretary of the Society of Jesus, on the role and mission of the Conferences of Provincials in the Society of Jesus today.

A good part of the General Assembly was dedicated to working with David McCallum SJ, who leads the program Discerning Leadership in Rome, to build the “who” of the Conference: the self-awareness of the provincials as one apostolic body at the service of the mission beyond the limits of their provinces. This work consisted of various sessions dedicated to looking at the world today, discovering the polarities they have to navigate as provincials, and connecting with the main purpose of the mission beyond concrete temporal tasks. Francisco José Ruiz SJ framed this work in order to integrate it into the larger apostolic planning process that will continue in the coming General Assemblies, focusing first on the “what” of the mission of the Conference and then on the “how”.

Apart from this main work done during these days, as mentioned, we also had the presence of John Guiney SJ, director of the PCCP programme (Promotion of a Consistent Culture of Protection) in the Society of Jesus, and Brian Cramner, Safeguarding coordinator at the JCEP. They updated the provincials on the work being done on safeguarding at the level of the Universal Society and at the Conference.

On a more down-to-earth level, during the Assembly we also dealt with some current issues related to the daily life of the Conference. Particularly this time, we took the time to study and approve the 2027 JCEP Budget, presented by Gonzalo Villagrán SJ as JCEP Treasurer, and we discussed some current personnel needs.

The General Assembly also included some beautiful and joyful moments, particularly during the visit of the major superiors to Dublin. Terry Howard SJ, Socius of the Irish Province, with the help of Irish Jesuits and lay collaborators, prepared a beautiful visit to the National Gallery of Ireland where we saw the marvellous painting by Caravaggio, The Taking of Christ (1602)—a painting that was donated to the Jesuits in 1930, was placed in the dining room of a Jesuit community in Dublin for 60 years, and was identified as a Caravaggio only in 1990. The painting is now on indefinite loan to the National Gallery of Ireland.

After this moment of enjoying beauty, we had a moment of history as we visited St. Francis Xavier Church on Gardiner Street, a church that has played a major role in Irish society since its construction in 1832. There, we also visited and prayed at the tomb of Blessed John Sullivan SJ. Finally, we had a moment of prayer and joy as we moved to Belvedere College, one of the main Jesuit schools in Ireland. After visiting the school and celebrating Mass together in its chapel, we enjoyed a marvelous dinner offered at the school.

As a takeaway from our days of sharing and communal discernment at the beginning of this process of apostolic planning, we can highlight the strong call to co-responsibility that was felt among the provincials. It was also clear to all that the role of a Jesuit provincial today should include a responsibility to care for the universality of the Society of Jesus that goes beyond the borders of any single province.