The annual meeting of the Delegates for the Social Apostolate of the European Provinces of the Society of Jesus was held from May 21 to 24 in Nuremberg, at the Jesuit Ukama Center for Social-Environmental Transformation. In addition to presenting updates on the current state of the social apostolate in the different Provinces, an important focus was the answer to a request from the President of the European Conference, who’s preparing a new Apostolic Plan and inviting different groups to participate in its elaboration. This document will play a significant role in shaping the European Jesuit action plan for the next five years. The Social Delegates are also engaged in an ongoing evaluation process of the social sector in Europe, and dedicated some time to it. The gathering featured enriching encounters as well, including a conversation with German activists from the “Last Generation” movement, along with opportunities for recreation and local exploration. The meeting concluded with a convivial community barbecue in the garden of the house, complete with the region’s famed Nuremberg sausages, potato salad, and, naturally, outstanding local beer.    

The annual in-presence meeting of the European Social Delegates took place this year in Hungary, from 5th to 9th May, in the beautiful premises of the Fényi Gyula Jesuit High School in Miskolc. Apart from the usual group (provincial social delegates, the Xavier Network, and JRS-Europe representatives, under the coordination of Filipe Martins SJ, JESC Director and European Social Delegate), the gathering was attended by Dalibor Renić SJ, President of the European Jesuit Provincials, Roberto Jaramillo SJ, the new Global Secretary for Social Justice and Ecology, and János Lukács SJ, European Delegate for Formation. The intense 3-day agenda included updates on the social work of the Provinces, a reflection on the new calls to the European Jesuit social sector, a sharing on different provincial models of formation on Identity and Mission, and an engaging session with Dr. Miklós Vecsei, national Commissioner for the Integration of Roma people in Hungary. A visit to the Jesuit project with Roma people in Arló and to the JRS Hungary office in Budapest (see here) completed the programme, wonderfully hosted by the Hungarian Jesuits and lay collaborators.  

One year after the Social and Ecology Congress in Loyola, the group of JCEP Social Delegates met in Lisbon (in Seminário de Almada, just across the beautiful Tagus river), from 14th to 18th May, for their annual gathering. During the intensive four days, the Delegates exchanged good practices from the different Jesuit Provinces, reflected together on pressing issues such as the Ignatian identity of the sector or the new structures to serve the mission, and also prayed together so to discern where the many needs and the Spirit are calling the social sector to move towards. Engaging visits to four social works that the Jesuits have in the Lisbon area (Centro P. Amadeu Pinto, JRS-Portugal, Centro Social da Musgueira and Centro Cultural Brotéria) were also organised, with animated dialogues between the teams. As one delegate shared at the end, “the amount of needs may sometimes look daunting, but also friendship and collaboration helps to keep hope alive.” The next meeting will happen in Budapest in the Spring 2024, and more about the meeting can be read here.     Filipe Martins JESC 

Called to walk closer with the Excluded, the social apostolate delegates met in Toulouse for the annual networking meeting. While some delegates were able to join online only, most of us arrived on September 22nd enjoying the wonderful hospitality of the Jesuit community as well as the hosting families. Families from the “Welcome” project of JRS France hosted us generously in their homes – as they do migrants within Welcome – while during the day we held our meetings and journeyed to the various works of social apostolate (SA) in the region. Jérôme Gué SJ, the EOF Province SA Delegate and our host, first organised a visit to the ICAM campus (Institut Catholique d'Arts et Métiers) and its Production School. This school offers an exemplary commitment to the integration, formation and employment of young people aged 15 to 18 with little to no qualifications, while ICAM too continues strongly rooted in the Ignatian tradition, offering quality higher education and the professional formation to its students in collaboration with local companies and businesses. In Toulouse, the SA Jesuits are involved in other projects such as ARPEJ (Accompagner vers la Réussite les Parents Et les Jeunes). The volunteers in this project accompany young people in difficulty through Ignatian pedagogy, support for schooling and professional development in the heart of working-class neighbourhoods. After staying at the ARPEJ workshop, we met representatives of the Muslim community in the Bagatelle neighbourhood and visited their mosque. We learned about their shared projects with the local Catholic parish and Jesuit Community, such as the food bank, common meetings and beyond. We concluded our annual meeting with the final Mass and festive couscous dinner, inviting over our collaborators and friends. Xavier Jeyaraj SJ, the SA Secretary in Rome, introduced the festivity with his testimony and sharing on the life and work of Fr. Stan Swamy. We felt special gratitude towards Jérôme for such a wonderful welcome, organisation and exposure to the works of social apostolate in Toulouse, the families and the community. As a network of Delegates, we were able to learn from one another and share about the projects, work and plans of SA in each of our Provinces. In addition, we were pleased to see that, if we want, we can offset the (plane travel) carbon footprint by taking the train instead. Finally, we have taken a number of steps towards the organisation of the Justice and Ecology Congress that we prepare together with other JCEP Justice networks. The Congress will take place in Loyola from March 28th to April 1st of 2022. Peter Rožič SJ

Social Apostalate delegates meet. It is often from our Social apostolate Delegates that we hear most clearly about the Jesuit acts of love that are shown to the poor, excluded, the sick and the needy. Eighteen of us gathered online in early February. Then, on the feast of St Joseph, 15 Delegates from all over Europe gathered again. We share what God has done through us in this difficult time of the pandemic. We share about how we are. We talk about what sustains us and our works of social apostolate. And we discuss about what defines us as Social Delegates and how best to serve in our various Provinces. Also, we discern on how best to prepare the JCEP 2022 Justice Congress. From March 28th to April 1st next year about 200 participants from all over Europe and the Near East are to gather in Loyola from our five European Justice networks: Social Delegates and their teams, JRS-E teams, Social Centres, Xavier Network members and the emerging network of Eco-Jesuit Europe. The Congress will represent an activating milestone in the renewal and alignment processes of the JCEP justice networks, equipping us to implement together the UAPs by 2029. As a group of Social Delegates, we used to meet once a year in person. As we no longer can, we now gather online, three times by zoom. Mutual updates and support give us encouragement as well as creativity for action. Still, we hope to meet in Toulouse from 22nd to 26th of September 2021. There, the EOF Delegate Jérôme Gué SJ will introduce us to a variety of social, educational and other projects to explore, among other apostolic preferences, how our works integrate the one on collaborating in the care of our Common Home.

“I hope that these two days will be a moment of consolation and encouragement for all of you”, said Franck Janin SJ, JCEP President, as he opened the gathering, desiring a “meeting which combines reflection and experience in the field.” Organised by JESC, the meeting of social apostolate delegates took place in Brussels between February 15 to 17. The delegates worked on best practices and challenges in order to strengthen the Social Apostolate and plan a deeper renewal. On the first day, we reflected on the implementation of the Universal Apostolic Preferences, based on SJES Jubilee Congress recommendations and the feedback from the Provinces. We shared ideas and discerned about the Social Apostolate´s mission, aiming at defining our goals. “The UAPs are a gift” said Luis Arancibia, ESP delegate “and it is our mission to implement them”. Second day, we entered the discernment from an on-the-ground perspective. At the KU Leuven, Rinald D’ Souza SJ and Nicholas Standaert SJ showcased the practical implications of bringing together Social and Intellectual Apostolates for the service of the most vulnerable. Pieter de Witte and Geertjan Zuijdwegt, academics and prison chaplains, then took us to a prison to witness the conditions of prisoners in Belgium and talk to one of the inmates. The sharp silence after the visit represented a sign of deep personal reflection and a call to hear the cry of the excluded. Concluding the meeting, Peter Rožič SJ, (JCEP Social Coordinator) invited us “to work together to achieve a common goal of a deeper renewal by implementing the UAPs.” How? Knowing each other better, sharing best practices and developing common projects. Gianmarco Palermo JESC Justice Assistant