The JECSE Pedagogical Leaders Conference 2025 was held from 25 to 28 March in the serene setting of Centro Pastorale Ambrosiano (Seveso, Italy), and brought together pedagogical leaders from Jesuit and companion schools across Europe. Over 90 participants from 13 countries attended, including school heads, deputy heads, heads of studies, formators, and trainer ... diverse roles united in the shared commitment: to guide, support, and mentor colleagues, thereby contributing to a more Ignatian and fruitful approach to teaching and learning in our schools. Inspired by the theme "He sent them two by two... Accompaniment: Walking with our colleagues from and into the heart of our Ignatian tradition", participants engaged in meaningful discussions and shared practical tools to deepen our mission as Ignatian educators. “Li inviò due a due” – “He send them two by two” In his opening address, Fr Claudio Barretta SJ, President of the Jesuit Educational Foundation in Italy, reminded us that true Ignatian accompaniment is not a solitary journey but a shared one, rooted in trust, collaboration and openness. Walking together - despite challenges and differences - enables us to witness to and embody the deeper mission to which we are called. Prof. Ana Berastegui from the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Spain, invited us to reflect on the current context and the needs of our students. She inspired us to consider how we can build a culture of care in our schools by promoting personal growth and fostering meaningful relationships. Deepening the call The second day of the conference focused on the relationship between accompaniment and mission. Brian Flannery from Ireland gave an inspiring presentation on the transformative power of accompaniment in educational settings, highlighting its potential to deeply impact both educators and students. Yolanda Baquero shared how the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP) can serve as a practical tool for integrating our mission into everyday teaching practices, guiding educators in aligning their work with Ignatian values. The day was enriched by moments of silence, prayer and spiritual conversation, providing a sacred space for deep reflection and sharing. In the evenings, participants gathered for Taizé-style community prayer - an experience of simplicity, contemplation and deep connection. The conference also offered moments of joyful integration, where participants connected informally, deepening bonds and sharing experiences in a spirit of camaraderie and fellowship. Accompaniment in mission: baby steps for our schools On the third day of the conference we had the opportunity to hear from colleagues who shared powerful testimonies of moments of being accompanied and how they, in turn, accompany others. Participants learned how JECSE and Educate Magis can further support their work in fostering a strong educational community. In the afternoon, group workshops allowed us to take action and plan 'baby steps' at local, national and regional levels to strengthen our collective efforts to accompany each other in the pedagogical field. Closing reflections and connections: A final day of inspiration The conference concluded with the Eucharist at San Fedele, which provided a spiritual and reflective end to our meeting. On this day we also had the opportunity to visit Istituto Leone XIII in Milan, where we heard about their innovative educational project and their impressive plans for the future. The day was rounded off with a wonderful walk through the streets of Milan, culminating in the inevitable group photo in front of the iconic Milan Cathedral. As the conference drew to a close, the atmosphere was one of gratitude, inspiration and renewed commitment to Ignatian Education, leaving participants deeply enriched and motivated to take these insights back to their schools and communities with a renewed sense of purpose and passion for their work.

On 9 November 2024, Fr General Arturo Sosa, SJ, has appointed Fr Jimmy Bartolo, SJ, from the Euro-Mediterranean Province, as the next Secretary for Secondary and Pre-secondary Education of the General Curia. Fr Jimmy Bartolo will begin his job in January 2026. This will give him and Fr José Mesa, SJ, the current Secretary, plenty of time to plan a smooth transition of this important apostolic area of the Society. Fr Bartolo is currently the Rector of Saint Aloysius College in Malta. He brings a great deal of experience, knowledge and dynamism to the Secretariat because of his many years working in schools, provincial coordination of schools and team work at the level of the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials. At the handover Fr Mesa will have completed more than 15 years as the Secretary for Education.

This year's meeting of the JCEP Education Delegates was held in Miskolc, Hungary, under the theme 'Jesus at the centre: educators who inspire faith'. From 25 to 29 November, 25 members of the JECSE Education Commission (Education Delegates and Regional Coordinators) met to reflect on the Catholic identity of our schools and to seek together ways to promote faith formation in schools in our increasingly secularised region. The meeting was also attended by Fr José Alberto Mesa SJ, Secretary for Education of the Society of Jesus and Fr Dalibor Renić SJ, President of the Conference of European Provincials (JCEP). The delegates' meeting focused on deepening the reflection begun in Yogyakarta during the JESEDU Global Seminar last summer. Led by Fr Daniel Huang SJ, Professor at the Faculty of Missiology at the Gregorian University in Rome, participants reflected on how our schools can realistically respond to Fr Arturo Sosa SJ's call to be apostolic bridges and evangelisers in today's challenging times. Dr John Stoer, former Delegate for Education of the British Province, then helped to deepen our reflection on religious education in our schools. A special moment of the meeting was dedicated to deepening our own relationship with God. A retreat prepared for us by Fr Jimmy Bartolo SJ, with time for individual prayer and faith sharing, ended with a beautiful Eucharist celebrated together with the students of the Fényi Gyula Jesuit boarding school. It was a very moving moment to pray together with the young people and to hear their honest testimony of being "salt of the earth and light of the world". The meeting was also an opportunity for delegates to share experiences. We heard about the important events and challenges of our schools in the different Provinces, discussed many practical issues related to the new PCCP training, the future JECSE formation and the collaboration with Educate Magis. It was with particular emotion and a sense of unity that we listened to Fr Denis Meyer SJ, the Near East Education Delegate, who informed us of the current situation in Lebanon and expressed his gratitude for the support given to the schools in the Beqaa Valley by the various schools in our network. Our meeting ended with an inspiring speech by the President of JCEP&JECSE, who congratulated our network for the work it has done in recent years and encouraged us to continue our journey in the service of our common mission. Fr Dalibor reminding us that "JECSE is a mission of Father General and we can now truly experience that it is Missio Dei". We concluded our annual meeting with a strong sense that God is at work in our diverse, secular and post-secular context. We want to continue our discernment of what evangelisation means today and how we can place faith formation at the heart of the work of our schools. We are very grateful to Fr Ferenc Holzinger SJ, the Hungarian Education Delegate, for inviting us to Miskolc and for the extraordinary hospitality of his school. We would also like to express our gratitude to our wonderful guests and keynote speakers who led us in prayer, reflection and discernment during these days, and to all the participants for their commitment and dedication. "We live in a time of mixed emotions: there is a war in the region and there is a lot of uncertainty and fear about our own future and even about the future of the whole world. In such cases, the gift of faith is very relevant. The joy, hope and desire to take an active part in the affairs of the world can be felt in the students I met in this school in Miskolc. This is the goal, the responsibility of the teacher, who not only teaches a specific subject, but also models the perfect human being, nourished by the Ignatian roots. True Jesuit education is not in the head, but in the heart. For 500 years, the spirituality of St Ignatius has touched and transformed people, shaped and nourished teachers, and through them, as a result of their work, shaped young people". Fr Jose Mesa SJ in the school interview

Educators from JECSE schools are growing in their Ignatian leadership To serve our common mission well together, we need to continually deepen our faith, develop our skills, and inspire and strengthen each other. To this end, 18 leaders of Jesuit and associated schools from Europe gathered for another week of formation in the European Center of Comunication and Culture in Falenica, near Warsaw, Poland. They took part in Module II of the Ignatian Leadership Programme organised by JECSE, our European network of Jesuit schools. They come from 8 different countries: Germany, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, all united by their passion and commitment to Jesuit education. They spent an entire week together, filled with prayer, input, group time and personal reflection focused on leadership within the organisation. The theme of the meeting was "Fostering a Spirit-led organisation". "We live in a rapidly changing world, the so-called VUCA world: volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous; in which we as organisations and leaders have to adapt", this module helped us to reflect on "what we need to address - together with others in our schools - and how we can change and even transform things", one of the participants shared. One of the facilitators also shared her perspective on the process undertaken:  “We saw our VUCA contexts with a new look, and were challenged to think about transformation using Theory U. We heard the call to go to the purpose of our Jesuit schools by seeing and sensing, through discernment in common. That means we have to navigate the polarities in the school team. The question arose how to put the (pastoral) mission in the heart of the school? The Victoria-scale helped us to aim for dialogue within the diversity of our school realities. A wonderful Module!” A very special moment of each ILP module is meeting a special guest. This year the participants had the great opportunity to meet Fr Wojciech Żmudziński, former Socius of the Northern Province of Poland, a very experienced Ignatian Educational Leader. In his testimony he explained how he understands Ignatian leadership and how to initiate and guide processes of change in the dynamics of the Ignatian paradigm. He shared many inspiring insights that will stay with the participants for a long time. One of the participants remarked "He explained to us what Ignatian leadership means to him. He pointed out that it depends on the circumstances and that when change happens you have to focus on the "go-go" and the "so-so" groups and not be paralysed by the "no-no" group. The participants also had the opportunity to spend a nice evening in the city centre of Warsaw and to learn a little bit about the history of this place and of Poland. Now it is time for them to put what they have learned into practice and to test it in their everyday school life. They will share their observations and consult with programme facilitators during online small group meetings. And already in March 2025 they will meet again, this time in Malta, to reflect on how to lead into the unknown.... The whole meeting is best summed up by one of the participants:  “It was a fascinating and instructive format in which the meetings and exchanges with each other were of incredible value”.

Educating for Faith in the 21st century  From 24 till 28 June 2024 more than 100 members of the Jesuit Global Network of Schools (JGNS), from 37 countries, gathered at the De Britto College, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, to explore what Educating for Faith in the 21st Century means for contemporary Jesuit schools. They participated in the II Global Seminar JESEDU-Jogja2024, which is part of the nine-year cycle of international gatherings for the ongoing discernment of our schools: “Walking as a Global Network at the Service of the Mission”.  14 members of the Jesuit European Committee for Primary and Secondary Education (JECSE) represented our Conference at the seminar. They were joined by colleagues from Jesuit and companion schools from around the world via social media networks and live streaming hosted by Educate Magis. A virtual pre-seminar, which took place from 1 April to 6 May 2024, preceded the face-to-face seminar and contributed to its preparation and progress.  Fr Jimmy Bartolo SJ (Rector of St Aloysius College, Malta; JECSE Board and Steering Committee member), moderator of the first day of the Seminar, stated: “The seminar in Jogjakarta was a unique experience of the strong and rich global network of Jesuit schools in the Society of Jesus. I felt the Lord calling us to go deeper in strengthening our Catholic identity by a mature dialogue with other religions and with our secular and post-Christian contexts. The hospitality of our Indonesian colleagues was special”.  The dynamics of the experiences  Each day, participants had the opportunity to engage in a series of activities that encouraged conversation and provided time for reflection to explore how they could deepen their effectiveness in faith formation in the local context. Each day began with prayer led by scholastics and ended with the Eucharist. The morning sessions included a meeting with prominent keynote speakers and a presentation of two experiences combined with a plenary discussion. The afternoons were devoted mainly to individual prayer and reflection and spiritual conversation in international groups.  On the third day of JESED, the main event was a pilgrimage - a spiritual journey to three well-known religious shrines in the Yogyakarta region. The aim was to give participants an experience of 'education for inter-religious dialogue'. They were encouraged to spend time in prayer and reflection, guided by biblical texts. The day ended with a visit to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Ganjuran Temple, built in the Javanese style, which houses a Hindu statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus depicting Jesus as a Javanese king. The pilgrimage concluded with Mass, during which Fr Damian Czerniak SJ (Director of the Jesuit School in Gdynia, Poland) gave an inspiring homily on “The Heart on an Open Palm”.  Our schools as apostolic bridges In his introductory video to the participants gathered in Yogyakarta, Fr. General Arturo Sosa SJ acknowledged that "our world, including our schools, is becoming more diverse than ever in terms of religions and cultures". In response, Fr Sosa recommended that Jesuit schools "become apostolic bridges between this beautiful and God-given diversity and our faith". Over five days of shared prayer, reflection and sharing, the seminar participants discerned how our schools today can faithfully and fully respond to this call.  Sharing God through Ignatian Spirituality On the first day, Dr Damian Zynda (Director of Mission and Pastoral Care at McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, NY) gave a presentation entitled “Sharing God through Ignatian Spirituality”. She presented the transformative power of Ignatian spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises in education, advocating a holistic approach that fosters a life-changing encounter with God. Fr. Álvaro Lobo SJ (Educsi, Coordinador de Pastoral, Spain) then presented the development of the transmission of the faith in Spanish schools in a session of sharing experiences. Inspired by the presentations, the participants discussed the integration of Ignatian formation programmes and the importance of faith in educational settings. They stressed the need for faith to be an essential part of the school culture and not just an obligation or a secondary priority.  Educating for Inter-Religious Dialogue The keynote speaker on the second day was Dr Fatimah Husein (Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University, Yogyakarta). She spoke on "Education for Interreligious Dialogue: The Indonesian Experience". She stressed that engaging in interfaith dialogue does not weaken one's religious commitment, but provides an opportunity to reflect on it more deeply. Participants discussed the importance of a more hermeneutic approach to religious language and the importance of involving parents in the education of their children.  They also stressed the importance of Jesuit schools embracing, sharing and celebrating their Catholic identity, which is characterised by a kind of interreligious dialogue modelled on Jesus Christ, in which the divine identity embraces the human.  Forming a Resilient Faith The theme of the fourth day was "Forming a Resilient Faith: Teaching for In-Depth Faith Formation in our Secular Context Today", led by Dr Paul Sharkey (Catholic Theological College, University of Divinity, Melbourne, Australia). Also on this day, Mrs Minerva Porcel (Pedagogical Director, Fundació Jesuïtes Educació, Spain) presented a new educational project for Jesuit schools in Catalonia that integrates the latest legal requirements with Ignatian pedagogy and values. During the plenary sessions, participants addressed issues such as the importance of creative fidelity in deepening faith and the importance of preserving a sense of the sacred in the face of secularisation. It was noted that it is important that Ignatian practices such as Examen, discernment and prayer do not lose their transcendent dimension, but remain ways of engaging with God and Jesus. They also emphasised the importance of the formation of all members of the school community, including pastoral leaders and formators, in Ignatian spirituality, pedagogy and worldview.   Daniel Patrick Huang SJ (Faculty of Missiology, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome) introduced the participants to the reflections of the final day of the seminar. He spoke about evangelisation in multi-religious and secular settings, emphasising the importance of an Ignatian approach that focuses on building relationships and active listening. An open discussion between participants and the speaker focused on the need to develop models of evangelisation in education that can help to build clear and welcoming identities. As we celebrate current evangelistic efforts in our schools, we must continually seek new ways to provide relevant and meaningful faith formation opportunities for all, always keeping Jesus at the centre. Being part of a global network and being open to others can inspire us as we explore our 'Glocal' reality.  Continuing our journey of caring for Catholic identity and faith formation in our schools At the end of the meeting, the regional groups discussed the main invitations, reflections and questions that emerged from JESEDU-Jogja2024. Each conference shared the resonances of the days of the meeting, how to share their experiences and what the next steps should be for education for faith in the 21st century in each region.  Fr. José Mesa SJ, Secretary for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education of the Society of Jesus, chaired the final plenary and presented a draft vision statement that will be published in the coming days. Fr. Mesa thanked all the participants and organisers of JESEDU-Jogja2024 and announced that the next meeting of the Jesuit Global Network of Schools, the II Congress JESEDU, will take place in Montreal, Canada, in 2027.  The representatives of the Jesuit and Companion Schools of our Conference would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to the organisers of this exceptional meeting for the excellent preparation and the warm welcome in Indonesia. We would also like to thank all those who reflected with us throughout the week on the theme of the Catholic identity of our schools and the possibility of further faith formation in them, so that we may be even better able to respond to the challenges of our time, faithful to our mission.  JECSE representatives at JESEDU-Jogja in alphabetical order: Ms Agnieszka Baran (JECSE Director), Fr Jimmy Bartolo SJ (Malta, EUM), Fr Damian Czerniak SJ (Poland, PMA), Francisco Delgado SJ (Spain, ESP), Mr Mindaugas Grigatitis (Lithuania, ESP), Ms Gabriele Hüdepohl (Germany, ECE), Fr Alvaro Lobo (Spain, ESP), Ms Minerva Porcel (Spain, ESP), Mr Miguel Poza (Spain, ESP), Mr Juan Reuda (Spain, ESP), Mr Jonathan Tiernan (Ireland, HIB), Mr Bob Van De Putte (Belgium North, ELC), Ms Jospehine Vassalo (Malta, EUM), Fr Alessandro Viano SJ (Italy, EUM)

The International Commission on the Apostolate of Jesuit Education (ICAJE) convened in Rome from May 21st to 24th, 2024, to address significant topics for Jesuit secondary and pre-secondary education. Attendees included representatives from the six conference networks that form the Jesuit Global Network of Schools (JGNS), the General Coordinator of Fe y Alegria, the Secretary for Education, members of Educate Magis and the Assistant to the Secretariat. This year, the meeting included a special audience with Pope Francis. During this encounter, the Pope expressed his gratitude for the work done in our Jesuit schools and Companion Schools, as he highlighted the transformative potential of Ignatian education and emphasized the importance of keeping Jesus at the heart of our mission. In his message, he urged educators to lead by example, and our schools to put the formation of educators at the center, offering the necessary training to discover their vocations as educators. Pope Francis also recalled the Global Compact on Education, calling for a shift from a culture of the ‘I’ to the culture of the ‘we,’ and stressed the importance of patience and perseverance in the long-term task of education. Some of the key discussions and presentations held during the meeting:  Each ICAJE member delivered a presentation on the current state of Jesuit education in their region, focusing on the preparation for the II Seminar JESEDU-Jogja2024, engagement with Educate Magis, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education. The reports highlighted the enduring impact of the pandemic, including long-term changes in educational practices and strategies for fostering resilience among schools. The Secretary for education shared updates on various projects and initiatives, emphasizing their alignment with the Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs) and their ongoing support to global educational collaboration. ICAJE members shared their proposals on initiatives for enhancing inter-regional collaboration, sharing best practices, and establishing spaces for joint reflection. Participants engaged in a spiritual conversation to discern ways for Educating for Faith in the 21st Century. This dialogue builds on the topics that a group of Jesuit educators from around the world will be discussing in the Global II Seminar JESEDU-Jogja2024, that will take place in June 2024 in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. Fr. James Hanvey SJ, Secretary of the Service of Faith participated in this conversation. The representatives of Educate Magis presented updates on their projects, emphasizing their role in building an online apostolic community of Jesuit educators. The feedback from ICAJE was gathered to better meet the needs of the network and enhance their offerings. The Organizing Committee of JESEDU-Jogja2024 presented the updates on the organization for the upcoming seminar in Indonesia. ICAJE members provided valuable feedback to refine the event. John Guiney SJ and Dr. Sandra Racionero joined the meeting to share with ICAJE the details of the PCCP Project (Promoting a Consistent Culture of Protection in our Schools), that was introduced by Fr. General Arturo Sosa SJ in late 2023.  Special Highlight: Audience with Pope Francis On Friday the 24th, the meeting participants had an audience with Pope Francis. The purpose was to express the commitment of the Jesuit Schools to support and promote the New Global Compact of Education launched by Pope Francis. We also presented the Pope with a copy of the document Jesuit Schools: A Living Tradition in the 21st Century, and a special edition of the Educate Magis Global Map of the Schools. As part of this encounter, the Pope shared an inspiring speech in which he expressed his gratitude to Society of Jesus for her work in the schools, highlighting the immense evangelizing potential of education that St. Ignatius and his companions soon realized. He emphasized that Jesuit education must keep Jesus at its center, integrating the Gospel into the schools and “accompanying young people so that they discover in service to others and in academic rigor the construction of the common good”. Pope Francis reminded us that Fr. Arrupe’s call for “educating people for others” means to define education by “its humanizing results and not its economic results”. The Pope praised the effort to turn education from a personal success mindset to one that focuses on collective well-being, advocating for a shift from the culture of ‘I’ to ‘we’. He stressed that true education involves leading by example and urged educators to accompany and develop their students, especially those at the margins of our societies. Finally, he highlighted the importance of the upcoming JESEDU-Jogja2024 Seminar in deepening the meaning and connection of the first Universal Apostolic Preference and the others: “without a true relationship between educators and the Lord, none of the rest is possible”. Read full speech Closing remarks The meeting concluded with a Eucharist in the “rooms of Ignatius,” where St. Ignatius of Loyola spent his final days. Fr. José Mesa SJ remarked, “This meeting was pivotal in reinforcing our mission as a global network. The topics we addressed are crucial for the future of Jesuit education, and ICAJE remains a vital force in our journey toward becoming a universal body with a universal mission.” After the Eucharist, the participants went to St. Ignatius Church asking, before the tomb of St. John Berchman’s -patron of the Jesuit Global Network of Schools, for strength and perseverance in our service to the mission of the Society entrusted to us by the Church.