On the evening of 11 September, 26 Jesuits comprising 24 from Malaysia-Singapore (MAS) Region, Fr Joe Hampson SJ, the Interim Director of Jesuit Refugee Service Asia Pacific based in Bangkok, and Fr Holger Adler SJ, the chaplain of the German-speaking Catholics in Singapore, excitedly left Kingsmead Hall in a chartered bus for St Francis Xavier Retreat Centre (SFXRC), the old seminary in Punggol, where Pope Francis would meet us in his residence during his trip to Singapore.

We arrived at SFXRC about an hour before our scheduled meeting. To our surprise, Pope Francis came out to meet us earlier since we were already there. Rather than ending the meeting sooner, he stayed with us for nearly an hour and a half.

Although he looked visibly tired from his trip from Timor-Leste, having just arrived that afternoon, we could sense that he was happy to meet fellow Jesuits. He was relaxed and fraternal, showing particular tenderness to those among us who were unwell or physically challenged. I personally strongly felt the relaxed informality of the private audience and found the gathering much like a community meeting of Jesuits!

The meeting room was modest and simply decorated, usually serving as a classroom for talks and lessons. We thought it was a little incongruous for a papal throne, itself relatively modest, reflecting Pope Francis’ insistence on a humble papacy focused on the preferential option for the poor.

Pope Francis encouraged questions and open conversation. Several key points surfaced from the dialogue:

• The importance of prayer in our vocation
• The value of having a sense of humour
• The importance of daring to try and make mistakes rather than not try at all
• The significance of our ministries in education, youth, and faith formation
• The need to inculturate the faith and evangelise cultures in our ministries in Asia
• In vocation promotion, the importance of teaching discerners to pray, being authentic in our own witness of our vocation, and engaging the energy of young people
• The Examen and Account of Conscience as graces of the Society of Jesus

What struck most of us was how deeply Ignatian Pope Francis is and how much he loves the Society of Jesus. Several times, he referred to Jesuit history and his own experiences of ministry as a Jesuit. MAS Socius Gregory Tan SJ said that it was clear to him that even Pope Francis’ acceptance of the papacy was an act of obedience to a mission as a Jesuit. Ignatian Spirituality continues to animate and guide his mission, and the energy and dedication he has put into his papacy has been his own exercise of interior freedom—his own Magis and his Suscipe.

During the private audience, Pope Francis was furthermore asked to bless the prayer intentions written by many faithful in Singapore, which had been sent to the Kingsmead Centre of Spirituality and Counselling over the months of August and September. He saw our project as being close to the people and verbally expressed his approval, appreciating our promotion of prayer among the people. He rested his hands on the petitions carried by MAS Treasurer Sebastian Koh, paused, and prayed, which was a silent and intense gesture on his part.