After two and a half years, the communication delegates of Jesuit conferences worldwide gathered in Rome, in person and online, to discuss various aspects of their work in communications for the Society of Jesus all over, from Belgium to Brazil, Maryland to Manila.
Led by the General Curia’s Director of the Communications Office, Fr John Dardis SJ, the Curia communications team ably hosted the delegates from the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials (webmaster Fr Philip Debruyne SJ and social media manager Rafael Silva), the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States (deputy communications director Eric Clayton), the Conference of Latin American Provincials (Paulo Moregola from the Province of Brazil). Ria Limjap from the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific attended in person, while Vanessa Gorra joined online.
Despite the different time zones, other delegates joined virtually, including Tiffany Trejo in Peru, Anastasia Makunu in Kenya, Fr Bipin Lugun SJ in India, and Fr Robert Ballecer SJ and Mike Laskey in the US. Attending on the Curia side were Fr Pierre Bélanger SJ, editor of the annual Jesuit magazine, Fr Vivian Richard SJ, in charge of social media, Ignatian Year coordinator Sch Pascal Calu SJ, video producer and graphic designer Mikołaj Cempla, Jesuits Global webmaster Stefano Maero, and the office’s secretary and coordinator Caterina Talloru. It was certainly a diverse gathering of cultures and languages, especially evident during the celebration of the Mass, as the group recited the Our Father in their own mother tongue.
The four-day session began with time to reflect on the work in the last two years which have been severely impacted by the pandemic. Sharing in small groups, both face to face and virtually, was a source of consolation for everyone present. On the second day, the delegates presented the new developments from their respective conferences, proving a rich resource of ideas, content, and best practices. Each conference displayed unique ways of reflecting their local context, whether the African Jesuit AIDS network or the coverage of the war in Ukraine, and show of solidarity for refugees from the European conference. The Curia had its own set materials to be launched, which include a series of short videos on discernment and synodality, a toolkit for apostolic planning, an in-depth resource for Ignatian heritage, and a special app on Ignatian places. Other sessions on vocation promotions, with Fr General’s Councilor for Formation, Fr Mark Ravizza SJ, and social media strategies with Fr Vivian Richard SJ, were focal points during the week-long meeting.
There was a special treat for the communications group: an invitational screening of the documentary film, Il Cammino Ignaziano, at the Filmoteca Vaticana, the Vatican screening room. Directed by Catalan filmmaker Jordi Roigé, the film follows five people who set out on a pilgrimage to trace the steps of St Ignatius in Northern Spain.
The most significant part of the gathering was an hour and a half with Fr General Arturo Sosa, who listened to the delegates and gave feedback and important points to the group. Fr General Sosa described the communications group as a network, a team working together with the same intention, and moving forward as a community. He talked about “owning the narrative”, how to be proactive and not merely reactive. “Don’t lose the complexity between the mission, the Universal Apostolic Preferences and spirituality,” Fr Sosa reminded the delegates. “There is a big temptation to simplify the language,” said Fr Sosa, which he said should be “clear but not simple”. The Universal Apostolic Preferences deepen the commitment to our relationship with reconciliation and justice, which, as Fr Sosa said, is at the core of our communication processes and our message.
The meeting ended with a Mass celebrated by Fr Vivian Richard SJ, his first time to celebrate in the camerette di Sant’Ignazio di Loyola. Going back to the rooms of St Ignatius—where he lived and died, and wrote thousands of letters, ever aware of the importance of communicating—was a great source of consolation and inspiration for the small group of delegates whose job is essentially to communicate Christ to the world.