JECSE

06/06/2026

"Ignatius of Loyola possessed this boldness, trusting in the desolations and consolations of his heart, in an exercise of discernment and imagination through which he chose peace over arms and the saints over Some of our students from Spain and Portugal are attending a meeting with the Pope in Madrid. powerful."

Pope Leo XIV

Some of our students from Spain and Portugal are attending a meeting with the Pope in Madrid today 🥰

"Ignacio de Loyola tuvo esta audacia, dando crédito a las desolaciones y consolaciones de su corazón, en un ejercicio de discernimiento e imaginación por el cual prefirió la paz a las armas y los santos a los poderosos".

Papa León XIV

04/06/2026

🎉 On Tuesday, 2 June, the 2026 edition of the **JECSE training programme "IPP in the Classroom"** came to a successful close.

Over the past six months, fourteen teachers from SAFA Sevilla - Nuestra Señora de los Reyes (Spain) and Colégio São João de Brito (Lisbon) have journeyed together through a process of learning, reflection, and exchange. Together, they explored how the **Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP)** can continue to enrich classroom practice and strengthen our shared mission as educators.

We are grateful to all participants for their commitment, openness, and willingness to learn from one another across borders. Their engagement is a beautiful example of how our network grows stronger when we share experiences and reflect together on the mission entrusted to us.

Congratulations to all who completed the programme, and thank you for helping bring Ignatian pedagogy to life in your schools every day!

25/05/2026

💡...Jesuit education prioritizes formation for the mission in Jesuit schools. To support this, the Secretariat for Education and ICAJE, with Educate Magis, offer the online course "10 Global Identifiers of Jesuit Schools" for new and experienced Jesuit educators. 🌎👏 It provides a comprehensive understanding of Jesuit education’s key elements to enhance teaching practices. The course can be completed individually or in groups, fostering learning and reflection, with a certificate awarded upon completion.

To access the online course "10 Global Identifiers of Jesuit Schools", visit 👉https://courses.educatemagis.org/course/integrated-holisitc-perspective-professional-development-section/

25/05/2026

🦁 Pope Leo XIV has just published Magnifica Humanitas, a new encyclical on human dignity in the age of Artificial Intelligence: and it speaks directly to the heart of Jesuit education.

🏫 He says "school is the place where new generations can learn to seek and love the truth, to reflect on the meaning of life and to recognize the dignity of every person" (§143). And we agree.

🌍 In a world that risks measuring people by what they produce, the Pope reminds us of something we try to live every day in our schools: every student has infinite worth, not because of what they achieve, but because of who they are.

📷 "Schools are not called to follow the pace of the digital world, but to offer that which the digital sphere by itself cannot provide, namely a shared time for learning and developing trustworthy relationships" (§147)

We welcome this encyclical as both a challenge and a confirmation.
📖 Read Magnifica Humanitas at vatican.va

25/05/2026

🧭 Bart has been a true gift to us at the Ignatian Leadership Programme sharing wisdom, insight, and thoughtful words that illuminated both the challenges and the consolations of leadership.

Now, we get to learn from your actions as well! 🙏 What a beautiful next chapter!

Bart van Emmerik sj has been appointed as the new Regional Superior of the ELC on May 19. The exact start date of his regional office has yet to be determined.

We will be praying for your new mission, Bart: may it be filled with grace, courage, and joy. ✨

Nieuwe regionale overste voor de jezuïeten in de Lage Landen: Bart van Emmerik sj

Antwerpen, 20 mei 2026

Pater Generaal Arturo Sosa heeft Bart van Emmerik op 19 mei benoemd tot nieuwe regionaal overste van de ELC. De precieze startdatum van zijn regionalaat moet nog bepaald worden.

Bart van Emmerik is 63 jaar oud, geboren op 21 oktober 1962. Hij bracht zijn jeugd door in Haarlem. Thuis had zijn creatieve en durvende vader een grafisch bedrijf. Zijn ouders, beiden overleden, waren geëngageerd in Marriage Encounter. Bart groeide op met een oudere zus, een broer en een neef – wiens ouders waren overleden – in een warm en verwelkomend gezin.

Na middelbare school (VWO) en economiestudie begon hij op 19 september 1982 zijn noviciaat te Oudergem Brussel. Bart is dus bijna 44 jaar in de Sociëteit. Filosofie studeerde hij in het Centrum voor Kerkelijke Studies te Leuven waarna collegewerk volgde vanuit onze Stanislasresidentie te Delft. Hij studeerde theologie in Amsterdam - van ’88 tot ’94 - met ook een parochiestage in Delft. Op 3 oktober 1993 werd hij priester gewijd door Mgr. De Hovre sj.

Zijn eerste zending betrof het pastoraal team van de parochiefederatie Nootdorp en Pijnacker van 1994 tot 1999. Daarna volgde het tertiaat in de USA met een lang en beklijvend experiment in de Holy Rosary Mission in Pine Ridge, South-Dakota, in een reservaat van Native Americans. Bart sprak zijn laatste geloften uit in juni 2001. Van 2000 tot 2002 was hij pastor in het Reinier de Graafziekenhuis en daarnaast spirituaal van de priesteropleiding Vronesteyn van het bisdom Rotterdam.

Er loopt een sterke spiritualiteitslijn door zijn jezuïetenleven. Vanaf 2002 werkte Bart in ons bezinningscentrum Godsheide als adjunct-directeur, tot de sluiting eind 2006. Hij verhuisde toen naar ons bezinningscentrum in Drongen, als vice-overste van de communiteit. Eind 2013 werd hij directeur van het Ignatiushuis te Amsterdam en ontwikkelde daar het Platform voor Ignatiaanse Spiritualiteit. Hij is tot op vandaag gedelegeerde voor de ignatiaanse spiritualiteit. Bart is een expert in gemeenschappelijke onderscheiding en Ignatian Leadership.

Dit niet alleen in de DICAP van onze regio maar ook voor andere religieuze organisaties en in toenemende mate internationaal. Hij leidt momenteel het vierkoppig team van de belangrijke West-Europese Common Mission Retreat van 6 tot 15 juli eerstkomend. 1 van 2Daarnaast was Bart ook lid van de roepingencommissie, algemeen kerkelijk assistent van GCL Nederland en assistent van Marriage Encounter. Op bestuursvlak is Bart al bijna 25 jaar consultor, eerst van de Nederlandse provincie, na de fusie van de ELC. Hij was meermaals lid van de Provinciale Congregatie en medebegeleider van het Soeterbeeck-proces. Na een sabbattijd in Noord-Ierland eind 2019, werd hij op 1 januari 2020 socius van de regionaal. Bart is Nederlander maar heeft als jezuïet meer dan twintig jaar in Vlaanderen gewoond. Bart heeft dus een grondig inzicht in vele dossiers, medewerkers en structuren van onze regio.

Hij is diep overtuigd van de waarde van samenwerking tussen jezuïeten en medewerkers, gemeenschappelijke onderscheiding en het belang van het Ignatiaans Netwerk. Bart heeft een regelmatig gebedsleven en verwerkt veel al fietsend.

We wensen socius Bart een goede overgangsfase naar het regionalaat, en vragen dat ieder hem meedraagt in haar of zijn gebed en dat God hem overvloedig mag zegenen met alle nodige genades.

Met hartelijke en vertrouwvolle groet,

Marc Desmet sj

Regionaal overste van de jezuïeten in de Lage Landen

21/05/2026

You don't want to miss this! 🫣🤯

🌍JRS Europe is promoting the final Together for CHANGE event: students, educators, and community leaders from across Europe 🇪🇺 will gather to share stories, tools, and ideas for building more inclusive societies through education and solidarity.

📍 Museum of Migration Molenbeek, Brussels
📅 27 May 2026 | 09:30 – 13:30
🎟️ Free — but registration is required!

👉Registration link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/iD1859kKFn

Join us in Brussels for the final Together for CHANGE event: Empowering Youth, Schools and Communities for Inclusive Societies.

On 27 May 2026, students, educators, civil society organisations, and community actors from across Europe will come together at the Museum of Migration Molenbeek to reflect on how education, dialogue, and solidarity can help build more inclusive societies.

The event will feature:
• students’ testimonies and solidarity actions from participating countries
• educational tools and methodologies developed through the project
• a panel discussion on inclusive education, youth participation, and active citizenship
• networking opportunities with actors working towards more welcoming communities

📍 Museum of Migration Molenbeek, Brussels
📅 27 May 2026
🕘 09:30 – 13:30

Participation is free, but registration is required.

Registration link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/iD1859kKFn

15/05/2026

We are still thinking about France 🇫🇷

The JECSE Steering Committee wrapped up an intense and fruitful meeting last week.

The agenda? Nothing less than the future of Jesuit education across Europe and the Near East.

We rolled up our sleeves on three fronts:
🔗 Strengthening our network structures
📅 Preparing upcoming formation events
📋 Finalising the JECSE Apostolic Planning process: a defining step for where we're headed together

What drives us isn't the items in the agenda, but the the spirit in the room: collaboration, discernment, and a shared sense of mission that reminds us why this work matters.

Onwards. 🙏

14/05/2026

🎓 Congratulations to Dr. Rita Atienza on her doctoral dissertation!

Rita is the Director of the Ateneo Teacher Center in Manila, Philippines, and over the past years she has been a wonderful collaborator and friend to JECSE - generously supporting our Ignatian Pedagogy Programme with her expertise and dedication.

What a privilege it is to work and learn from you, Rita. This achievement is well deserved! 👏

Congratulations to our very own Dr. RITA JACINTO ATIENZA, Director of the Ateneo Teacher Center, who successfully defended her doctoral dissertation at the University of San Francisco today!

14/05/2026

Still thinking about croissants when you think of Paris?
🥐➡️✨ We have something better:

The JECSE Director just returned from the French capital, where she met deeply committed schools, staff and families.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 🏫 At Saint Louis de Gonzague-Franklin, we saw an impressive model of Jesuit pastoral: families not just supportive, but genuinely co-responsible with more than 200 parents actively involved in the school mission. That's more beautiful than the Eiffel Tower!

🍎📚 At CEP Ignatien we discovered the amazing formation programmes which help Jesuit schools remaining deeply coonected to the Ignatian mission and way of proceeding. That's more inspiring than the Louvre's works of art!

📝🧭 With Fr. Sylvain Cariou-Charton SJ and Mr. Cristophe Tissot, we discovered how Jesuit education in France is led, structured and loved. That walk through Loyola Education (https://loyola-education.fr/) was more impressive than the Champs-Élysées!

Paris, you delivered. 🙏🗼Thank you!

Jésuites EOF

12/05/2026

Exciting news! 🎉

JSN has named Jennifer LaMaster as its new Executive Director: and what a choice!

👩‍🏫 Ms. LaMaster brings more than two decades of deep leadership experience in Jesuit education to this role. Officially starting on the new role on July 1st, she currently serves as Provincial Assistant for Presecondary and Secondary Education for the Midwest Jesuits, supporting the mission of 22 Jesuit schools across the region.

🎉 Please join us in congratulating her on this well-deserved appointment.
The future of Jesuit education is in great hands!

🔗 https://buff.ly/zTOktKo