Towards Loyola 2022 | DAY 5 CONGRESS EDITION

Loyola 2022 Congress | 1 April 2022

Loyola took everyone by surprise on Day 5 of the Congress, April 1^st, with… snow! As the Urola valley showed its wintery face – hence, how much humans depend on nature and climate – the Xavier Network, the Jesuit Refugee Service, the Social Centres and the EcoJesuit Europe networks sat together for the last time to finalize their plans.

As the final message correctly expressed, one of the aims of the Congress was to enable “a greater integration of the apostolic body and alignment of all our networks (….) with the Universal Apostolic Preferences (the UAPs) understood as an inseparable whole.” The Congress clearly showed that “the challenges of ecology and migration are intertwined justice issues, and need to be better integrated in our witness and in our actions.”

This spirit, and the energy generated by the Congress, need now to drive the Jesuit networks’ action. The ecological crisis requires a prophetic and institutional response, similar to the one that the JRS has given to the challenge of migrants and refugees. At the same time, synodality must be an integral part of the conversion the Congress has called us to. Now the time has come to act and make this renewal come to life!

The week ended on a high note with the closing ceremony of the first ever Justice and Ecology Congress at the birthplace of St Ignatius. The Loyola 2022 Congress received 153 delegates in person and online, from 26 countries and hundreds of organisations, but also of states of life: Jesuits and lay people, men and women, young and old. The problems we face are complex but, with deep reflection and discernment, commitment and collaborative work, transformative systemic change may take place.

A big thank you to all our participants, speakers, guests, Jesuits and lay people for engaging in the fruitful reflection and collaboration during this week on pressing social and ecological issues such as the climate crisis, migration, social stratification and inequality.

The fifth and last day of the Congress started as usual with the morning prayer, and then the meetings of the five justice networks present in Loyola followed. Members of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), the Eco-jesuits network, the Xavier Network, the Social Centres and the National Delegates reunited separately to discuss concrete proposals and actions of how to better implement the UAPs and answer the urging issues debated so far.

The Congress Document is out!

We invite you to read the fruitful result of these last five days: the Congress Document is a working document intended to support the Jesuit works and preparing them to implement the UAPs by 2029. In this document, you can find a set of concrete reflections and proposals that can bear fruit not only in the work of the different justice networks present in Loyola but also in the entire mission of the European Jesuit Provinces.

List of Participants and Institutions

Please find here the list of the participants and institutions in the
Loyola 2022 Congress.