Jesuits & Friends 123, Spring 2026

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:& friendsA faith that does justiceIssue 123 • Spring 2026 • Jesuit.org.ukRemembering Fr Simon Bishop SJWhat does it mean to ‘listen in the Spirit’?An update from a Jesuit & our friends in GuyanaThe Polish Jesuit community in LondonTogether in missionPope Leo XIV stood in fellowship with Jesuit superiors in RomeFREE: please take a copy

for those who have died recently. PLEASE PRAY May they rest in peace.• Mrs Janice Austin• Mr John Cairns• Mr John Cummins• Dr Judith Dunstan• Mr Anthony Havery• Mrs Eileen Norris• Mr Bernard O’Keeffe• Mr Stephen Charles Rowden2 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2026Explore our Vocations website to learn about Jesuit life and the early steps ofdiscernment. If you want to talk to a Jesuit, email [email protected] guidance and answers to your questions.HOW WILL I KNOW IF I AM CALLED?Curious aboutJesuit life?WWW.JESUITVOCATIONS.UKJesuitsinBritain@JesuitsBritainJesuitsinBritainJesuitsinBritainJesuits in BritainFREE: please take a copyALSO IN THIS ISSUE:& friendsA faith that does justice Issue 123 • Spring 2026 • Jesuit.org.ukRemembering Fr Simon Bishop SJWhat does it mean to ‘listen in the Spirit’?An update from a Jesuit & our friends in GuyanaThe Polish Jesuit community in LondonTogether in missionPope Leo XIV stood in fellowship with Jesuit superiors in RomeEditor: Maria Fernanda LopezAssistant Editor: Frances MurphyEditorial group:Denis Blackledge SJ, Eileen Cole, John Paul de Quay, John Green and Adam Shaw. Designed by: www.rfportfolio.comPrinted by: weareyeomans.co.ukTo protect our environment, papers used in this publication are produced by mills that promote sustainably managed forests and utilise an Elementary Chlorine-Free process to produce fully recyclable material in accordance with an Environmental Management System conforming with BS EN ISO 14001:2004.On the cover: Jesuit major superiors gather in prayer in the Chapel of St Francis Borgia in Rome, 17 October 2025.The photo is from the Society of Jesus.Jesuits in Britain CIOEngland and Wales: 1207742Scotland: SC053495Address for correspondence:114 Mount St, London W1K 3AHT: 020 7499 0285E: [email protected] to one of our e-newsletters to receive news and updates on what is happening and how you can get involved.

CONTENTSGod’s action in our lives and humbly encouraged a deeper relationship with Christ. He loved the saints, and even his least saintly visitor left his company encouraged on the road to holiness, or at least intrigued enough.The province mourns the death of one of our most energetic and effective apostles, but there is also deep gratitude. Simon’s life has now reached the fulfilment for which it was intended. We pray that he is with God – for this he longed and for this he prepared. Among us there is a renewed resolve to continue his good works and live what he taught us. Good deaths emerge from good lives and bear fruit in others. Far from being diminished by Simon’s passing, we are strengthened. His zeal, fidelity and joy are being thrown towards us, and he has even shown us how to catch them.Fr Peter Gallagher SJWhen St Edmund Campion was put to death at Tyburn on 1 December 1581, a young lawyer, Henry Walpole, was in the crowd. His clothes were splattered with Campion’s blood, provoking his conversion. Henry returned to the faith, entered the Society of Jesus and in due course was martyred himself. When St John Ogilive was executed at Glasgow Cross on 10 March 1615, he threw his rosary into the crowd. It struck Jan d’Eckersdorff, a Hungarian traveller passing by, who later rediscovered his Christian faith through that chance encounter with a dying Jesuit saint. In 1648, in the church of the Gesù in Rome, Vincenzo Carafa, the seventh General of the Society, founded the Confraternity of Bona Mors (of a Good or Happy Death). Its purpose was to prepare its members, through a wellregulated life, to die in peace with God. Bona mors was never a preoccupation with death, but an invitation to everyone – young and old, sick and well – to reflect on how they were living. Bona mors calls us to live in such a way that we may be free to be happy with God forever.When Fr Simon Bishop SJ (see his obituary on page 23) received his terminal diagnosis, he chose to live his death in the way that would do the greatest good for others. Like Campion’s blood or Ogilvie’s rosary, Simon’s dying has had a transforming impact on others. His bona mors, his manner of leaving this world, has helped many to trust more in God and grasp the meaning of life.Even when tired and in pain, he continued to welcome visitors to his bedside. Conversations, whether serious or merry, were gently drawn back to what mattered most. Simon gave thanks consistently for In this issue...18144From Fr Provincial108jesuit.org.uk 304 Fr Peter Gallagher SJ shares the fruits of his recent meeting with Jesuit major superiors.06 Laura Angarita Romero and Fr Paul Martin SJ send good news from Guyana.08 The women whom JRS UK accompanies inspire Eileen Coleon a daily basis.10 Alexander Wentworth reports on a joyful occasion for the Polish Jesuit community in London.12 A high-stakes game of hide and seek for John Gerard SJ captures John Paul de Quay’s imagination. 14 Ronnie Renton gives us the history behind forthcoming celebrations in Glasgow that Danny McGinty describes. 16 What really happened at COP30? Vinicius Ferreira da Paixão SJ tells us.17 Fr Keith McMillan SJ found reasons to be hopeful in Ukraine.18 Fr Paul Nicholson SJ invites us into the spiritual conversation that has brought gifts to global and local Jesuit gatherings.20 Our Augustinian friends are experiencing the ‘Leo effect’, writes Fr Barnaby Johns OSA.21 Ethel Mudavanhu takes us into the recording studio with Thinking Faith.22 Praying with the pope.23 Province news.

4 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2026ROMECONFIRMED IN OUR vocationJesus Christ, are called. We are meant to pay attention to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Trying to listen to God and follow his lead, even when it is demanding, shapes who we are. We are confirmed in this way by the encouragement of a pope whose own election is still recent. In such historic moments, we look for signs of God’s care for his people. The Holy Father throwing himself into his new task is both an inspiration and an example.To be confirmed in our vocation is also to renew our gratitude for the graces we have received. These graces help us to get on with what we have to do, and to do so with trust and joy. Pope Leo’s motto, ‘In the One we are one’, reminds us that confirmation of our vocation with the blessing of the Vicar of Christ is not merely a historical moment for us. Such renewed approval from the successor of the apostles is the key to our identity.The pope’s encouragement integrates our daily service with the wider call of discipleship. Everything Jesus intends to achieve is at work as he walks with us, enabling us to accompany him on his saving pilgrimage. The confirmation of a religious vocation reminds us that we are part of a larger community in Christ, working together in unity and care. We are united with Christ in his projects. What the Son of God communicates to the world unifies us and gives purpose to our lives.The Society has a long history with which the Jesuits today are in continuity, doing our best to be worthy successors of those who have inspired us. The Ipray that…the Holy Spirit will confirm you in your vocation.’ So said Pope Leo XIV to the General of the Society of Jesus, Father Arturo Sosa, accompanied by all the major superiors on 24 October 2025. Can the Jesuits, in this time of grace, allow themselves to be confirmed in their vocation? What is such a confirmation?First, it is an expression of faith in God. The Holy Spirit inspired St Ignatius and the first companions to found the Society. This inspiration is present also in the Spiritual Exercises and in the Constitutions, and continues to guide us today. Jesuits are always seeking to understand better what God wants us to do now, in our own time. That we continue to listen and discern is itself a confirmation of our vocation.A God-focused, God-centred and Godattentive way of life is the one to which Jesuits, along with many disciples of ‘The pope urged us to ‘trust in the transformative power of God’s love’.Fr Peter Gallagher SJ returned from Rome with his vocation renewed, after meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the meeting of major superiors. The encounter called Jesuits to stand at the frontiers of today with courage and discernment.Jesuit leaders marked the Jubilee of Hope with a pilgrimage through the Holy DoorPhotos: General Curia of the Society of Jesus

WATCH ONLINEClick or tap to watch video of the royal visit on our YouTube channel. Hear Fr Peter Gallagher SJ discuss the highlights of the ten-day meetingjesuit.org.uk 5ROMEOctober meeting in Rome gathered the major superiors from every part of the world. Jesuits come from many different cultures and contexts. It confirms us in our vocation to find that each province and each member has their place amid all this diversity. We recognise ourselves in friends from far away, and we hope that they see themselves in us. Would St Ignatius and his first companions confirm that we are carrying on authentically what they started? Surely, yes.In some parts of the world, the mission is uphill. Some transitions are made slowly and uncertainly. Yet there is confirmation of our vocation in difficult times as well as in easier ones. The Jesuits’ commitment to helping others in their troubles is driven by the conviction, ratified by experience, that we are companions of Jesus in his suffering as well as in his mission and glory. The world is in turmoil. We listen attentively. As Jesuits, we are in solidarity with all who cry out for justice and peace. We are confirmed God’s love’. Surely, this trust is a grace for which we are grateful in the whole community of the Jesuits in Britain.God is helping us all the time to think, speak and act as we should. Our capacity to respond to the immensity of God’s love can feel weak; we make so many mistakes and at times we give up a little too easily. Yet divine love is already changing us. Our hearts are not cold, and our intentions have been painfully purified by experience. The Lord has already given us a responsiveness greater than we fear. Jesus has changed us and is changing us all the time.The trust that God shows in us, and urges us to practise, includes gratitude for everything that has happened. From a certain angle, that could seem unsatisfactory. Are we to be grateful for mistakes, mess, or for moments when God has been forgotten? In trusting in transformative divine love, we are not complacent, self-indulgent or lax. We trust God. We trust our vocation and way of religious life. We trust all who share the mission with us, for Jesuits are never alone. We also, perhaps surprisingly, trust ourselves. We have faith in ourselves as Jesuits who follow an authentic path with maturity and shared wisdom. And we trust ourselves as frail responders to Christ’s call, lifted by him and walking closely with him. In this trust, we go forward confirmed and strengthened, sustained by a God who loves us all. FIND OUT MORERead the full address from Pope Leo: www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2025/october/documents/20251024-compagniagesu.htmlin our calling to this way of life when we try to make things better for others, using all the expertise that we can muster. We are grateful for the deep peace the Lord confers and are responding well to our call when we try with all our heart to spread peace and to make it the secure background for all disputes.In his address, Pope Leo revealed himself as knowledgeable about the Society and attentive to the Jesuit vocation within the Church. There was encouragement in sensing that we are known, and that the expectations he expressed, though demanding, were held with love, warmth, and with attention to our spiritual tradition, our history and the hopes we have for the future. He acknowledged that we might be fearful before the challenges we face. Much responsibility rests upon us, and it must be accepted and met. Confirmed in our vocation as disciples of Christ and as members of the Society of Jesus, the pope urged us to ‘trust in the transformative power of Jesuits came together in prayer and conversation, exploring topics such as vocations, safeguarding, collaboration and the global mission of the Universal Apostolic PreferencesThe ten-day meeting of major superiors brought together 100 Jesuit leaders from across the world to reflect on the future of the Jesuit mission

6 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2026Lord’s vineyardA SPECIAL CORNER OF THEGuyana holds an important place in the history and current mission of Jesuits in Britain. Laura Angarita Romero was delighted to see the success of a Jesuit Missions-supported bilingual education programme in the interior, and Fr Paul Martin SJ reflects on how the country has changed in his thirty years of priestly ministry there.JESUIT MISSIONSLaura Angarita Romero Jesuits have been present in Guyana for more than 150 years, and the relationship between Guyana and the British Province is a long-standing one which is embodied in Jesuit Missions’ commitment to the country.For the past eight years, Jesuit Missions has supported a high-quality bilingual education programme designed to help indigenous communities in the Guyanese interior to preserve the Wapichan language. The programme works in four communities, promoting the teaching of Wapichan in local schools. Although Guyana’s constitution has allowed indigenous peoples to be taught in their own languages since independence in 1966, in reality very little has been done to implement this, and so the programme was born.In November 2025, I visited Guyana and witnessed the extraordinary work that Jesuits are doing there with the support of Jesuit Missions.I discovered ‘two Guyanas’: the coastal region, where the capital, Georgetown, is located, and life feels more Caribbean and island-like; and the interior, a more Amazonian place where the bilingual education project is based.When people think of South America, Guyana is rarely the first country that comes to mind – and I say this as someone from South America – but this visit completely changed my perspective on the country.The programme focuses on children in years 1 and 2 (aged five to seven). It manages the full administrative framework, including teacher training, school follow-up and negotiations with the government to adjust timetables. One of the most significant aspects of the programme is its work with the community to develop teaching materials in Wapichan. This means that children are not only learning their indigenous language, but they are also learning their culture, values and traditions. As a bilingual person myself, I fully understand that language is not only a way to communicate words; it is also a way to share who we are, what we believe in and how we see the world.During my visit to the four villages where the programme is being implemented (Kuraudarnau, Marunau, Aishalton and Sawariwau), I had the opportunity to speak with teachers, headteachers and parents, and witness the progress made by the programme through cultural gatherings organised by each school.I also heard touching testimonies of how the programme has changed the relationship people have with Wapichan. Before the programme was implemented, talking in a language I witnessed whole communities thriving and feeling proud of being indigenous.Fr Paul Martin SJ reading a Wapichan school book with childrenThe Jesuits in Guyana in 1997 – 14 of the 25 were British Fr Paul Martin SJ

jesuit.org.uk 7Fr Paul Martin SJI was delighted to meet Laura on her recent visit to the Rupununi region of Guyana, where I was getting to know the communities supported by Jesuit Missions. I have spent all my thirty years as a priest here in Guyana. Apart from a few years on the coast, most of my priestly ministry has been in the Pakaraima mountains among the Patamona and Macushi people. The 42 communities of the Rupununi and Pakaraimas form the one ‘parish’ of St Ignatius. We Jesuits work as an interior team together with four Ursuline sisters based in Karasabai.Fr Joel Thompson SJ, who has been doing excellent work in the Rupununi, left Guyana for a few months in October 2025 in order to make his tertianship, the last stage of Jesuit formation. I was happy to make the temporary move from the South Pakaraimas to Aishalton in the Rupununi to cover for him and to give continuity to the initiatives he has been developing. Finding myself in this new place helps me realise how much the world has changed over the thirty years that I have been a priest. One major change has been the revolution in information technology brought about by the internet.When I first started work in the interior, the only contact I had with the ‘outside world’ was through a radio phone. Now, every village has its ‘ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Hub’ and most of the young people have smartphones.When I first started my ministry, the people in the communities provided for their needs through subsistence farming. Now, thanks to the newly discovered oil wealth, people have greater access to paid employment. The government offers a lot of grants for ‘development projects’. The challenge, of course, is to discern the paths that will lead to genuine progress and increased wellbeing.The concerns raised by Pope Francis in his landmark encyclical, Laudato si’, about the complex social and environmental crisis facing our common home, are brought into sharp relief in the interior communities in Guyana. Poverty, injustice and environmental degradation share common roots in unsustainable development models, consumerism and a lack of responsibility.Pope Francis calls for an ‘ecological conversion’. Our mission among the indigenous communities of Guyana can draw much inspiration from this vision.When I came as a priest to Guyana, it was a ‘dependent region’ of the British Province. Today, Guyana is combined with Jamaica to form the English-speaking section of a new Caribbean Province. There are 22 Jesuits in that province: ten from India, two from Guyana, four from the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, two from Jamaica, one Brazilian, one Canadian, one American and me, the last of the British Jesuits here.This is a beautiful expression of the universal nature of the Society of Jesus. As my novice master used to say: ‘You join the universal Society, not any one particular province’. Our vocation is to be available to go wherever the need is greatest and there is the hope of achieving the greatest good. I am deeply grateful to the Lord for placing me in this particular corner of his vineyard. SUPPORT JESUIT MISSIONSTurn to the back page of this magazine to find out how you can help the indigenous communities you have been reading about.JESUIT MISSIONSother than English was seen as something to be avoided, but now most of the community gatherings are held in Wapichan.Being welcomed into each community with ‘Kaimen’ (the equivalent of ‘You alright?’ in English), seeing five-year-olds singing, dancing and reciting poems in Wapichan, hearing parents say they now feel more confident speaking Wapichan at home rather than English, and witnessing whole communities thriving and feeling proud of being indigenous – these are things I will carry with me, both professionally and personally. Despite the hot weather – 36-37 degrees Celsius every day of the year – and the long distances between villages – often at least two hours’ drive on bumpy, red sand roads – the Jesuits on the ground remain deeply committed.They accompany the communities not only through the education project but also with pastoral work. Attending a Mass with Wapichan songs helped me understand just how deep the connection between the Jesuits and the community truly is. As most of the programmes that Jesuit Missions supports focus on responding to war, natural disasters and the effects of climate change, it was truly inspirational to witness a proactive programme dedicated to preserving indigenous traditions. Visiting the project also helped me understand what it really means to run a community-led initiative. This programme was born from the community itself: a collective effort to safeguard their traditions.Fr Joel Thompson SJ, Laura Angarita Romero and Wapichan schoolchildren

8 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2026A call from the Church to the marginsIn his 2014 message, ‘To all Consecrated People’, Pope Francis urged those in religious life to take concrete action to welcome refugees, as part of their going ‘to the existential peripheries’. He emphasised that consecrated individuals should not remain closed in on themselves but instead ‘come out’ to serve those in need, including people seeking sanctuary:I ask you to work concretely in welcoming refugees, drawing near to the poor, and finding creative ways to catechize, to proclaim the Gospel experience of the women who have found a home there.Sister Irena Madej explains: ‘We love our involvement with this project, which has become a great mission for us. We first started with this sort of work by hosting a lady from Congo, who brought us such joy, and the project grew from there. We see how these women arrive, tired, a little on edge, nervous at the new situation of living in a secure house, and after just a few weeks we see them transformed, visibly relaxed and happier. Through this experience and support, they are renewed and able to take up their asylum case again. It is life changing.’Every woman, a story of enduranceLaura is a caseworker at JRS UK who walks with female refugees every day. She reflects: ‘Each person who comes to JRS UK has a unique story; and to teach others how to pray. Consequently, I would hope that structures can be streamlined, large religious houses repurposed for works which better respond to the present demands of evangelization and charity, and apostolates adjusted to new needs.Fr Jim Conway SJ’s Jesuit community in London was already responding to this call by hosting refugees, and when he put out a call in his local area, the Sisters of the Holy Family of St Emilie responded in a most generous way by donating a house to be used specifically for accommodating women refugees. The house has been running for six years now, transforming the Women in the asylum system carry layers of trauma; from the violence they fled, to the hostility of the asylum process, to the isolation they endure in exile. JRS UK walks alongside many such women and their resilience continually inspires Eileen Cole.resilience PORTRAITS OFJESUIT REFUGEE SERVICE UKWith the Sisters of the Holy Family of St Emilie

jesuit.org.uk 9we deal with people from such varied backgrounds. In our houses, we may have a 25-year-old living alongside ladies of eighty, coming from subSaharan Africa, East Asia, northern Africa…all over the world.’ ‘I have often marvelled at how they keep going, not knowing if their children are alive, or if their children will remember them. As a mother, I find that even worse than losing a child: not to know what has happened to your own children. And yet these same women look after themselves, they try to study and learn every day, they show amazing resilience.’This resilience is often born of necessity. Another of our caseworkers reflected on the loneliness these women endure: ‘We work very hard to create community, which is good, but we’re not their natural family, and this is not their own community. Some of these women have been so disappointed in life, by so many people who betrayed their trust. This leads them to prefer to be alone and trust no-one, not to dwell on the past, to look after themselves and survive another day – although the elderly do worry about getting sick: who will care for them? I wonder how I would react if I were in their place. And yet they smile. They keep helping each other.’Economist and Nobel laureate Esther Duflo has observed that those who migrate are often amongst the most resilient of their country: young, strong, able and determined. While this may hold true for many, it is not always the case for women refugees, especially those who have been trafficked or are fleeing abusive partners. These women may arrive deeply vulnerable, yet they must become resilient to survive. Their courage in rebuilding their lives, often in isolation and fear, is a profound testament to human strength.Faith is often their anchor. One of our team reflected that for every one of the refugee women she met, what impressed her most was their unwavering faith in God, despite exile, language barriers and the struggle to be understood.Resilience in action: Tara’s storyJasmine, a caseworker at JRS UK, tells of one pregnant refugee, Tara*, who was 34 weeks pregnant and homeless when she reached us. Jasmine helped Tara apply for accommodation and financial support. Typically, for a pregnant woman, asylum accommodation should be close to her maternity care, but Tara was taken over an hour away from her hospital to a different city outside London and placed in unsuitable accommodation with many stairs and no lift. Jasmine advocated for Tara to be moved back to a more appropriate place, but the request was not processed in time. Seeking another solution, our team helped her access support at a local maternity hospital, and she gave birth to a healthy baby boy.Whilst she maintained a patient attitude throughout, Tara said: ‘It was a really difficult time for me. I was taken far away from my midwife, JRS UK, my friends and the father of my child. It was like I had to start anew JESUIT REFUGEE SERVICE UKat such a critical moment. I shouldn’t have been moved so far away. But I am grateful for my son and happy we can move forward now.’Tara was also supported by JRS UK’s legal team and eventually received refugee status, meaning that she and her son can begin rebuilding their future in the UK. JRS UK continues to support pregnant women and mothers who struggle to make life a normal experience for their children in abnormal circumstances, advocating for safe accommodation and proper support.Rebuilding life: Cate’s storyOne of our longstanding refugee friends, Cate*, recently returned to JRS UK as a volunteer. Her words capture the heart of what we seek to offer:I received a lot of support from JRS UK. This has helped me to integrate into society, to learn activities, not feel lonely, have friends who I can trust, because JRS UK is a safe place where I can feel open. I came to the prayer group, the cycling project, cooking, acupuncture. I’ve grown up in JRS UK for more than ten years! The Hurtado Centre became like my second house. It’s an organisation that I trust; it makes you feel at home, a wonderful place to be!These women teach us what courage in exile looks like, what faith in adversity sounds like, and what dignity in suffering feels like. As we accompany them, we are invited, again and again, to step closer to the margins, where God is already at work. * Names changed to protect anonymity SUPPORT WOMEN SEEKING SANCTUARYThis Lent, will you help ensure that women seeking sanctuary can access safe accommodation, expert advice, and compassionate support? Visit jrsuk.net/jesuits-and-friends/Christmas at Emilie HouseThese women teach us about courage in exile, faith in adversity, and dignity in suffering.

10 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2026POLISH JESUIT COMMUNITYEVERYTHING FOR GOD AND the Polish diasporaSchool in Willesden Green and occasionally celebrated Mass at the nearby church of St Mary Magdalene. From September 1955, three Jesuits – Fathers Pelczar, Stanisław Skudrzyk and Tadeusz Sporny – began regular Masses and pastoral activities, including Lenten retreats and catechesis for children preparing for First Communion. This moment is officially recognised as the founding of the parish.As the number of faithful grew, the community sought a dedicated space. With help from Polish Jesuits in the United States, the Polish community in England and the Marian Sodality, a house at 182 Walm Lane was purchased in 1959. A prayerful image The parish’s growth over the decades has mirrored broader patterns of Polish migration.of Our Lady of Częstochowa, brought from South America, was installed in the small chapel, which was given the title Our Lady of Mercy. In the years that followed, the parish grew to meet the needs of its community. Facilities were expanded with the purchase of house number 180 in 1965, the enlargement of the chapel in 1969 and the addition of a youth room in 1972. Over time, the parish was also joined by religious sisters: first from the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus and later, in 2012, the Missionary Sisters of Christ the King for Polish Emigrants.Even as the parish grew, it faced challenges. In August 1971, a beloved painting of the Virgin Mary was stolen from the chapel. Several years later, in March 1975, a replacement arrived: a copy of Our Lady of Mercy of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, painted in 1941 by Corporal Piotr Sawicki in Tatishchevo. Since then, the image has been a focus of devotion, drawing the faithful together each Wednesday for a novena, a quiet expression of the parish’s shared faith and continuity.The parish’s growth over the decades has also mirrored broader patterns of For seventy years, Our Lady of Mercy Chapel on Walm Lane, London, has been a spiritual home for generations of Polish Catholics living far from their homeland. Its story is inseparable from the post-war history of Poles in Britain, the Jesuits’ pastoral mission, and the enduring commitment of communities dedicated to sustaining faith, culture and identity in a foreign land.The parish’s founding is closely linked to the work of Jesuit fathers in London after the Second World War. They accompanied Polish immigrants through a combination of pastoral outreach, catechesis and community support – publishing the monthly Sodalis Marianus, celebrating Masses in Polish in rented churches and leading numerous pastoral groups.In the 1954/55 school year, Fr Tadeusz Pelczar became a catechist at the Maria Konopnicka Polish Saturday Through Sr Agnieszka Lampasiak MChR’s historical account and conversations with Fr Leszek Szuta SJ, Alexander Wentworth learned the remarkable story of Our Lady of Mercy Chapel, the Polish Jesuit parish in London. For seven decades, it has been a cherished spiritual home for generations of the city’s Polish community.Fr Leszek Szuta SJ (crouching) and parishioners at the anniversary celebrationsMass being celebrated by Fr Leszek Szuta SJ (centre) with Fr Peter Gallagher SJ (far left), Provincial of the Jesuits in Britain

WATCH ONLINEFr Leszek Szuta SJ reflects on the seventieth anniversary.WATCH ONLINEFr Leszek Szuta SJ reflects on the seventieth anniversary.jesuit.org.uk 11POLISH JESUIT COMMUNITYPolish migration. After Poland joined the European Union in 2004, many new families arrived, bringing vitality and fresh pastoral needs. In response, the parish rented the church of St Francis of Assisi from 2007 to 2024 to accommodate its growing congregation. Today, the chapel has been renovated to include a parish hall, serving as a meeting place during the week and as a sacred space on Sundays.The parish celebrated its seventieth anniversary in November 2025, bringing together parishioners old and new. A special Mass commemorated the chapel’s founding, and a concert of Marian music featured several pieces composed specifically for the anniversary. Fr Peter Gallagher SJ, Provincial of the Jesuits in Britain, joined the parish community in prayer and thanksgiving. The occasion included the unveiling of a commemorative plaque in memory of Br Bolesław Król SJ, a reminder of the generations of Jesuits who have served the parish faithfully.Reflecting on the parish’s seventy years, Fr Leszek Szuta SJ wrote:As a parish community, which is primarily a community of faith, drawing on Polish religiosity and in connection with the Polish homeland, we celebrated seventy years of existence. Over the years, priests, brothers, sisters and parishioners, engaging in daily work, have nurtured the spiritual development of all participants in parish life. A prime example of this is Brother Bolesław Król SJ, whose commemorative plaque we unveiled. In a diverse, sometimes divided, and even hostile world, we have been, and continue to be, called to build bridges between people of different backgrounds, cultures, and ways of thinking… I hope that our shared celebration contributed to the multiplication of the good that has been achieved and prayed for here in Willesden Green.The Missionary Sisters of Christ the King for Polish Emigrants have become a vital part of parish life since they joined in 2012. Founded in 1959 by Venerable Ignacy Posadzy SChr, a priest of the Society of Christ for Poles Abroad, the congregation is dedicated to serving Polish communities living outside Poland. As the sisters describe it, ‘we try to recreate a piece of homeland within the Catholic Church for those who started their life in a new society’.Guided by their motto, ‘Everything for God and for Polish Emigrants’, they support catechesis, sacramental preparation, youth engagement and community outreach, helping sustain both faith and Polish cultural identity in London. Through their work, children and young people are also introduced to St Stanislaus Kostka, a sixteenth-century Polish Jesuit novice remembered for his devotion to God and Mary, who died at the age of seventeen and is now venerated as the patron of Jesuit novices, students and youth.The chapel’s story illustrates how a parish can serve as a spiritual home and cultural anchor.Today, Our Lady of Mercy Chapel is a place of welcome and hospitality. Its pews are filled with generations of families, young people and newcomers who find support, spiritual nourishment and community. Feast days, Marian devotions and cultural celebrations preserve Polish heritage while enabling integration into British society. From Masses and catechetical programmes to social and charitable initiatives, the chapel continues to embody the Jesuit ideal of engagement with the world while attending to the spiritual needs of the faithful.The chapel’s seventy-year story illustrates how a parish can serve both as a spiritual home and cultural anchor. It reflects the dedication of Jesuits, religious sisters and parishioners who have contributed their time and talents, ensuring continuity of faith and a living connection to the Polish homeland. As Fr Szuta concludes: ‘I believe that God transforms what is inappropriate or even evil with His grace for the spiritual growth of all parishioners and those who use and will use this place and this parish.’ FIND OUT MOREFor the latest updates and parish news, you can visit www.polishjesuits.co.ukFr Leszek Szuta SJ (centre) with parishioners

Their fancy moat leaves them no escape!Everyone, Gather all your things and get to the hide! Hurry!I wish we had put some food in this hide.Oh no!Terribly sorry! The Lady of the house is not yet dressed and it would not do for her to welcome you in her present state.Open up! We have a search warrant.There are rats swimming round my ankles!NopeFr Gerard, horses approach! Hide!SHHH!God bless you, Nicholas Owen!Gerard has been betrayed. We know he is in the living room. Do not rest till you have found that papist scum!Bit chilly. Shall I put the fire on? Looks like it’s never been used!I say, that is odd!Schedule a morning investigation?Very odd!Quite!If I survive this i am having words with nicholas owen!Search the house! Measure in and out, find the secret rebel hiding places!Lock up the household, I will not have them interfering with the search!SINCE THE LAST EPISODE, JOHN GERARD HAS BUILT A NETWORK OF FRIENDS AND HIDING PLACES FROM WHERE HE MIGHT MINISTER TO CATHOLICS UNDER PERSECUTION. SHOULD HE BE CAUGHT, THE SENTENCE FOR HIM AND FOR THOSE SHELTERING HIM, OR EVEN UNDER SUSPICION OF DOING SO, WAS HEAVY INDEED: A HORRIBLE DEATH.By John Paul de QuayNicholas Owen SJ was the architect of many priest holes. It is thought he was responsible for the ones on these pages. ON THIS OCCASION, THE PURSUIVANTS - THE PRIEST-HUNTERS, THAT IS - CONCEDE defeat in their deadly game of cat and mouse.The next occasion John Gerard has to use a HIDE, THE PRIEST-HUNTERS are foaming at the bit, or chomping at the mouth so to speak.BraddocksBaddesley Clinton. Secret site of the Jesuits’ yearly renewal of vows, where Frs Gerard, OLDCORNE, GARNET AND SOUTHWELL all gather for the occasion. A priest-hunter jackpot.This hide was cunningly carved into the chimney stack, leaving a space separate to both flues.Next morningNext time: The Tower!!!Two days later, somewhere in a wall.The hide was accessed by a removable panel in the fireplace above. The base of the panel was wood covered in brick, making the fireplace Purely ornamental.We have found a hide in the chapel! it is abandoned. He must have escaped. The living room May be a decoy!By the grace of God, a kind of stupidity has come upon them. Why have they not looked into the fireplace?Fr John.Come out. They have given up.My lady! You look ill! Did they torture you?We have all fasted and prayed with you for six days.KnocK KnocK KnocKCrash SmashRipCrashKnocK KnocK KnocKNopeNope12 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2026JOHN GERARD SJ

Their fancy moat leaves them no escape!Everyone, Gather all your things and get to the hide! Hurry!I wish we had put some food in this hide.Oh no!Terribly sorry! The Lady of the house is not yet dressed and it would not do for her to welcome you in her present state.Open up! We have a search warrant.There are rats swimming round my ankles!NopeFr Gerard, horses approach! Hide!SHHH!God bless you, Nicholas Owen!Gerard has been betrayed. We know he is in the living room. Do not rest till you have found that papist scum!Bit chilly. Shall I put the fire on? Looks like it’s never been used!I say, that is odd!Schedule a morning investigation?Very odd!Quite!If I survive this i am having words with nicholas owen!Search the house! Measure in and out, find the secret rebel hiding places!Lock up the household, I will not have them interfering with the search!SINCE THE LAST EPISODE, JOHN GERARD HAS BUILT A NETWORK OF FRIENDS AND HIDING PLACES FROM WHERE HE MIGHT MINISTER TO CATHOLICS UNDER PERSECUTION. SHOULD HE BE CAUGHT, THE SENTENCE FOR HIM AND FOR THOSE SHELTERING HIM, OR EVEN UNDER SUSPICION OF DOING SO, WAS HEAVY INDEED: A HORRIBLE DEATH.By John Paul de QuayNicholas Owen SJ was the architect of many priest holes. It is thought he was responsible for the ones on these pages. ON THIS OCCASION, THE PURSUIVANTS - THE PRIEST-HUNTERS, THAT IS - CONCEDE defeat in their deadly game of cat and mouse.The next occasion John Gerard has to use a HIDE, THE PRIEST-HUNTERS are foaming at the bit, or chomping at the mouth so to speak.BraddocksBaddesley Clinton. Secret site of the Jesuits’ yearly renewal of vows, where Frs Gerard, OLDCORNE, GARNET AND SOUTHWELL all gather for the occasion. A priest-hunter jackpot.This hide was cunningly carved into the chimney stack, leaving a space separate to both flues.Next morningNext time: The Tower!!!Two days later, somewhere in a wall.The hide was accessed by a removable panel in the fireplace above. The base of the panel was wood covered in brick, making the fireplace Purely ornamental.We have found a hide in the chapel! it is abandoned. He must have escaped. The living room May be a decoy!By the grace of God, a kind of stupidity has come upon them. Why have they not looked into the fireplace?Fr John.Come out. They have given up.My lady! You look ill! Did they torture you?We have all fasted and prayed with you for six days.KnocK KnocK KnocKCrash SmashRipCrashKnocK KnocK KnocKNopeNopejesuit.org.uk 13JOHN GERARD SJ

I n November 1613, a young priest returned home disguised as a soldier. Few could have guessed that beneath his plain uniform was John Ogilvie, a Jesuit who would risk everything for his faith.Born in 1579 into a Scottish Protestant family near the town Amid the religious controversies sweeping Europe, he converted to Catholicism and entered the Jesuit-run Scots College of Douai, at that time in Louvain in Belgium, in 1596, beginning a path that would take him across Europe, testing his faith, courage and resilience.His formation took him from the Scottish Benedictine monastery at Regensburg in 1598 to the Jesuit College of Olomouc in what is now the Czech Republic, where he applied to the Austrian Province of the Society of Jesus. He was accepted and joined the Jesuit novitiate in Brno – a place full of memories of St Edmund Campion, former novice and English martyr.Ogilvie took his first vows in 1601 and completed his priestly studies in Graz and Olomouc. Even then, he was known for his leadership, guiding young people through the sodality movement and fostering devotion to Our Lady. After eleven years in the Austrian Province, he was sent to France, where he was ordained priest in Paris in 1610 and then lived in Rouen, preparing for the mission that awaited him in Scotland – a country which by now had become largely and staunchly Protestant.Back in Scotland, Ogilvie moved quietly at first, ministering to Catholics in Edinburgh. He landed in Leith in 1613 disguised as a soldier and travelling with his friend, Fr James Moffat SJ, under the pretence of horse trading. He spent some time in his home area in Banffshire and then appears to have made a mysterious trip to the royal court in London, followed by a visit to Paris. By the summer of 1614, he was saying Mass and laboured unstintingly for the Catholics of Edinburgh. His close friend William Sinclair, a young advocate, described the priest’s tireless commitment:Every one of his actions was deliberately directed towards strengthening the faith of Catholics and reclaiming heretics: he lost no The courage and conscience of St John Ogilvie still resonate in Glasgow and beyond, writes Ronnie Renton. Later this year, the fiftieth anniversary of his canonisation will celebrate a life of faith and enduring witness.A SAINT OFScotlandST JOHN OGILVIE SJof Keith in Banffshire, north-east Scotland, Ogilvie left home at the age of thirteen – as did many young men of his aristocratic social class – for a lengthy tour of Europe to broaden his education. That same year he matriculated at the Protestant University of Helmstedt. 14 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2026John Ogilvie landing at Leith in Scotland (1613); and (right) the torture of sleep deprivation practised on John Ogilvie for nine consecutive nights (1615). Both images are of mosaics in the National Shrine of St John Ogilvie (1933) in the Jesuit Church of St Aloysius, Glasgow © Jesuit Institute, London

WATCH ONLINEScan the QR code to watch a video about the life of St John Ogilvie ST JOHN OGILVIE SJCelebrating the Golden Jubilee of St John Ogilvie in GlasgowPreparations for major celebrations to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the canonisation of St John Ogilvie are gathering pace in Glasgow, writes Danny McGinty.A committee of Jesuits and lay collaborators from a range of backgrounds is already working to give a platform in the jubilee year to voices focused on parish life, education, music, history and the arts. The wide-ranging and welcoming series of events being planned are rooted in faith but open to the wider civic and cultural life of the city.The committee will oversee celebrations that explore both the historical significance and the contemporary relevance of Scotland’s only canonised saint since the Reformation. Central to the programme will be opportunities to engage afresh with the life of St John Ogilvie, a preacher in a time of deep religious division, and a martyr whose conscience and courage continue to resonate today.A spirit of ecumenism is being fostered: the celebrations will be shared with those of other denominations, particularly the Church of Scotland, and will explore new perspectives on Ogilvie in a time of greater Christian unity in Scotland.Music and the arts will play a prominent role and a Thanksgiving Mass at St Aloysius’, Garnethill will mark the anniversary. These celebrations aim to speak not only to regular churchgoers, but especially to those encountering St John Ogilvie for the first time, particularly young people in Scotland.Further details of the events planned for October 2026 and opportunities to get involved will be announced in the coming months at staloysiusglasgow.org.His interrogators tried to make him admit his priesthood, reveal the names of those who attended his Masses and declare his position on papal supremacy. When he refused, he was taken to Edinburgh and subjected to brutal torture by the Privy Council. For eight days and nine nights, he was deprived of sleep ‘with the aid of daggers and pins, also being spoken to, pinched, shouted at, and often being dragged up and down the room, and more often still by being allowed to fall to the ground’.Even under such suffering, Ogilvie did not yield and declared defiantly: ‘I shall preserve my life if I may, only if I am not obliged to lose God in so doing. Since then I cannot keep both, I willingly lose the lesser to keep the greater good.’At his final trial in Glasgow, Ogilvie was taken to the Tolbooth. He was explicitly told that he was not accused of saying Mass, converting others, or matters of conscience. The trial was driven by King James VI of Scots (James I of Great Britain), who was then involved in a public dispute with Jesuit Cardinal Robert Bellarmine over the authority of monarchs versus the papacy. The questions put to Oglivie were all on the respective authorities of king and pope. Ogilvie refused to acknowledge the king’s authority in spiritual matters and was sentenced to hang for treason.On 10 March 1615, at Glasgow Cross, Ogilvie was executed. In spite of great physical suffering and public humiliation, he faced his death with remarkable calm, forgiving those who had condemned him. When asked if he feared death before being hanged, he replied:In so good a cause I am no more afraid of death than you are of the dishes when you go to supper. chance or opportunity in spreading the Faith. He entered prisons, at very great risk to his own life, to comfort certain Catholics suffering there… As regards Catholics he kept reminding them, in season and out of season, with regard to their duty. If they were lukewarm he fired their souls, if they were virtuous and steadfast he strengthened their zeal and urged them to persevere.By late 1614, Ogilvie extended his ministry to Glasgow and Renfrewshire. Sinclair recorded the impact he had in a remarkably short time:I know for certain that some, in fact many, considering the short space of the time he spent in Scotland outside the prisons, were won over by him to the Catholic faith and brought back from heresy to obedience to the Church.Such visibility made him vulnerable. Ogilvie was betrayed by a young man named Andrew Boyd after Boyd witnessed him saying Mass, an offence punishable by exile. Ogilvie was violently seized, imprisoned and interrogated by Archbishop Spottiswoode, the Protestant Archbishop of Glasgow. Ogilvie was known for his leadership, guiding young people and devotion to Our Lady.jesuit.org.uk 15

16 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2026COP30C P30:Iattended COP30 in Belém do Pará, Brazil, carrying with me multiple identities that constantly interacted during the negotiations: a Jesuit scholastic, a scientist trained in biochemistry and molecular biology, a philosopher and primarily a member of the Laudato Si’ Research Institute (LSRI) at Campion Hall. COP30 was not the most substantial climate conference in terms of binding outcomes, yet it was deeply revealing, both of the gravity of the ecological crisis and of the limits of our current political imagination.COP30 unfolded amid an unprecedented wave of organised disinformation. In the months before the meeting, Climate Action Against Disinformation reported a 267% increase in climate-related fake news; META alone announced an investment of $5 million to counter the problem. And according to the Kick Big Polluters Out coalition, one in every 25 participants at the conference represented the fossil fuel industry. This inevitably shaped negotiations and helps explain why fossil fuels were entirely absent from the final conclusions.And yet, despite its flaws, COP remains indispensable. Without the COP process, scientific models suggest that the global average temperature rise would already be near 5°C, rather than the current 1.42°C above preindustrial levels. COP is complex, slow and frustrating, but it is one of the few truly global spaces where multilateral ecological responsibility is even possible.From a Jesuit and LSRI perspective, several developments deserve At the same time, COP30 exposed the risks of what Pope Francis called the technocratic paradigm. The so-called energy transition often shifts injustice rather than resolving it. Replacing fossil fuels with battery-based technologies, for example, depends heavily on mining, with devastating consequences for communities in the Global South, particularly in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo. Geopolitically, China emerged as a paradoxical source of hope. Despite being an autocracy, it has made rapid advances in renewable energy and technology transfer, earning cautious praise from several African countries. Russia, by contrast, consistently obstructed negotiations in order to protect its gas revenues. These tensions underline a deeper truth: the ecological crisis is inseparable from the crisis of multilateralism. Interdependence is not an idealistic slogan; it is a biophysical fact.So where is hope? In the slow but real growth of civil society awareness, particularly around consumption; in indigenous and local knowledge; in scientific clarity; and in the moral and spiritual vision of Laudato si’. This encyclical was instrumental in shaping the Paris Agreement in 2015 and remains radically new in its insistence that ecology, justice, spirituality and economics are inseparable.Action points for Jesuits and friends are clear: deepen ecological education in our institutions; integrate Laudato si’ into formation, teaching and daily practice; support communitybased and indigenous initiatives; and challenge political apathy and technocratic reductionism. The time available is shorter than we imagined. Yet, as St Ignatius reminds us, love must show itself more in deeds than in words. May we not wake up too late. attention. First, the quality and breadth of scientific research presented were remarkable. The data are increasingly alarming: the cryosphere and oceans are deteriorating faster than expected, and projections presented at COP suggest that within fifty years entire territories, including parts of Europe, may disappear owing to rising seas.Second, the strong presence of civil society, particularly indigenous communities, was one of COP30’s most hopeful signs. In the absence of progress on fossil fuels, important space was finally created for long-delayed agendas, notably the gender agenda, an enormous victory after years of marginalisation. It became painfully clear that women and the poor suffer most from climate disruption. As one sees in the Amazon, women are often at the frontline of resilience, developing practical, local solutions to heat, food insecurity and housing precarity.Similarly, migration, especially climatedriven migration, received overdue attention. Climate refugees are not a future scenario; they are a present reality, particularly in Africa and Asia.His scientific, philosophical and theological interests make Vinicius Ferreira da Paixão SJ the perfect person to report on the proceedings and outcomes of COP30, which he attended in November 2025.Between scientific alarm, political limits and grounds for hopeVinicius Ferreira da Paixão SJ at COP30

A LIGHT IN ChernivtsiThe second full day in Ukraine involved a long drive to Lviv, followed by an early evening crossing into Poland and then a lengthy trip to Krakow. On the journey to Lviv, along very dodgy roads, we passed a cemetery where the graves of war dead are marked with Ukrainian flags (see photo, left). Fr Artur noted that in his more than a dozen trips into Ukraine, he has sadly seen this part of the cemetery grow over the years.Before a very nice Ukrainian lunch in Lviv, we visited the old Jesuit parish in the centre of town. Once again, this area reflects the displaced nature of central and eastern Europe. Lviv was built up as a significant Polish city, but after the war the Polish moved, mostly to the newly claimed German territories in eastern Poland. The old Jesuit church in Lviv is now an Orthodox military church, though on closer inspection certain paintings and statues still hint at its Jesuit past.Our reason for going to Lviv was to visit JRS Ukraine. Its director, Inga Dul, has worked there since 2008. Initially, she dealt with Middle Eastern refugees, a role that much of the rest of Europe had also taken on. But since the start of the war in 2014, she has been engaged in supporting displaced Ukrainian families. She showed me a framed piece of shrapnel from a missile that had killed her neighbour, a reminder that brings home the immediacy of the war.While it may objectively appear to be drips of water against a raging fire, the work of the Jesuits in Ukraine confirmed my belief that the Holy Spirit can and will eventually transform our hearts and the world. SUPPORT JRS UKRAINEYou can make a donation at jrsukraine.org/en/donateIn January 2024, the Jesuit trustees in Britain agreed to provide a grant to the Jesuit province in South Poland to restore the presbytery of the Jesuit parish in Chernivtsi, Ukraine – the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Chernivtsi had once been part of Romania and became part of Ukraine within the Soviet Union by the end of World War II. Over time, the church was used as a warehouse for KGB archives, with multiple floors inserted into the nave. When Ukraine gained independence, the government returned the complex to the Jesuits.The South Polish Province chose to restore the presbytery to create a centre called ‘Space for Hope’, where both psychological and spiritual renewal can be given to those traumatised by the current war. It may seem futile to build significant institutions in wartime, but Chernivtsi, in the extreme southwest of Ukraine, near both the Romanian and Moldovan borders, is likely one of the safest regions of Ukraine. In November 2024, Fr General Arturo Sosa SJ visited the site and blessed the centre. The Space for Hope now has nearly two dozen rooms available for retreats, courses and counselling, serving individuals and families, including children.I had been invited to visit Ukraine and did so in December 2025, accompanied by Artur Demkowicz (treasurer of the South Polish Province), Martin Halc˘ák (treasurer of the Slovak Province) and a donor. We spent two days travelling on very rough roads in the west of Ukraine, passing hundreds of Orthodox churches along the way, and stayed one night with the Jesuit community in Chernivtsi, which has six members, including a first-year novice. Visiting the Sacred Heart Church was moving. The KGB flooring is long gone, but the church is still in need of significant restoration, both inside and out. There is only one Sunday Mass, as much of the Catholic population was displaced decades ago. In the basement, a shrine was rediscovered containing the remains of a few dozen Polish soldiers from World War I. The Soviets had walled off the shrine with no markings. The Jesuits have now modestly restored the sacred home of these fallen soldiers.Our treasurer, Fr Keith McMillan SJ, travels to Ukraine and witnesses how Jesuit communities are building places of hope, four years on from the beginning of the full-scale invasion.UKRAINEThe Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Chernivtsijesuit.org.uk 17

18 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2026SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONCONVERSATIONSin the spiritanother. This wasn’t just to be a matter of atheists listening to believers and vice-versa, but of ‘conservatives’ within the Church listening to ‘liberals’, men listening to women, the old to the young and so on, across all the gulfs that often divide us. This careful listening is at the heart of synodality, that new way of being Church to which Francis was so committed. He encouraged the setting up of structures at different levels, from the parish to the Vatican itself, to make this listening possible. After his death, there was a sense of waiting to see whether his successor would continue on this path or choose other priorities. It is clear by now that Pope Leo is as committed to the synodal process as Francis was.Why is this important? Because this listening is the basic building block of discernment, of coming to see more clearly how God’s Spirit is at work in our world today. I listen to someone who sees things differently from me not to refute their errors immediately, still less to use whatever authority I have to force them to agree with me. Rather, I start with the conviction that God’s Spirit is at work in both of us, and by trying hard to understand the other person’s point of view and to express my own understanding as clearly as I can, we are both gradually led by God more fully into truth, as is promised in St John’s Gospel (John 16:13).Listening of this kind is not always easy and doesn’t come naturally to most of us. It’s easier to argue, even to shout down the other person. But this listening is a skill in which people can be trained. The Salamanca meeting looked at how Jesuits and those working alongside us have been preparing people to enable this ‘listening in the Spirit’, as it has come to be called. Representatives from six Salamanca, December 2025. At the invitation of Fr Arturo Sosa SJ, the Jesuit Superior General, under the title ‘Ignite the Way’, around a hundred Jesuits and others gathered for ten days to share experience of training people to help groups listen deeply. This is, Fr Sosa believes, a particular gift that the Society of Jesus can offer to the wider Church at this stage of its history.Pope Francis was a great believer in the power of careful listening, listening not simply to those who think similarly and are therefore likely to agree. The late pope wanted members of the Church to listen especially to those who thought differently, whose first instinct could be to disagree and argue, maybe even to fight one What does it mean to be a ‘good listener’, in the Ignatian sense? Fr Paul Nicholson SJ was in Spain at the end of 2025 to learn about and practise a powerful form of conversation, which has also been informing how Britain’s Jesuit parishes share with and learn from one another.Ignite the Way!Careful listening is at the heart of synodality.This page: The ‘Ignite the Way’ meeting, December 2025Photos: Society of Jesus

WATCH ONLINEClick or tap to watch video of the royal visit on our YouTube channel. CONVERSATIONS IN THE SPIRITScan the QR code to watch a video about the Jesuit parishes’ conferencejesuit.org.uk 19From 12-14 November 2025, representatives from eight Jesuit parishes across Britain met at Highgate House, Northampton. The meeting marked the culmination of ‘Accompanying in Hope’, a year-long journey seeking to discern God’s mission for each parish and strategise how to implement the Synod on Synodality’s recommendation for a more inclusive, participatory Church.The conference sought to help Jesuit parish communities cultivate a culture of accompaniment, deep listening, and shared discernment. The sessions explored how ‘conversations in the Spirit’ – of the manner described by Fr Paul Nicholson SJ on these pages – could be used as a tool for listening more deeply to one another and to respond to how the Holy Spirit is leading our parishes. Not long before attending the conference, Fr Peter Gallagher SJ, Provincial of the Jesuits in Britain, had attended a meeting of Jesuit major superiors in Rome, where Pope Leo had encouraged the Jesuits to remain ‘at the frontiers’ of the Church’s mission, as you can read on pages 4 and 5 of this issue. The parish relates to this frontier, as Fr Peter said in his address to the conference, because in the parish, Shaping the future of parish lifecontinents talked about what worked well in their own context, and how these examples of best practice might be adapted and drawn on elsewhere.In Britain, much of this work has been done at the level of parishes, including Jesuit parishes (see below). Administrative parish councils have been transformed into pastoral gatherings where this kind of careful, respectful listening can take place. Parish priests and bishops have welcomed and ‘we’re all somehow at the edge and at the edge we teach each other, we listen and we help each other’.The desire to listen and help was what motivated one parishioner, Anne, to attend the meeting. ‘My one deep desire is to enable us in our parish Parishes are building spaces where every voice can be heard.to be open to the many people who don’t know Jesus [...] and of course for that [we need help] to be attentive and listen’, she said.‘I hope to take back a deeper sense of working alongside other people across our own differences [and to work out how to practise] this new way of listening and seeing.’Through conversations in the Spirit, parishes are building spaces where every voice can be heard.taken part in these. Insights have then been shed more widely, finding their ways into the dialogue Pope Leo has fostered in Rome.The Church as a whole is still at an early stage of discovering how processes such as these can be integrated into its continuing task of understanding more deeply the full implications of the gospel. The Salamanca meeting focused on the particular contribution the Society of Jesus can make to this today. Knowing how to use most effectively the variety of gifts the Spirit gives is itself a process of discernment. You might want to be on the lookout for places this listening process is taking place near you and consider how you might be able to contribute to it. FIND OUT MOREVisit ignitetheway.org for resources and news.SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONCONVERSATIONS IN THE SPIRITScan the QR code to watch a video about the Jesuit parishes’ conference This page: The Jesuit parishes’ conference, November 2025Photos: Jesuits in Britain / Massimo Di Muccio

20 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2026POPE LEO XIVan excellent listener, someone unafraid to take the first step of a pilgrimage towards ever greater unity. In our polarised world, he could not have chosen a more fitting motto than ‘In Illo Uno Unum’ – ‘In the One we are one’.Just as many asked, ‘who is Cardinal Bergoglio?’ and then ‘who are the Jesuits?’ in 2013, so in 2025 I heard, ‘who is Cardinal Prevost?’, quickly followed by: ‘Who are the Augustinians?’ It is challenging to put the answer into words, because the language of the heart is always on the move; there is never a defined destination, only a journey of spiritual adventure. So, if you want to know who Leo XIV is, then look into the hearts of all his brothers and sisters in the Order of St Augustine. We are the restless of heart, inviting Jesus on our journey to be of one heart and one mind in God. If you want to know who we are, then turn to St Augustine who said: ‘You Lord, have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You’. The spotlight is dazzling and exciting. We are adjusting to a new spring in our step. Early signs of a ‘Leoeffect’ are good: the restless men and women who seek what Leo XIV lives and breathes are considering their vocational journey with the order. Then there is a rejuvenated interest in Augustine’s spiritual journey and how he speaks into all the stresses, strains and strengths of our world. This is amazing for us, and I believe it is amazing for the Church and the world. I clearly sense the deep and profound movement of the Holy Spirit guiding papal elections. The scholarly Benedict XVI’s emphasis on scholastic Thomism highlighted the way in which Augustine’s writings speak to a world of crumbling empires, failed philosophies and attempts at happiness, and misconceptions about God. Then came a pope from the new world, his ‘field hospital’ vision of a Church at the margins bringing a fragrance of Francis into the papacy. Now both unite with an Augustinian pope from the new world, living and breathing the Doctor of Grace’s charism with a beauty ever ancient, ever new.I believe that Pope Leo will draw deeply from his Augustinian heart and lead the world towards divine rest. He has already been doing just that very close to home. Ten years ago, my own brother was dabbling with Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene. He has now started attending Mass and is in the RCIA programme to become a member of the Catholic Church. I would say that the election to the papacy of my Augustinian brother, someone to whom he felt a personal connection, has led him to sense God’s grace in action.The Augustinians, to whom I have belonged for twenty years, celebrate Our Lady of Grace, the Blessed Virgin Mary, on 8 May. It was on this very day in 2025 that we watched white smoke billow from the Sistine Chapel chimney.Then, on the balcony of St Peter’s basilica, two words: ‘Habemus papam’. And then, two more: ‘Robertum Franciscum’.‘My goodness’, I thought. ‘That’s Bob!’Robert Prevost. His Holiness Leo XIV. A son of Augustine, the Doctor of Grace. The first Augustinian. First American. First Peruvian. Supreme Pontiff. All these thoughts went through my head with a sublime wave of elation and jubilation. This has been the most remarkable turn in an Augustinian adventure.Ten months later and it still seems unreal. Frankly, it is odd for the Holy Father to greet you with ‘Hello, Barney’, as he did at our General Chapter in Rome in September. He preached to his Augustinian brothers about unity, listening and humility. We truly preach that which is closest to our hearts. As a true and humble builder of bridges, able to transcend the polemical and speak from the depths of his Augustinian heart into the heart of all of humanity, Pope Leo truly lives up to the name of Pontifex Maximus. I know him to be The election of Pope Francis in 2013 brought consolation to many of his Jesuit brothers worldwide. Likewise, the election of the first Augustinian pope has been an occasion of grace for Augustinian men and women, as Fr Barnaby Johns OSA, Prior Provincial of the Province of St Augustine in California, tells us.A POPE WITH Arestless heartPope Leo XIV with Fr Barnaby Johns (right) at the Augustinian General Chapter, September 2025

LISTEN TO THE PODCASTFind the back catalogue of Things I Wish I Knew and subscribe to hear new episodes.And follow @tiwik_pod on Instagram.jesuit.org.uk 21THINKING FAITHWhat would you say to your younger self? What do we only learn through risk, experience, heartbreak, perseverance and prayer? And where does God meet us in all of it? These are the questions at the heart of a podcast from Thinking Faith, the online journal of the Jesuits in Britain. Things I Wish I Knew is designed for young adults navigating faith and life in a complicated world.Many young Catholics are asking difficult questions about identity, vocation, relationships, work and mental health, and there is a need for spaces where those questions can be voiced without fear. Too often, conversations about faith remain abstract or overly polished. Things I Wish I Knew tries to do something different. It invites guests to speak candidly about the turning points in their lives, the mistakes they have made and witnessed, and the lessons they have learned.The result is not a series of neat testimonies with tidy endings. Instead, listeners encounter people still on the journey. Priests, lay leaders, creatives and professionals share moments of doubt alongside moments of clarity. They speak about prayer that feels dry as well as prayer that transforms, about disappointment, resilience and the slow work of discernment.This approach resonates strongly with the Ignatian tradition. St Ignatius emphasised that God is not found only in extraordinary moments but in the ordinary. By reflecting on the past and noticing where grace was present, we begin to see how God has been at work all along. While the topics vary, a thread runs through all the episodes: an attentiveness to experience that echoes the heart of Jesuit spirituality.Again and again, guests reflect not only on what happened to them but on how God was present within those experiences. They speak about recognising grace in hindsight, about learning through consolation and desolation, and about the importance of pausing to notice what is stirring in the heart. Episodes with guests from St Beuno’s, Jesuit Missions and Jesuit parish communities make this connection explicit, drawing listeners into the practices of discernment and prayer that shape the Ignatian tradition.The podcast does not present faith as straightforward or free of struggle. In THINGS I WISHI KnewWhat if you looked back at an experience and really tried to see where God was at work? Ethel Mudavanhu, Thinking Faith’s Audio Content Producer, introduces a podcast that asks exactly that question.fact, many episodes focus precisely on life’s setbacks. A near-fatal head injury during a half-marathon. The hidden pain of addiction. The grief of losing a mother. The slow work of rebuilding after failure. These stories resonate because they acknowledge that growth often comes through vulnerability.At the same time, the podcast offers hope. Listeners hear how community sustained a former MP in prison, how prayer grounded a leader making difficult decisions, how a Jesuit education shaped a commitment to social justice, or how a period of loneliness became an invitation to deeper connection with God. The emphasis is not on perfection but on faithfulness in ordinary life.Things I Wish I Knew offers a companion to the wider mission of the Jesuits in Britain. It translates key themes of Ignatian spirituality into lived experience. It shows how discernment shapes careers and relationships, how finding God in all things can transform daily routines, and how accompaniment remains vital in a fragmented culture.Most importantly, the podcast reassures listeners that questions and doubts are not signs of failure. They are often the very places where God begins new work. By sharing stories across generations and backgrounds, Things I Wish I Knew builds a sense of shared pilgrimage. No one has everything figured out. Everyone is learning.

22 Jesuits & Friends Spring 2026PRAYING WITH THE POPEprayer asks everyone with an interest in food (which means all of us!) to work towards this end.Of course, peace is not simply desirable in the relations between nations, but also something we want in our personal lives. The April prayer focuses on one particular example of this, ‘priests in crisis’. It is a rare life that doesn’t experience some crisis moments, when accompaniment and support of others becomes particularly important. Living celibate lives, priests are separated from some of the sources of support that others might find in close family relationships. But colleagues, friends, and the wider communities in which they live and serve can all reach out to priests who are finding life particularly challenging, and the prayer asks that they may, in these ways, be restored to a greater peace.After dealing with such weighty matters, it’s maybe surprising to see that the June intention turns to sports. Yet, as Bill Shankly, former manager of Liverpool Football Club, remarked: ‘Somebody said that football’s a matter of life and death to you. I said “listen, it’s more important than that”.’ Why that should be the case, for football and for sports more widely, is laid out in this intention. International sport has become one of the mainstays of ‘encounter and dialogue among cultures and nations’, and so has a great opportunity – and responsibility – to ‘promote values such as respect, solidarity, and personal growth’. In these ways it becomes an instrument of peace, as the pope notes.‘Peace be with you’ remains the way in which Jesus greets his followers. Let us respond to that greeting in the months ahead by praying, and working, for peace in its many forms. Jesus frequently greets his disciples by saying ‘Peace be with you’. Elsewhere in the Bible, peace (‘Shalom’) as a blessing, a desire, or a state to give thanks for occurs several hundred times. Evidence, if needed, that the wish to live in peace is deep-rooted in the human heart. One way of thinking about the intentions Pope Leo offers us for these months is to see them as taking up different aspects of this heartfelt yearning.The March intention expresses this most simply. Continual competition between nations to create and stockpile the greatest number of arms, and particularly nuclear weapons, is no way to build and guarantee peace. The pope proposes an alternative way forward, ‘the path of dialogue and diplomacy’, and invites us to pray especially for world leaders who have the ability to change the current situation.One factor leading people into conflict is scarcity of resources. Often, this is not a matter of an absolute scarcity, but of a failure to share what resources there are, some having far more than they need while others go wanting. In May, Pope Leo addresses this situation in relation to food. In the affluent parts of the world, food is abundant and so frequently wasted. Meanwhile, in others, people go hungry or even starve. Fairer sharing would remove a major source of conflict and so contribute to peacebuilding. The Pope Leo’s prayer intentions for the months ahead draw our attention to the way in which peace must be the centre around which all spheres of life orbit, says Fr Paul Nicholson SJ.PeaceBE WITH YOUMARCH For disarmament and peaceLet us pray that nations move toward effective disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, and that world leaders choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy instead of violence.APRILFor priests in crisisLet us pray for priests going through moments of crisis in their vocation, that they may find the accompaniment they need and that communities may support them with understanding and prayer.MAY That everyone might have foodLet us pray that everyone, from large producers to small consumers, be committed to avoid wasting food, and to ensure that everyone has access to quality food.JUNE For the values of sportsLet us pray that sports be an instrument of peace, encounter, and dialogue among cultures and nations, and that they promote values such as respect, solidarity, and personal growth.INTENTIONS FOR THIS PERIODThe wish to live in peace is deep-rooted in the human heart.

jesuit.org.uk 23PROVINCE NEWSas a social worker at the University of York (1990–92). During these years, those close to him sensed an evident vocation taking shape. Simon entered the Jesuit novitiate in Birmingham in September 1993, on the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.After studies in philosophy at Heythrop College (1995–98), Simon undertook regency at Wimbledon College, working in teaching and youth ministry. He then moved to Paris to study theology at the Centre Sèvres, where he was ordained deacon at St Ignace in 2003. Later that same year, he was ordained priest at the Sacred Heart, Wimbledon.real sadness, yet the values, friendships and memories they have inspired continue to live on.Fr Simon Bishop SJ died on Sunday 4 January 2026. He was 58 years old, in his 33rd year of religious life.Simon was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on 28 March 1967, the youngest of four children of George (who died in 2001) and Dawn. He was baptised at St Peter’s, Oyster Bay, on 8 April 1967. Several happy early years were spent in Fiji before the family returned to Britain. Simon was confirmed at St Peter’s, Stonyhurst, on 4 November 1979.He was educated at Stonyhurst College from 1975 to 1985. In his final year, Simon was taught Scripture in preparation for university, and was remembered as thoughtful, generous and deeply engaged. He was also a keen sportsman, playing cricket both at school and later at university.Simon went on to study theology at Cambridge University (1986–89). Friends recall watching him play cricket for the university during these years and accompanying him on pilgrimage to Lourdes, experiences that reflected both his sociability and his growing spiritual depth. After Cambridge, Simon trained In July 2025, we were deeply saddened to hear that Mount St Mary’s College and its preparatory school, Barlborough Hall, would be closing. The schools had faced persistent financial difficulties since 2006 and last year the board of governors, independent from the Jesuits since 2006, took the painful but necessary decision to close them.For generations, these schools have been places of faith, learning and community. Their closure brings In 2004, Simon was missioned as chaplain to St Aloysius’ College, Glasgow. Then, upon being appointed vocations promoter in 2006, Simon accompanied many as they discerned their calling. In 2009, he undertook tertianship in Australia, travelling via Guyana, before returning to the British Province. He was then missioned to the Oxford University chaplaincy, first as assistant chaplain and, from 2010, as senior chaplain. During his years in Oxford, Simon took his final vows in November 2011 and, from 2013, he served as chaplain to the Oxford leg of the Student Cross pilgrimage. After three years as director of spirituality for the province, Simon was appointed novice master in September 2017. In this role, his deep prayerfulness shaped the life of the novitiate. It was during his time as novice master that Simon’s illness first emerged. Even so, he continued to serve for as long as and in whatever ways he could, becoming an exemplary presence in the Birmingham community. Friends recall his openness about his diagnosis, his gratitude for prayer, and the steady, hopeful faith with which he carried this final chapter of his life.If you have been a part of that community, we would love to hear from you at [email protected]. Please send us your memories and photographs from your time at the school – as a pupil, parent, member of staff or governor – so that together we can preserve and celebrate the spirit of Mount St Mary’s and Barlborough Hall.The Jesuits in Britain remain mindful of those directly affected by the closure and hold the entire schools’ community in our prayers.MOUNT ST MARY'S COLLEGE AND BARLBOROUGH HALL Fr Simon Bishop SJWatch a tribute to Fr Simon Bishop SJ at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv1BYY_VTjkMount St Mary’s College

✂One leader said: ‘When our children speak our language, they become brave enough to show who they are. When I speak in Wapichan, my soul is touched.’ Mine was, too.To witness a culture once pushed to the brink now taking root again is profoundly hopeful. It reminds us that accompaniment is not an idea, it is a lived reality. Across Guyana, indigenous communities face growing pressure from climate change, extractive industries and political violence. Despite these pressures, children are reclaiming their language, teachers are strengthening their skills and communities are reclaiming their identity.Jesuit Missions stands with these communities, and the Jesuits and lay collaborators who accompany them in this quiet, courageous work.But we cannot do this without you.• £20 could provide essential learning materials in Wapichan.• £50 could train a teacher to deliver bilingual education.• £100 could support school visits, coaching andcommunity meetingsYour gift today can change lives. Thank you. Fr Joel Thompson SJMY SOULWAS TOUCHED Photo: Jesuit MissionsPlease treat as Gift Aid all qualifying gifts of money made to Jesuit Missions today, over the past 4 years and in the future.Tick to confirm: I am a UK tax payer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid on all my donations in that year, it is my responsibility to pay any difference.See further details about our privacy policy at www.jesuit.org.uk/privacy-policyYES, I WANT TO HELP JESUIT MISSIONS WITH:A donation of £20 £50 £100 £ Please debit my Mastercard/Visa/Amex/Maestro card Cheque/postal order/CAF voucher enclosedI’d like to know more about how I can accompany Jesuit Missions with a regular gift.Cardholder’s nameCard noExpiry date CCS (3 numbers on back of card)Call 0208 946 0466 (office hours)Return this form to: Jesuit Missions, 11 Edge Hill, Wimbledon, London SW19 4LRPlease return this coupon to the address below. SurnameTitle First nameAddressPostcodeEmailTelephoneIn the remote interior of Guyana, something extraordinary is happening. Wapichan children are speaking their mother tongue with pride – many for the first time. As I stood among families and elders, the students danced, sang and recited poetry in Wapichan. The room shimmered with joy.Donate online atjesuitmissions.org.uk/donate