In May, Jesuits from every Province and Region where the Society of Jesus is working will gather at the “Sanctuario de Loyola” in Spain for the 71^st Congregation of Procurators, or “CP”. Announced in January of 2021, the CP was convoked by Fr. Arturo Sosa, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, in a letter to all Major Superiors of the Society. Each Province, Region and Mission has prayerfully discerned to create a report on the “State of the Society” in their region, while also electing a single delegate to represent them at the CP.

For Jesuits, the CP is a normal part of “our way of proceeding”. But to one not familiar with the governance of the Society, the CP can seem mysterious: What exactly is a “Congregation of Procurators” and what might come from the gathering?

Unlike so many of the other details of Jesuit life, the CP is not part of the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus. Instead, the 2^nd General Congregation, in 1565, recognized the need for more frequent meetings than the 36 General Congregations that have been convened in the almost 500 years’ history of the Society. The CP was envisioned to be held every few years, primarily to recommend to Fr. General as to whether or not a General Congregation should be convoked, but also as a way to bring before the global body of the Society any pressing issue that has arisen in the work, life and prayer of Jesuits around the world.

Once each Province, Region and special Mission has elected a delegate, it is that Jesuit’s responsibility to visit all the communities in his purview: listening to lights and shadows, and gathering information that he will pass on to Fr. General and his fellow delegates. In this way, the CP becomes an enormous grass-roots representation of the Society: the important parts of Jesuits life as seen by the men who are living and working in the field.

This year, the delegates have been asked to focus their reports on the theme, “Seeing all things new in Christ”. Specifically, Fr. General has tasked the delegates with reporting on how the Universal Apostolic Preferences - given to the Society of Jesus by Pope Francis in 2019 - have changed life and ministry across the global Society.

CP71 will begin, as all things in Jesuit life do, with prayer. On 5 May, the delegates and Fr. General will start an 8-day Ignatian retreat, using the Spiritual Exercises to focus their questions, clarify their understanding of the movement of the Holy Spirit in their part of the world, and move towards a conversion that will make the CP a gathering of hearts and minds. The CP itself will follow, from 15 to 21 May.

Please pray for Fr. General and the delegates of CP71 as they discern how best to place the Society of Jesus at the service of the Church and her people.