The document De Statu Societatis (DSS - State of the Society of Jesus) published after the 71^st Congregation of Procurators, included a chapter entitled “Becoming collaborators in the mission of Christ”.

In it, Superior General Fr Arturo Sosa said, “We are beginning to understand how there are different possibilities for participation in the Society’s apostolate”. In addition, Fr Sosa says in his recent message as the Universal Apostolic Preferences (UAPs) turn five years that “the processes of formation of partners in mission is a dimension that we want to develop; it is essential for the UAPs to bear the fruits they promise”.

For good collaboration, we need good formation. We already have a system of formation for Jesuits. What about for our mission partners?

“We need processes that help our partners to reach that moment of decision and commitment, an election in the Ignatian sense whereby they commit themselves in heart and will to the mission of reconciliation and justice.”

So, we got to work. The General Curia decided to survey all Provinces, Regions, Conferences and Apostolic Secretariats and to map the partner formation resources that already exist. Every Province or Region was invited to send in whatever they have for mission partner formation. We waited in suspense to see the result. The good news is that we have very diverse and rich contributions in a multitude of formats: face-to-face courses and experiences, online documents and guides, websites, videos, and others. We have been amazed, humbled, consoled.

The mapping will run until June this year. Then we will make a platform so that it all becomes available. That way we help each other. So, if you are in Britain your resources might help Benin; if you are in Vietnam, your resources might help Venezuela. Translation softwares will be our friends, avoiding reinventing the wheel. This exercise will also help to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.

We encourage you to jump on board the partner formation train. If you know of a training program or resource (PDFs, websites, videos) send us an email. With your help we can do an ever-better job – a magis job – of getting the mission moving.