Next to the majestic edifice of St Peter’s Basilica lies a non-descript campus of buildings that blend into the neighborhoods surrounding the Colonnade of Bernini. That campus, located just below the Collegio Urbano, is the General Curia – the home of the General Superior of the Jesuits and the offices that connect the different Conferences and Provinces of the Worldwide Society of Jesus.

The General Curia had been located at the Gesù – the mother church of the Society and the tomb of its founder, St Ignatius of Loyola – for most of its history, but in 1927, under the leadership of Fr General Wlodimir Ledóchowski, it was moved to its current location in Borgo Santo Spirito. Since then, a total of six Jesuit Superiors General have called the Curia home.

While the campus houses everything needed to run a worldwide organization – living quarters for the staff, office space, the archives and libraries, chapels, meeting rooms and refectories – there is one building on the campus that holds special significance for the Society. Situated at the center of the campus “The Aula” – Latin for “hall” or “meeting place” – isn’t unique because of its architecture or art, but because of its purpose: dialogue and discernment.

The Aula is where the Society of Jesus holds its General Congregations (GC). A General Congregation is the highest authority in the Society of Jesus, convened to elect a new Superior General or to discuss and make decisions on pressing issues involving the Society. It is a governing body, comprised of “ex-officio” (by the nature of their office) and elected Jesuits who represent their Provinces or Regions. Together, these representatives hold a higher authority than even Fr General himself.

The Aula was purpose-built for General Congregations, and as such it would remain sealed between General Congregations. Since its construction in 1927, there were six General Congregations held in the Aula, beginning with GC 31 in 1965, with the most recent being GC 36 in 2016. However, in 2016, almost 90 years after it was created, the Aula was renovated and brought up to modern standards for a meeting hall. A year later, under the newly-elected Fr General Arturo Sosa (the 31st General Superior of the Society of Jesus), the Aula was made available to events beyond the General Congregations. In Fr General’s words: “This building represents our model of leadership: dialogue and discernment at the service of God. If we so completely trust in that model, why wouldn’t we share with any who would seek it?”

Since that opening of the Aula to events beyond the General Congregations, and beyond the Society itself, the Aula has been used by dozens of groups who need a space for dialogue and discernment. The Vatican has used it for synodal meetings and dicastery events. It has been used by global gatherings of Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), the Secretariat for Social Justice and Ecology, Discernment and Apostolic Planning workshops, and other likeminded organizations. The Aula has been a meeting place for religious and lay, priests and nuns, young and older – anyone of good will who needs a prayerful space to plan for the future.