Becoming a Universal Body, One Webinar at a Time
The General Curia of the Society of Jesus launches its brand-new Webinars’ Calendar. After being in pilot mode for the last two years, these meetings have proved to be incredibly useful, with sometimes up to 600 people taking part from all around the globe. The idea is to provide ongoing formation and to stimulate interaction and feedback on key topics in the Society such as Mission Partnership, Discernment in Common and Apostolic Planning, Young Adult Ministry, Social Justice and much more.
“As we developed these webinars, we discovered so much hidden talent”, said Fr John Dardis, SJ, who kicked off the idea in 2024. “It’s like a treasure buried in the field of the Jesuit and Ignatian world. From our vantage point here in the General Curia, we are in an ideal place to spot that talent and make it available to the rest of the Society and the wider Church.”
The format is journalistic in style with an interviewer or host from the General Curia engaging with one or two panellists around a topic of universal importance.
“We don’t shy away from difficult or provocative questions”, says Fr Dardis. “In fact, when people are put on the spot it can bring out the best in them. It’s also important that we ask the real questions that are being asked even if these are sometimes sceptical ones such as Are the Universal Apostolic Preferences really making any difference? or Is all this planning having any impact?”
The webinars last about an hour and the idea is that people go away feeling enthusiastic, motivated and wanting to know more. The emphasis is on self-learning. After the webinar and based on what they’ve heard, people are encouraged to do their own research and follow up their own questions.
“It’s been a chance also to build the unions of hearts and minds”, said Germán Muñoz, who has managed the logistics behind the webinars. “When I see the feedback coming in and the requests to be added to the various lists, it’s such a consolation. You can feel the energy in the group. And whenever we ask people to take part as panellists, they do so generously, sharing all the knowledge and expertise they have and even who they are – it is like the Contemplatio Ad Amorem in action.”
The Communications Office is now taking this channel to a new level. On 25 June, more than 650 participants joined the session Unpacking Magnifica Humanitas – with the participation of Bishop Paul Tighe, Secretary at the Dicastery for Culture and Education, and Fr James Hanvey, SJ, Secretary for the Service of Faith of Fr General.
“For me, as Father General,” says Fr Arturo Sosa, “these webinars provide practical help in areas of great importance. The General Curia is here to serve and to support people around the world who are often in frontline situations. For sure, one of my roles here is to discern ways forward for the universal Society and encourage people through letters and other forms of communication. But another one of my roles is to help people implement what’s in these letters and guidelines, and that’s where these webinars come in. Building up an apostolic body is always a challenge, always a work in progress. The more people participate in these webinars, the more we feel ourselves to be – and become – a universal body for mission.”
The 2026 program is still being finalized, but here are next few ones should you be interested in participating.
To do so, subscribe to our Events’ page.
• 6 July 2026 | Lessons from Accompanying Discernment Processes, with Fr Francisco J. Ruiz, SJ, and Josep Maria Lozano
• 16 July 2026 | Unpacking Magnifica Humanitas – Episode 2
• 23 July 2026 | Synodality At Work, with Gerry O’Neill
• 9 September 2026 | Essential Elements of a Facilitator’s Training Program, with Fr Francisco J. Ruiz, SJ, and Josep Maria Lozano
• 16 September 2026 | Planning for Impact, with Lucy Franks and JP Villanueva
Related Posts:
The General Curia concluded its social year with a gathering in the Aula on 19 June that brought together the Jesuit members of the Curia community and the lay collaborators that jointly sustain its administrative operations...
The Enlarged Council brought together the Secretaries of the Apostolic Sectors, General Counsellors, General Treasurer, Presidents of Conferences, and other officials at the Curia to examine a central question: How to increase and deepen collaboration across apostolic...
On 5 June 1546, Paul III signed the brief “Exponi nobis”, which addressed how men who did not belong to the original group of highly qualified priests of the Society could nonetheless belong to it and serve its mission. The brief did so by establishing the grade of coadjutor...
Communication delegates from the six Conferences convened at the General Curia last week to confront the defining challenges of their ministry: examining ways to better communicate the mission and vision of the Society of Jesus in an age of rapid technological transformation.
Four hundred and eighty-four years ago, the Apostle of Asia stepped ashore in Portuguese India – marking both the end of a long formation and the beginning of a ministry that would span a continent. The arrival of St Francis Xavier (1506–1552) in Goa, India, on 6 May 1542 was at once a...
Superior General Arturo Sosa has convoked the 72nd Congregation of Procurators, bringing representatives from across the Society of Jesus to Indonesia in October 2027. The gathering will examine how the Society’s structures must be reshaped to carry its mission forward...
