The "Jesuits in Europe" News Service

From the very beginning of the Society of Jesus, even long before its official foundation, Ignatius of Loyola insisted on the importance of good contacts among his first companions and, later on, among the ever-growing group of Jesuits. From his tiny quarters in Rome he wrote thousands of letters to his fellow Jesuits in all corners of the globe dealing with the affairs of the Society. He considered correspondence between Jesuits one of the most important elements in fostering unity. Separation of Jesuits throughout the world was one of the greatest dangers to the growth, apostolate and unity of the Society. He not only wrote, therefore, to all the houses of the Order, but he also required the various superiors throughout the world to write to Rome regularly, informing him of what was happening. This information could be passed on to the houses of the Society everywhere.

Nowadays information about Jesuits and communication among them remain at least as important as in Ignatius' time. Nobody will be surprised to see that the new media have set in. More and more traditional printed newsletters from Jesuit provinces and institutions have been complemented or even replaced by electronic mail and a presence on the Internet. And, what's more, new ways and means of information and communication are appearing.

This has also happened to "Jesuits in Europe". When, some five years ago, the decision was taken to start a "news service" for European Jesuits and Jesuit Provinces, the then President of the Conference of European Provincials, Father Gerwin Komma, immediately opted for an electronic version. The first news bulletin was sent out on 5 February 1997 to 188 addresses of individual Jesuits or Jesuit communities. One year later, the number had tripled. Now, after almost five years and fifty monthly bulletins, there are more than 2.600 subscribers.

This monthly bulletin is in English, strictly limited to Jesuits and is meant to provide internal information. As stated in the welcome message of the first issue, "This electronic service is helping to develop a better understanding for common Jesuit concerns in Europe. It collects and distributes information of supra-provincial interest and encourages communication and collaboration among groups and individuals."

Besides this a "Forum" has been created for specific groups of Jesuits – Provincial Superiors for instance or Jesuits involved in the Chinese Apostolate. These interactive discussion groups are a virtual place where individual Jesuits can meet each other, express their opinions, relate personal experiences, request information or advice from others, publicise needs or services, or simply have a chat with others. Interactive messages are threaded so that dialogue among Jesuits is facilitated.

All Jesuits who are on the News Service mailing list also have access to documents archived on the "Jesuits in Europe Library Service". Recently this information has also been made available on a password-protected "Intranet". An "E-mail Directory" contains e-mail addresses and websites of Jesuits from European Provinces working inside and outside Europe as well as of Jesuits from other Provinces staying in Europe. A supplement with new or changed addresses is regularly sent out to all subscribers.

Already from the beginning of the News Service the idea was there of working out a parallel project for a more open presence on the Internet and to start a corresponding website. But it took until April 2000, before the www.jesuits-europe.org website finally came true.

While the News Service and the Forum lists are limited to Jesuits, the website is open to every visitor on the Internet. First of all it aims to give general information on what is going on in the Society of Jesus at the European level and to make links to the different websites of the Provinces and other European Jesuit institutions. It presents the structure and the activities of the Conference of European Provincials and the Jesuit presence in Europe by country or by apostolic sector. There are some news items and an agenda of forthcoming events as well as important documents in different languages.

Rik De Gendt, Brussels
webmaster@jesuits-europe.org 

Translated from "Popoli", October 2001   [Original text]

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