The group of JCEP Provincial Eco-delegates had its first in-person meeting at the beautiful and welcoming Jesuit eco-spiritual centre Le Châtelard, near Lyon (France) on 11-14 April 2024. The group is formed by Eco-delegates appointed by the JCEP Provincials, in response to a request in early 2022 by Franck Janin sj (the then- President of JCEP), and started meeting online (once per trimester) in September 2022, under the coordination of the JCEP Social Delegate.  8 delegates were able to travel to Lyon, and 2 more joined the sessions online. The meeting counted also with the presences of Dalibor Renic sj (current JCEP President), a representative of the Secretariat for Social Justice and Ecology (SJES), the JCEP Delegate for Higher Education, the JCEP Delegate for Primary and Secondary Education and 4 people of the Ecology team of JESC (the Brussels-based social centre that supports the JCEP Social Delegate work). 

The first day had a spiritual input by one of the Delegates and a short sharing by the JCEP President regarding the current Provincials’ approach of UAP4 in Europe, and then the presentation, by each Delegate, of the situation in each Province, structured according to the (ideal) job description of Eco-delegates and with a highlight of a provincial good practice.

On the second day, the group embarked in a “theory of change” exercise, to map “where”, in terms of integral ecology, the Conference is now, and “where” the groups believes the Conference is called to be. This was followed by presentations of the different guest networks and projects, namely regarding JECSE, Kircher Network and SJES, and the 3 current Ecology advocacy and eco-transition projects of JESC (JESC Carbon Initiative, Future Generations Initiative and Our Daily Bread food systems-focused network).

Key points taken from the meeting:

The fact that the call for the “ecological conversion” is a spiritual and not only “ideological” or moral one, and this spiritual “rootedness in the Spirit” must be constantly nurtured and kept in mind. Jesuits and the Ignatian family can play an important role in helping the Church to develop the eco-spirituality that fosters this conversion.

The acknowledgement that all European provinces are already taking steps towards this conversion, with effort and commitment, being important to respect the particular rhythm and possibilities of each one. At the same time, it was clear that change is fostered when means are allocated to it, and concrete plans of action at community, institution and Province level are designed, implemented and monitored.

Finally, the recognition of the importance (and joy) of the small steps. It’s only normal that the journey of ecological conversion of each person and Province is not a fast or even sometimes clear one. But as many examples show, the main thing is to start, step by step. And then the Spirit will be able to guide and animate the way forward in this perhaps challenging but necessary change.