Le Groupe des Deux Rives (Two Shores’ Group) held its annual meeting between the 26th and 30th December 2017 in the Franciscan Convent of Saint Mary Draperis, Istanbul (Turkey).

In the words of Pep Buades, it was a “time of common discernment on the future of the Jesuit mission in Turkey”. It was also an opportunity to meet the Apostolic Vicar of Istanbul, Mgr. Rubén Tierrablanca OFM, and gain an insider’s insight into the situation of the Catholic Church in Turkey. The visit to the Istanbul Foundation for Science and Culture, linked to the disciples of Said Nursi, allowed for some sharing about the way we understand dialogue and the interplay between faith and reason. Being in Istanbul, also meant we had to pay a visit to some of the city’s most symbolic religious places: the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Muslim shrine of Eyüp.

A huge part of the meeting was devoted to personal sharing about our lives and missions. As friends in the Lord, we did not only speak about topics of common interest, but about our current discernments, our joys and our sorrows. Among other things, we touched upon the fragility of our presence in Maghreb and Turkey and how this nurtures a deeper sense of providence, as well as the desire for new companions to share in our mission. Some of us, mentioned the difficulties faced when engaging simultaneously in a dialogue with Muslims and catechumenal work. We also discussed our commitment to Jesuits Among Muslims (JAM), the PLURIEL network of Catholic Universities in Europe and Lebanon and the HEST cluster on the dialogue between Christians and Muslims, and organizational issues related to some of our common activities, as Inner discovery of Algeria, a programme for college students and young professionals.

The group’s next meeting will be hosted by Damien de Préville and will take place in Constantine between the 28th and 29th July. Damien will also have the pleasure of hosting this year’s annual meeting between the 26th and 30th December.

The members who attended the meeting were: Jean-Marc Balhan (Ankara, Turkey), Alexis Doucet (Ankara, Turkey), Christophe Ravanel (Algiers-Algeria), Damien de Préville (Constantine-Algeria), Jaume Flaquer (Barcelona-Spain), Josep Buades (Sevilla-Spain), Laurent Basanèse (Rome-Italy) and a French scholastic currently studying Theology, Olivier Dewavrin (Paris-France). Some others, unfortunately, couldn’t participate this time: Jesús León (Constantine-Algeria), Sylvain Cariou-Charton (Vanves-France), Jack Germanos (Nador-Morocco), Ricardo Jiménez (Algiers-Algeria) and Álvaro Dorantes (Alexandria-Egypt).