Recognizing Lights of Hope: Albania, Italy, Malta and Romania pray together
A time of common prayer for the four territories of the Euro-Mediterranean Province. The event was streamed on June 29, at 8 pm, with live connections from Albania, Malta, Romania and Italy on YouTube and Facebook.
“A significant date,” explains Fr. Marco Colò, Province coordinator for the Ignatian Year: ” “On the eve of Saints Peter and Paul, the young Inigo, wounded in Pamplona by a cannonball, had no choice but to rely on the 2 apostles, to hope for his rescue. This came at dawn, on 29th June. Inigo would recover. We found ourselves in a similar condition, at the end of a long period that put us to the test. We had to say goodbye to dear brothers and sisters. Our plans were strongly challenged. However, the Lord has not abandoned us. He made lights of hope shine. We wanted to acknowledge them and share them together, each in his or her own language, accompanying these discoveries with images that also expressed their colors and shapes. This was to ask for a broader vision, capable of seeing the grace of the Lord at work in every situation so that we may become His collaborators. “.
The live broadcast was also an opportunity to bring together, from the four countries, Jesuits and lay people who work in the same charism, to promote mutual acquaintance and communion of purpose. Short video clips illustrated the history of the Jesuit presence in the different territories. The live moments of prayer were accompanied by pictures that expressed the signs of light captured. Fr. Roberto Del Riccio concluded the prayer time. “The next steps as EUM will be oriented to grow in communion and in a greater sense of belonging to the Province. In order to feel part of a same body, it is not necessary to deny one’s own language and cultural identity. As we have experienced this evening, we grow in unity among ourselves by sharing more and more our Ignatian identity, through which we participate in Christ’s mission, each according to his or her own vocation: Jesuits, laymen and women, priests, consecrated men and women”.
The Euro-Mediterranean Province was established on July 1, 2017. It counts 433 Jesuits, in 38 communities, and 41 works, active in the social, cultural, youth, and discernment formation fields.
