Universal Apostolic Preference
Rethinking how we live, work &
relate to people we serve.
Universal Apostolic Preferences
Are the fruit of a process of discernment lasting almost two years.
The Holy Father, after making his own discernment, officially gave to the Superior General and to the whole Society of Jesus, the Universal Apostolic Preferences for the period 2019 to 2029.
The Preferences give a horizon, a point of reference to the whole Society of Jesus. They capture our imaginations and awaken our desires. They unite us in our mission. The new Preferences are four areas vital for our world today. The Society of Jesus will pay special attention to them in the next ten years. We invite you to learn more and take action with us! We want to make a Gospel difference.
What is a Universal Apostolic Preference?
“The universal apostolic preferences… have been above all the Society’s response to the needs of the Church…
They have expressed and should still express in concrete terms our readiness, as a universal apostolic body, to work beneath the banner of the cross, to serve the Lord alone and the Church, his spouse, under the Roman Pontiff.
Thus, apostolic preferences create for us the tension of seeking the most universal good as the ultimate goal of the numerous apostolic activities the Society carries out…
We are all too well aware of the disproportion between the needs of humanity which the Church seeks to meet and the resources we have at hand. The preferences do not establish a hierarchy of the needs of humanity or of the Church, but they do indicate the best ways for the Society to make use of the resources it has available for the service of Christ’s reconciling mission in the world.”
Focus areas are:
Showing The Way To God
Show the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment.
Walking With The Excluded
Walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice
Journeying with Youth
To accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future
Caring for our Common Home
To collaborate in the care of our Common Home
Showing The Way To God
Show the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment.
We Resolve To...
- Collaborate with the Church in experiencing secular society as a sign of the times that affords us the opportunity to renew our presence in the heart of human history.
- Gain a deeper experience of the Spiritual Exercises so that they lead us to a personal and communal encounter with Christ that transforms us
- Offer the Spiritual Exercises in as many ways as possible, providing many people, especially the young, the opportunity to make use of them to begin or to advance in following Christ
- Promote discernment as a regular habit for those who choose to follow Christ
- Make regular use of spiritual conversation and discernment in our implementation of the preferences at all levels of the life-mission of the Society.
Walking With The Excluded
Walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice
We Resolve To...
- At all levels of the Society, discern who are the most vulnerable and excluded persons in our midst and to find ways to walk closely beside them.
- Promote social justice and the change of economic, political, and social structures that generate injustice
- Care for migrants, displaced persons, refugees, and victims of wars and human trafficking, defend the culture and the dignified existence of indigenous peoples
- Help eliminate abuses inside and outside the Church.
Journeying with Youth
To accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future
We Resolve To...
- Make an important contribution to creating and maintaining spaces that are open to young people in society and the Church.
- To accompany young people demands of us authenticity of life, spiritual depth, and openness to sharing the life-mission that gives meaning to who we are and what we do.
Caring for our Common Home
To collaborate in the care of our Common Home
We Resolve To...
- Collaborate with others in the construction of alternative models of life that are based on respect for creation and on a sustainable development capable of producing goods that, when justly distributed, ensure a decent life for all human beings on our planet.
- Conversion: changing the habits of life promoted by an economic and cultural system based on the consumption of an irrational production of goods.
Life and Mission
Conversion at personal, communal and institutional levels
We are deeply convinced that the preferences will help the apostolic body of the Society if they maintain a clear unity between life and mission.
The will help us to share in the life and mission of Christ, enable intellectual and spiritual depth and promote collaboration as a way of life.
Select Payment Method
Pay by bank transfer
If you wish to make a donation by direct bank transfer please contact Fr Paul Hamill SJ treasurer@jesuits.africa. Fr Paul will get in touch with you about the best method of transfer for you and share account details with you. Donations can be one-off gifts or of any frequency; for example, you might wish to become a regular monthly donor of small amounts; that sort of reliable income can allow for very welcome forward planning in the development of the Society’s works in Africa and Madagascar.
Often it is easier to send a donation to an office within your own country and Fr Paul can advise on how that might be done. In some countries this kind of giving can also be recognised for tax relief and the necessary receipts will be issued.