Encounters of the Latin-American Union of Jesuit Alumni

From March 17 to 19, 2017, encounters from the Latin American Union of Jesuit Alumni Associations were held in Lima, which some work on the strategic planning of the Confederation in its second and third phases was carried out, we held talks and dialogues between Alumni, individuals and representatives of CPAL, Society of Jesus, Fe y Alegria, among others, as well as we were able to socialize in a typical Peruvian lunch and afternoon where we received surprises from our great hosts, and thus finally to perform our general assembly, all these meetings and sessions in which delegates from Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Argentina and Colombia participated.

Father General Arturo Sosa S.J. welcomed the celebration of the event through a video message in which invited all graduates of Latin America to mobilize with solidarity for Haiti through the educational work that the Company of Jesus carries out there. As for Father Roberto Jaramillo SJ, on the eve of assuming the post as President of the Conference of Jesuit Provincials of Latin America and the Caribbean (CPAL), complemented Father General’s message by presenting the alumni with a report highlighting the courageous enthusiasm schools of Fe y Alegria in Haiti carry out their tasks in spite of the adversities.

Video message with Fr General

At his turn, Father Oscar Morelli Müller S.J. Director of the school La Inmaculada of Lima participated as a speaker in the academic forum “How to be good people for others, in a system infected by corruption” held as a prelude to the assembly.

The main objectives of these meetings were: 1) To define our Mission, Vision and strategic supports for our renewed Latin American Union of Alumni from now on to 5 years, 2) To integrate the whole board a bit more as a team and to reincorporate and incorporate our members, and 3) Prepare the participation of the Confederation into the World Congress of Jesuit alumni from June 28 to July 2, 2017 in the city of Cleveland Ohio.

Within its first objective the Union of alumni was able to define and update its Mission and Vision which resulted as follows:

“Unite and represent its members, inspired by Ignatian formation and spirituality”.

And

“To be recognized for its representativeness and strength in the interaction with its members, with the World Union and the Society of Jesus”.

To complete the drafting of its statutes, to develop its website, to make a directory of associations of graduates of the region and fundamentally to strengthen its dialogue with the Society of Jesus, the World Union and other Confederations correspond to priorities that the assembly determined to assume.

Before leaving to our corresponding homes and places of origin, a delegation was lucky enough to participate in the conversation that Father General Arturo Sosa, S.J. had with laypersons and to conclude with the celebration of the Holy Mass presided by the Father General himself in the Church of Our Lady of Fatima of Lima.

Andrés Ballerino Moeller President of the Latin American Union of Federations and Associations of Alumni of the Society of Jesus once our alumni encounters were finished, he was invited to the Conference of Jesuit Provincials of Latin America and the Caribbean – CPAL, which took place from March 20 to 24, 2017 in the city of Lima too.

This opportunity has been favorable for the Latin American Union as a whole to endorse the idea that its objectives are uniform with the priorities of the Common Apostolic Project, particularly in what concerns with the commitment to those who live on the frontiers of exclusion and with Latin American solidarity and find ground for the purpose of encounter and exchanging of the laypersons in the mission of the Society of Jesus.

Despite the mudslides that ravaged the Peruvian territory at the time, the events were carried out in an atmosphere of camaraderie and were an operational and logistical success thanks to the hospitality of the school and the generosity and diligence of the association of graduates of the school La Inmaculada of Lima.