The planned 2025 international symposium on “The Spiritual Exercises in the African Context,” scheduled for July 6–10, 2025, at the Mwangaza Jesuit Spirituality Centre in Karen, Nairobi, Kenya aims to become a major event by exploring the Spiritual Exercises in African context. This meeting will converge practitioners and experts from multiple backgrounds who will explore and talk about how spiritual exercises work in African settings. The joint organizers Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) and Jesuit Historical Institute in Africa (JHIA) have created all essential arrangements for this symposium to generate valuable insights with help from their review committee and submission of abstract already in place, deadline for accepting the final papers set on 15th February 2025 to allow ample time for presenters to prepare themselves for the Symposium.
The symposium preparation commenced on January 4th, 2024 when a working group of experts was convened to brainstorm the framework. The group consisted of Dr. Jean Luc Enyegue, SJ, lecturer at Hekima University College and director of the Jesuit Historical Institute in Africa (JHIA) who has significant experience in conducting and managing diverse forms of retreats; Terry Charlton, SJ, who has worked for more than 35 years in Africa providing and training people on how to offer Spiritual Exercises. He is Director of Mwangaza Jesuit Spirituality Centre; Dr. Edel Wairimu who is a scholar at Tangaza University College and applies the Spiritual Exercises to lay ministry and family life and education; Puleng Matsaneng, who is the recently appointed Delegate for Ignatian Spirituality in the Southern Africa Province with a specialization in group retreats and youth work; Joseph Mboya, SJ, a doctoral student in Ignatian Spirituality at the Gregorian University in Rome, who has more than 10 years of experience in giving the Exercises. Also proposed in the core team & logistics is Fr. John Baptist Anyeh Zamco, SJ who is the Socius of JCAM, Lastly the JHIA team, with Geoffrey Obatsa leading the administrative paperwork in the preparations to the Symposium.
Through team work they built the basic structure for this symposium that could change things. These experts want to understand how the Spiritual Exercises can meet the spiritual needs of African communities today and encourage teamwork among professionals and researchers to support the growth of community leaders, and showcase new ways to incorporate the Exercises into different parts of life, such as youth groups, families, and underserved communities.
The expected outcomes of the symposium encompass an improved grasp of the Spiritual Exercises’ effect in Africa, the creation of a collaborative support structure, and the writing of an extensive report that outlines the outcome and reflection of the event. Attendees will learn new approaches and methods that enable them to give the Exercises in as many kinds of places as possible.
The symbolism and strategy around the selection of Mwangaza Jesuit Spirituality Center as the venue is of utmost importance. This area, which has been known as Mwangaza since 1978, represents light, knowledge, and wisdom. This venue has hosted innumerable retreats for Jesuits, religious people, bishops, priests, and lay people and has served as the home for Spiritual Exercises in Africa for the last 5 decades. It has also been the site of several formation programs and was oine of the first sites for the first Congregation of Procurators of the Society of Jesus which was held outside of Europe. Mwangaza’s logistical advantages like the location to the Pedro Arrupe Community makes this place extremely ideal for the event. Other venues such as Donum Dei were considered, however, in the end sanity and historical value made Mwangaza the ideal selection. We secured the venue with Fr. Terry over a year in advance to ensure that all preparations needed were done.
A gathering that is bound to illuminate the transformative power of Spiritual Exercises, and bringing both personal and communal renewal across the African continent, causes a palpable excitement as the core event nears.
Geoffrey Obatsa
Admin Assistant
Jesuit Historical Institute in Africa(JHIA)
