UCSIA supports Jesuit formation for European Leadership

What does one need to be a good leader? Pope Francis, at a conference to mark the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, gave the following response: “To be a leader demands thoughtfulness, training and experience”. This appears to be contradictory to the widespread opinion, that successful leadership results from a certain kind of personality. Leaders, according to this view, are born, not made. Decisiveness and determination are the traditional traits of leaders but these qualities do not suffice to respond to contemporary political challenges.

In order to provide vision and values for Europe, JESC launched the European Leadership Programme (ELP) to train an integral type of leader for shaping the future of the European Union. The idea of launching a leadership programme to support the European idea was developed by John Dardis SJ, former President of the Jesuit Conference of European Provincials and Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the EU. In 2017, this task was given to JESC.

The ELP is a Brussels-based project which enhances leadership values and skills through a comprehensive formation experience that is offered to young potential leaders from Europe and the Middle East. It combines the elements of political training, higher education, community building, social outreach and faith formation.

The aim is to form future leaders practically and spiritually by helping ELP fellows learn about the European institutions through direct contact with politicians and decision makers while they study leadership issues and earn ECTS credits. In addition, an immersion programme brings them in touch with marginalized people and those in need. Both the coaching programme and the experience of a supportive community gives the participants space for reflection and personal growth.

Because leadership is not just a matter of knowledge, an integration of knowledge and experience into one’s own inner life gives orientation and support in the sometimes tough task of leadership. To address these challenges, ELP provides a personal coaching programme by professional spiritual guides. Participants live in communities, which offers a shared experience of learning and living together.

In 2019, JESC recruited, formed and trained two cohorts of about 20 fellows, over a period of five months – the first beginning in March and the other in October. JESC attracted the participation of a number of high-level officials and professors as speakers and collaborated with several organizations where fellows did traineeships, ranging from European institutions to business and Catholic associations working in European policy making. It collaborates with UCSIA for the organization of the jury for the presentation of the end of term papers of the students at the University of Antwerp and the graduation ceremony at Jesuit College Matteo Ricci in Molenbeek.

The Jesuit College Matteo Ricci, a new French-speaking general secondary school, that opened its doors in Brussels in September 2019, itself embodies the Jesuit mission for social leadership. It was realized by people involved in associations in Brussels, by former Jesuit students and by the Society of Jesus, in dialogue with the Archdiocese of Malines-Brussels as a response to the urgent need to build new secondary schools, particularly in areas of high demographic tension. It offers young people, especially those of the multicultural crescent of Brussels, a quality education, in keeping with the tradition of Jesuit pedagogy.