On Saturday, December 4, at 6:45 p.m., at the end of the first day of his apostolic journey to Greece, Pope Francis returned to the Nunciature, where a group of seven Jesuits who are serving in Greece (nine members in all in the community of Athens) were waiting for him. To the same community belonged Mons. Theodoros Kodidis, Archbishop of Athens since September 18 of this year. The Pope entered the hall of the nunciature, personally greeting each of those present. A relaxed conversation then ensued, which lasted for an hour. Everyone introduced himself and spoke briefly about himself, engaging in a dialogue with his fellow bishop of Rome, who invited everyone to ask questions freely and spontaneously.

The abbot of the Jesuits in Athens, Fr. Pierre Salembier recalls that the community is part of the French-speaking province of France and Belgium, whereas previously it was affiliated with the province of Sicily. He introduced himself personally, reminding Francis that they had been together at the 1987 Congregation of Procurators. He was a professor in Bordeaux and then was asked to move to Athens. After him, the Jesuit brother Georges Marangonos, who plays the organ and acts as treasurer, presents himself. The pope intervenes, saying:

Let me tell you a secret: when I was a provincial, before allowing someone to be ordained a priest, I had to ask the opinions of my brethren, and I was convinced that the Jesuit brothers did best with this evaluation. I remember once there was a graduating theology student who was especially distinguished by intelligence, character, and a pleasant disposition. The brothers said to me, “Be careful, send him to work for a while before ordination. It was like they were looking in the water. I wonder why Jesuit brothers have the ability to grasp the main thing. Perhaps because they know how to combine the realm of the senses with physical work. They touch reality with their hands. We priests are sometimes abstract. Brothers are concrete, well versed in conflicts and difficulties: they have a keen eye. When we talk about “promoting” the role of the brothers in the Society today, we must always keep in mind that everything-even their studies-should be seen as a tool for their particular vocation, which goes far beyond what they know.

Then Fr. Pierre Chongk Tsong Chan, a Korean who became a Jesuit 21 years ago. He is now rector of the parish of the Sacred Heart of Christ the Savior and a staff member of the Arrupe Center, an institution for refugee children, which he himself founded but is now only a staff member. Pope Francis comments:

Two things. One: You speak Greek very well! You’re a universal Korean! Two: there is something very important in what you say. You founded the Arrupe Center, you are the “founding father”; you have shown your creativity, you know very well what this center is, what its nature and purpose are. But now you are no longer in charge. That’s a very good thing. When one starts a process, one should let it develop, let the cause grow, and then leave. This is what every Jesuit should do. None of us owns any apostolic work, because it belongs to the Lord. This is how our creative impassivity is manifested. One must be a father and allow the child to grow. The Society of Jesus went into a crisis of fecundity when it wanted to regulate any creative development by means of O. Pedro Arrupe, becoming General of the Order, did the opposite: renewed the spirituality of the Society and let it grow. This is a great position: to do things right, and then to detach oneself without being possessive. To be fruitful as a father, one must be a father, not a master. Ignatius says a wonderful thing in Constitutions: great principles must be embodied according to the circumstances of places, times and people. And this is done through discernment. A Jesuit who acts without recognition is not a true Jesuit.

Next, Fr. Sébastien Fréry. He is 84 years old and has had various pastoral responsibilities in the parish and working with young people. He tells the Pope that the community was once large and very active, making significant contributions to society. Many of our apostolic works were cultural and intellectual, open to dialogue. One of those things was the publication of a magazine. Things are much more modest now. The Jesuits do what they can with their few resources. The Pope responding, comments like this:

The weakening of the Society of Jesus cannot be overlooked. When I joined the order, there were 33,000 Jesuits. How many are we now? More or less half. And our numbers will continue to decline. This is a fact for many religious orders and congregations. And it means something, we must ask: What is the significance of this fact? After all, this decrease in numbers is not up to us. The vocation is from God. If there is no calling, it is not up to us. I believe the Lord gives us a lesson concerning the consecrated life. For us he has a sense of humiliation. In the Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius always points this out: humiliation. Regarding the crisis of vocations, the Jesuit cannot remain at the level of a sociological explanation. This is at best half the truth. The deeper truth is that the Lord leads us to this humiliation through the reduction of our numbers in order to open everyone to the “third degree of humility,” the only effective fruitfulness of the Jesuit. The third degree of humility is the goal of the Exercises. The great scientific journal no longer exists: what does the Lord have in mind? Humiliation, humiliation! I don’t know if I have made myself clear. We must get used to humiliation.

О. Fr. Freri parried, “You are right, but my question is: What is our future? When we were young, we dreamed of a dialogue with the Orthodox Church. But now we see that by God’s Providence we are doing other things, taking care of migrants. What about dialogue with the Orthodox?” Francis answers:

We must be faithful to the cross of Christ. With these feelings of ours, we come to the Lord and ask what He wants from us – and then in God we become able to act creatively: concrete problems, concrete solutions. Look, the dialogue with the Orthodox is now at a good point. So you have sown well with prayer, desire, and what you have been able to do.

Introduces Fr. Tonny Cornoedus, a Belgian-Flemish Jesuit. He worked in Morocco in a community that no longer exists, then was a parish priest in Belgium and is now in Greece because a French-speaking priest is needed here to work with refugees. He talks about his work, and also about his misfortune: he was once arrested, mistaken for a human trafficker.

What a beautiful humiliation! Listening to you, I thought of the end of a Jesuit’s life: after years of intense work to reach old age, probably tired, full of contradictions, but with a smile, with the joy of one who has done his work. This is the good tiredness of a man who has given his life. There is ugly neurotic fatigue, that’s not what we’re talking about. But there is also good fatigue. When you reach old age, full of weariness but not bitterness, where there is the ability to smile, then you are a song of hope. A Jesuit who has reached our age and continues to work, patiently enduring contradictions and not losing his smile, becomes a hymn of hope. I am reminded of the movie “Return of the Soldier,” which I watched as a child and liked it very much then. The soldier returns home tired, wounded, but with a smile because he is home, having done his duty. It’s nice to have Jesuits like you with a smile and the confidence that the seed that was sown has borne fruit! Both in life and in death, the Jesuit must bear witness that he follows Jesus Christ. Sowing joy, “with cunning,” with a smile, is the grace of a full, truly fulfilled life. A life not without sin, yes, but full of the joy of serving God. Thank you for your testimony and keep up the good work!

Fr. Marcin Baran, a 46-year-old Jesuit from Poland, tells us about himself and his ministry. He says he is in Greece because there is a large Polish community here. There used to be almost 300,000 Poles in this country; now there are about 12,000. There are four thousand of them in Athens, and they need a priest who speaks Polish, because those believers who attend church – there are about a thousand – are very attached to their native language. He’s a doctor of philosophy, but now his work is with the common people, the workers… Francis comments:

Philosophy of everyday life! What you tell me really touched me: you went through all this training in philosophy, and then God sent you to the Poles of Athens. That’s the creative impassivity that helps you move forward! This is the vocation of the Jesuits: you go where God reveals His will and expects obedience. God knows. We see the meaning of our apostolic life not at the beginning, but at the end of our lives, looking back with a gaze full of wisdom. St. John of the Cross said: at the end of life we will be judged only by love. You studied, got your doctorate … and now you’re the chaplain of the Poles in Athens. What is the meaning of this? – According to the logic of the Kingdom of God, the logic of contradiction, inexplicable…

Finally, Fr. Michel Rousseau, exclaiming: “This meeting is Pentecost for me!” He introduced himself by saying that he had studied archaeology in Athens. “My teacher was a friend of Albert Camus. For half a century I have been involved in dialogue between faith and culture and ecumenism. I was editor of the magazines Open Horizons and Herald of the Sacred Heart. Now I am in charge of the Apostolate of Prayer.” The Pope asks him how old he is. Fr. Rousseau replies: “Eighty-three!” and adds: “I pray, ‘Lord, make me a man useful, but not important.'” The Pope comments:

The apostolate of prayer is very important. Father Fornos deals with it very well, in a modern way. Prayer is the center of everything! I see that you are all “young” and full of joy in what you do. Thank you for your service in the name of the Church. I am encouraged by what you are doing.

The Pope concludes by suggesting that we pray together. Before parting, the rector of the community gives the Pope a painting made by young people from the Jesuit Refugee Service. Francis and the Jesuits prayed “Hail Mary” together and then took a group photo. The pope said goodbye, shaking hands with each of those present again.