Xavier de Bénazé SJ delivers lecture in Dublin

French Jesuit Xavier de Bénazé SJ gave a lecture in the Irish Jesuit Provincialate office in Milltown Park on Tuesday 10 September. Xavier has dedicated his life to working at the intersection of spirituality, ecology, and social justice. Attendees included Provincial Father Shane Daly SJ, Socius Father Terry Howard SJ and others with an interest in ecology as well as spirituality.

“It’s good to share because we need to move, change can only come from action so taking action no matter the form is important” said Xavier in his opening speech.

Xavier was recently appointed EOF (Europe Occidental Francophone) Province coordinator of the ‘Spiritual Eco-centre’ at Le Châtelard, Francheville, Lyon. The centre is currently undergoing a transition to become a retreat house with ecological foundations. The centre was the focal point of the talk.

The need to bring spiritual depth precipitated the idea of transforming the retreat house outside Lyon into an Eco-Spirituality centre. He credited an eight day retreat here as a catalyst for ecological conversion in the area, noting “The importance of ecology was rooted in the Province at this point”. 

Xavier said time and energy must be given to ecological conversion and that having a concrete project to work on is a helpful way of keeping focus. Xavier noted that during conversion periods the ‘three-Ps’ are often used, which stand for ‘place’, ‘persons’ and ‘program’.

He explained that “Ensuring the place is right is important and it must include biodiversity, and incorporate factors such as the building fabric and the food that is served”.

With regards to ‘persons’ caring for our human ecosystems is key he said. “This includes the staff, Jesuits, volunteers and the retreatants which all need to be taken care of during a period of change”.

He expressed that spirituality still plays a crucial role in the centre and that eco-spirituality programmes are only a portion of what the retreat house offers with original courses including the spiritual exercises still on offer.

At the end of the talk Xavier shared that sustenance for him, comes from the resurrection of Christ.

Xavier will conduct a three-day EcoSpirituality retreat from Sunday 15 September – Wednesday 18 September at Manresa Jesuit Centre of Spirituality, Clontarf, Dublin 3. The key theme of the retreat is integrating ecology and spirituality.