Posted: March 7

The first quiet morning

I don’t have to open up the Aula this morning. For the first morning in two months I am sitting in my room relaxing, knowing that I don’t have to go open up the big meeting room (the “aula”) and power up the three computers and the big video projector that we used every day during the general congregation. And it also means that I don’t have to worry that all the equipment will work when we need it. Most of the time it worked perfectly, but when it didn’t—as occasionally happened—all eyes turned to me. On the other hand, I feel very contented that we provided a wonderful service to the members of the congregation.

The obvious benefits of new communication technology were apparent to everyone. The coordinating committee decided to take one of the last votes by hand, and it took 20 minutes to count what the computer would have done in four seconds. Plus we were able to use our web site and email system to great effect. Beyond the formal spoken presentations in the aula, delegates also wrote a lot of messages to each other. Whenever a writing group would provide a new draft of a document being prepared, they would post an email address to which delegates could send their comments. And they sent lots of comments. Then someone from the writing committee would engage in an informal conversation over coffee, and ideas would grow and develop. Email was in its infancy 14 years ago at the last general congregation, so this is a completely new way of working. Plus we were able to post lots and lots of documents on the web site so delegates could read new drafts or background material whenever they wanted, wherever they lived in the city. We even had the Constitutions and the texts of the last congregation online for easy reference.

The web site was another huge success. Fr. Dani Villanueva was invited to take time out of writing his theology thesis to spend two months creating the special area of our web site dedicated to the congregation. He brought creativity and a great deal of energy to the task. The site gave a daily update on what was happening, offered blogs written by delegates themselves, provided hundreds of photographs and even allowed people to pray along with the delegates each day. The feedback has been very positive and I think that we turned a new page in understanding how Jesuits around the world can participate in a general congregation even as preserve the confidentiality necessary for a congregation to do its work. We still had confidentiality but the windows were opened so people could get a sense of what was happening.

Yesterday evening we had the final Mass, which was more subdued but just as solemn and celebratory as the first Mass two months earlier. Dani wanted to join the concelebrants, so I took pictures by myself. By 10 o’clock we were back in my office: Dani translating a brief news summary into Spanish while I selected photographs and adjusted them for the Photobank. We finished just before midnight, the last story of the congregation. It was later than I wanted to be working, but I enjoyed the camaraderie. It made me think of my friend Don Doll who was here for the first two weeks of the congregation. We did so much together, yet it seems like so long ago. I will need a little time to appreciate more fully what happened. Partly I need to sit down and read the five decrees that the congregation produced. There will be time for that. For now, it is nice to slow down and think about getting back to normal.