On this year’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees, six Jesuit novices from the Birmingham International Jesuit Novitiate are running in solidarity with refugees and people seeking sanctuary. In this short film, they share why supporting JRS UK matters to them, reflect on the Jesuit call to walk alongside people who have been forced to flee, and offer messages of hope to refugee friends around the world. The full transcript of the video can be found below.
Gregoire: I deeply believe that God hears the cry of the poor and that you are not alone on your journey, and therefore I would invite you not to lose hope and to trust that wherever you’re heading, there will be a community waiting for you and welcoming you.
Gregoire: My name is Gregoire, I’m 26 years old and I’m a Jesuit novice at the Birmingham International Jesuit Novitiate.
Francois: My name is Francois, I’m 30 years old, I come from France.
Anton: My name is Anton. I’m just finishing my first year as a Jesuit novice and I come from Australia.
Paul: My name is Paul, I’m a first-year novice in Birmingham, from the province of France
Petr: My name is Petr. I come from Czech Republic and I am second year novice in the Birmingham Novitiate.
Stepan: My name is Stepan, I’m 20 years old. I come from the Czech Republic and I’m entering my second year in the novitiate.
Gregoire: I want to run for people seeking sanctuary because I realised that these people could be me.
Paul: I used to work in a charity called Sanctuary St Chad which gives support to migrants. I remember once, one of them, he had fled from South Sudan and was just seeking refuge anywhere and yeah, just seeing that guy, you know, wanting for dignity. He was, just wanting to have a new start.
Anton: Pope Francis, being a Jesuit himself, had a strong emphasis on dignity of all human beings, the dignity of the human person, so I would say that ought to be an important focus for us as a Society, to not have people be forgotten.
Francois: Something I’m very proud as a Christian is when I see the Pope and the Church speaking about the topics of refugees, this gives me a lot of hope for the world to see the church taking this topic so seriously.
Gregoire: It is our mission as Jesuits to work alongside those who are excluded, forced to leave their home country. Walking alongside refugees and asylum seekers is a core ministry of the Society of Jesus. And this is why I choose to support JRS UK.
Petr: One part of our Jesuit formation is to do things as a community, which motivated me to take part in this run together with my fellow novices.
Anton: To do something where we can work together, strive towards something. I think has been a really positive thing for the Community.
Gregoire: I think we tend to forget that the journey of migration is very often a solitary enterprise, and I do believe in what community dimension can bring us. So, when I cross the finish line, I want to cross it with my five fellow novices who are running with me, and I want to give a testimony that there is something that is to be lived together. And to that extent, I want to give witness of the force of the community.
Stepan: For me, accompaniment is walking with the people and not trying them to come to me to my situation, but really myself entering into where they are. And I don’t run just for myself but I can run for someone different, someone else, when I feel bad, I remember it’s not just about me, but there is also someone else and that keeps me going.
Paul: As we see also, there is a rise of the far-right in our countries, and I would like to build bridges, show them that we are all from the same mud.
Petr: What gives me hope to the future are several young volunteers and people willing to devote their lives to helping refugees.
Francois: If I had a word for a refugee friend, I’m thinking about Carlos, who is a refugee that I’ve been helping very much in Paris, I will always be here with you, my friend.
Petr: May the Lord, who fled to Egypt, accompany you and give you strength on your journey so that you might live and bear witness of His presence despite the very difficult situation you are in.
Francois: Holy Spirit, give them strength and all that they need on their journey, and help all of us to open our hearts, to love all those little ones that are your brothers. Amen.
