Feser Joins Global Jesuit Assembly During First Week as SLU's President
07/08/2025
As he began his tenure as Saint Louis University’s 34th president, Edward Feser, Ph.D., represented SLU as a delegate at the 2025 Assembly of the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU).
Held June 30 to July 3 at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, the international gathering brought together presidents, rectors and senior leaders from Jesuit institutions from around the world.
SLU President Edward Feser, Ph.D., (center) speaks during a session of AJCU institutions reflecting on the address delivered by Arturo Sosa, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus. Photo courtesy of IAJU.
William Johnson, J.D., rector of the Madrid campus (left), listens during the pre-conference session, “Democracy in Crisis.” Photo courtesy of IAJU.
Arturo Sosa, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus, delivers an address during the opening plenary of the 2025 Assembly. Photo courtesy of IAJU.
SLU Trustee Fr. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J. (A&S ’71), president of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), moderates a plenary session on “The Challenges of Secularism.” Photo courtesy of IAJU.
Delegates and participants gather in the Church of San Ignacio to celebrate the inaugural Eucharist, which officially opened the 2025 Assembly. Photo courtesy of IAJU.
Centered on the theme “Our Mission in Challenging Times,” the Assembly focused on how Jesuit institutions can respond to global challenges that not only affect higher education but also shape the future of society.
“As 300 delegates from several continents, we joined together in conversation about the issues we are facing in common – challenges to democracy; student mental health and well-being; artificial intelligence, climate change and care for our common home; rising secularization; and global migration,” Feser said.
The highlight of the Assembly was a powerful address delivered by Arturo Sosa, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus, titled “The Jesuit University: Witness to Hope, Creative and Dialogical Presence.”
“Keeping our hope firm while living in difficult times requires strengthening the identity of all members of the university community,” Sosa said in his address. “A university community rooted in shared identity is better able to successfully confront the difficulties that hinder its mission.”
Sosa’s message at the Assembly resonated with Feser in his first days as SLU’s president.
“Fr. Sosa’s address inspired us to begin with who we are — with our Jesuit charism,” Feser reflected. “He reminded us that the fragility of our current moment is also a source of opportunity — to foster greater collaboration and to rely on one another, within our universities and across our institutions.”
William Johnson, J.D., rector of the Madrid campus, joined a large delegation from UNIJES — Universidades Jesuitas — at the Assembly. SLU-Madrid was invited to join the prestigious network of Jesuit centers and higher education institutions in Spain last year.
"I was honored to represent SLU-Madrid at this inspiring IAJU Assembly,” Johnson said. “It gave me a deep sense of hope and a renewed sense of purpose, as we renew our commitment to walking with the excluded in a mission of reconciliation and justice and to accompanying young people in the creation of a hope-filled future. The Assembly was important confirmation that we will face today’s significant challenges more effectively by working together, in a spirit of global collaboration."
The Assembly, which gathers every three years to strengthen the apostolate of higher education of the Society of Jesus, drew representatives from more than 180 Jesuit institutions from 40 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.
About IAJU
The International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) is the global network of Jesuit Catholic universities and institutes of higher learning. Founded in 2018 and recognized by Fr. General Arturo Sosa, S.J., it serves as the international coordinating and advisory body for the Secretariat of Jesuit Higher Education, advising the Society of Jesus in matters related to the intellectual apostolate and university mission. Learn more at www.iaju.org.
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